Transcending Borders With Seeds in Our Hands

The town of Coober Pedy was built on shaky foundations. Surface opal was discovered by a young man and the town immediately became home to those seeking the untold and unknown riches below the desert surface. Dynamite began to rumble in the distance as tunnels were created so fast that they lost track of some. Even today, you cannot wander off town property because you could fall into a hidden mine shaft. With summer temperatures soaring into the 60 degrees Celsius range, the idea of tunneling for opal soon became inspiration for a naturally cool house. About 70% of residents live below ground, earning it the Aboriginal name Coober Pedy, meaning “White Man’s Burrow.” The Coober Pedians are said to walk with their heads down and their tongue out. Their heads are down just in case there happens to be opal around and their tongues are out because you have to wet opal to see if it refracts the light and is the real deal, and since water is scarce, saliva is the more economical option. Only 4 inches of rain grace the dead earth each year and, consequently, water is coveted almost as much as the opal. It costs 9 cents to flush the toilet: I was definitely conscious of that fact everytime I did so. The town spends tons of money on reverse osmosis as it is their only option in such a remote, desolate place.

This was the first place that I saw Aborigines. They live in a fenced-off village that is completely off-limits to Whites. When I walked the streets of Coober Pedy I would hear a faint “G’day” somewhere off to my right and I would turn to see a big Aboriginal man with a crisp white beard sitting on the steps of a store watching me go past. They wear large, loose clothing that almost never coordinates but rather clashes in the worst way. They are probably much cooler in those clothes than I was in mine though!

We stayed in an underground hostel which was really cool both literally and figuratively. The underground houses stay at 20-25 C year round, no matter how much the ground above boils. Real estate is really cheap. About $100,000AUD can buy you a four-bedroom underground house. You save on air conditioning costs and you sleep better because it is soundproof and always dark when you want it to be.

There is no way of knowing how close you are to opal: you have to dig and dig some more. I suppose it drives men into a maddening frenzy, like that of the desperate desert flies above ground, knowing that they could always be just a few feet away from opal. Driving out of Coober Pedy on the Stuart Highway, I could see piles of stone stretching across the shimmering horizon like pitched tents; a constant reminder of the fortunes that have yet to be found and those that will remain hidden.

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