Main content

The mining town where 80% of people live underground

Coober Pedy is a small town in South Australia sometimes referred to as the "opal capital of the world" because of the quantity of precious opals that have been mined there.

It enjoyed a boom in the 1960s and 70s when people rushed to the area to look for their fortune finding opal stones.

Today it is much quieter and the population has settled at around 1,600.

During summer the temperature can reach an average of 45C (113F) so most people live below ground to stay cool.

The Travel Show went to Coober Pedy to see an underground home and find out about its mining history.

Release date:

Duration:

2 minutes