PRECIOUS WATER

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31623, 8 March 1968, Page 3

PRECIOUS WATER

(From Our Own Reporter) TIMARU, March 6.

Although opals have great value, water is equally precious at Coober Pedy, 500 miles inland from Alice Springs, as it has to be brought by truck in 40-gallon drums from 80 miles away. Mrs A. B. Garland, who has gouged opals in the remote, arid area, told this to the Victoria League. She said opals were mined under the most primitive conditions. There were no cages for transporting the miners, no safety belts, and the equipment was dilapidated. While at Coober Pedy

("white man’s burrow”), she crawled through narrow tunnels and was permitted to use a pick to dislodge opals from a seam.

Mrs Garland said it was a common sight to see vehicles setting out from Alice Springs with as many as six spare wheels attached. The roads are strewn with rocks, and kangaroos are a hazard.

She said most of the miners lived underground in homes hollowed out of the sandstone. These contained three to four roolns and a kerosene refrigerator, electricity for lights being supplied by a winddriven generator.