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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-05-05 Daily Xml
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Coober Pedy Centenary

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (16:06): I rise today to acknowledge the centenary of Coober Pedy and the celebration of that milestone over the Easter weekend. It was a privilege to attend the many functions that had been organised to mark Coober Pedy's 100th year. Opal was discovered in what became known as Coober Pedy in January 1915 by a 14-year-old boy, William Hutchison, the son of prospectors who were unsuccessfully searching for gold in the region. The name Coober Pedy is said to derive from the Aboriginal words 'kupa piti', which is claimed to mean 'white man in a hole'. The settlement became known as Coober Pedy in 1920 and, in the few years prior, was referred to as the Stuart Range Opal Field in recognition of the first European explorer in the region, John McDouall Stuart.

For thousands of year before the discovery of opal, the land was walked by our continent's original people. It is well worth noting that it was an Aboriginal woman, Tottie Bryant, who started the post Second World War opal rush, following what was described as a sensational opal find at the Eight Mile Creek mine in 1946. There is European history, Aboriginal history, and there is the grand sweep of geological time: the coming and going of ancient oceans dating over 150 million years and the deposition over time of silica solutions in faults, fractures and cavities. Time and geological processes created what I consider to be the most beautiful of the gemstones, and Australia is blessed with 95 per cent of the world's commercial supply of opal.

Coober Pedy produces most of Australia's opal, and is rightly referred to as the world's opal capital. Opal is Coober Pedy's reason for being and it is opal that has provided the foundation for the last 100 years, but it is the people of Coober Pedy who have made Coober Pedy a very special and genuinely unique community. As South Australians, we should take pride in Coober Pedy and the contribution it has made to our state over the years. We should take pride in the fact that, in a remote part of our state, over 45 nationalities have come together with our country's original people to build a community that has many strengths.

The centenary year kicked off on Australia Day, and Coober Pedy's Australia Day ambassador was Maggie Beer—entirely appropriate given the quality of food in Coober Pedy. The best Greek barbeque I have ever had was at a dugout in Coober Pedy 15 or so years ago: lamb, suckling pig, octopus, anchovies and salads to die for. It is good to see Jimmy and Bill, the demon cooks, still working opal in Coober Pedy and still working their magic with charcoal.

The centenary launch was held at the golf club on 1 February. If you have never had a hit at the Coober Pedy golf club, you do not know what you are missing. The club has a reciprocal relationship with St Andrews in Scotland—and that is a study in contrasts. I have some Scottish heritage, so I can say the Scots gave the world many things, but I reckon they were having an off day when they gave us golf. Having said that, I still think it was an act of genius for the Coober Pedy golf club to seek out and secure their relationship with St Andrews.

The Coober Pedy gem show was held over the weekend at the Croatian Club, and its professionalism was a credit to the Coober Pedy Miners Association. At the risk of singling out one person from what was a collective effort, the organisational role of the miners association president, Paul Reynolds, deserves a special mention. There were also fantastic functions at the Greek club, with the 100 Year Ball, and the night at the Italian club. The place was packed and it was seriously jumping. It was a fantastic night. Put in your calendars the Great Breakaways Marathon on 16 May and the Coober Pedy Races and Gymkhana on 9 August and help Coober Pedy mark its centenary. It is a truly great community.

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