Opals are still important to Coober Pedy; however, the town now draws its income from mining services, tourism and public services. Coober Pedy has a large Antakirinja community. In 2024 the estimated population was almost 2000 people.
What does the future hold for Coober Pedy?
Coober Pedy is famous for its underground homes (see FIGURE12 )— an environmentally friendly way of keeping people cool in summer and warm at night. Recently, signiýcant deposits of valuable minerals like iron, copper, gold and coal have been found. Yet in 2014, the Cairn Hill iron ore/copper/gold mine 55 kilometres south-east of Coober Pedy was closed due to low iron ore prices. Coober Pedy is ideally located to act as a centre for mining and government services. This could help the town grow and attract more people. Coober Pedy has good hospital and medical services, primary and secondary schooling, a TAFE campus, childcare services and police. But these services are struggling to keep doctors and nurses. This area is very remote, so farms have used phones since 1987. The Stuart Highway is the main road for the town.
FIGURE10 Climate graph for Cooper Pedy, South Australia
Coober Pedy
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JFMAMJ JASOND
FIGURE11 Along with other South Australian ýelds, Coober Pedy produces most of the world’s opal. Mullock heaps create Coober Pedy’s distinctive landscape.
FIGURE12 Much of Coober Pedy’s population lives underground to take advantage of the cooler and more stable underground climate.
SkillBuilder discussion Concluding and decision-making 1. Discuss strategies that could be implemented to entice more people to live in Coober Pedy and reverse its population decline. 2. Develop a shortlist of possible strategies that could be implemented. A question of survival Many rural communities are facing tough times. They deal with increased overseas competition, the changing value of the Australian dollar and climate change. Towns that are not experiencing a population decline (see FIGURE13 ) have found new ways to generate an income. They have changed their primary crops to olives or grapes or use nearby national parks to promote tourism. 10.5.5
366 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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