iar git Le ie WHEN EXPATRIATE Aussie poet and B.C. fisherman Kevin Roberts went home to rediscov- er his roots, friends and relatives advised him against the Outback. “It’s so dry the lizards s**t fossils!” they said. If you announce your intention to visit Coober Pedy, Australian hosts may react as you would if visi- tors from Downunder asked directions to Inuvik. By John Moore Contributing Writer Coober Pedy, after all, lies on a flat stony South Australian plain roughly halfway along the 1,300 km {806 mile) Stuart Highway between Port Augusta on the coast and Alice Springs, hub of “The Red Centre”. For eight months of the year, temper- atures hover between 35-47 degrees Celcius. There is no shade and did I mention the frequent searing dust ’ storms? There isn’t any water either — or wasn’t originally, when it had to be hauled hundreds of miles in wagons, then trucks, and was rationed to two _ buckets per person per day. Now, in the age of pipelines and desaliniza- tion plants, residents still boast Australia’s Fighest water tariff. They will also proudly show you their golf course, with nine raked “browns”: their racetrack, where the winner’s dust makes picking Place and Show horses tricky; and a cricket pitch never graced by a blade of anything When I observed that this must ° make one of the world’s tidiest and sedate games’ somewhat dirty and "thirsty: work, one of the locals enthused, “Yeah, it’s bloody great, mate!” Drawn from about 50 differ- - ent nationalities, now all distinctively ‘Australian, they’re an odd lot alright, but so might you be if you lived a great deal of your life underground. ’ And there lies the explanation of - “ why anybody lives in Coober Pedy at all..The name is said to be a cormup- tion of .a descriptive Aboriginal ’ observation, ‘‘kupa pity”; supposed to mean ‘white man's’ burrow” or NOTICE TO MOTORISTS & CYCLISTS “white man in a hole’. i probably lost even less complimentary shades of meaning in. translation, . since Aborigines know better than to live so far from any water. The reason white men came to Coober Pedy is a four-letter word: OPAL. Opal is a form of silica, chemical- ly similar to ordinary quartz, and occurs in many varicties, most of them worthless. In precious opal, the regular arrangement of silica spheres defracts white light into the colors of the spectrum, with the diameter and spacing of the spheres controlling the colour range. Irregular pockets of opal occur in softer red sandstone, making it unpredictable to mine. Precious opal is so rare that a handful of the uncut stuff can potentially be worth amounts that will leave you breathless. The rarity of precious opal made it prized in the ancient world. A Roman senator is said to have chosen exile rather than surrender an opal ring to the Emperor who “admired” it, (a not too subtle gift hint). In 1915, when Will Hutchinson found “floaters” — pieces of opal on the surface — just south of Coober Pedy, the opal rush began and hasn‘t really let up since. Almost everyone in Coober Pedy has. aclaim or two or a piece of one of the fluid partnerships that dominate con- versation in local pubs and coffee shops. The early miners quickly discov- ered their tin-roof shacks became sti- fling ovens in the desert heat while their mine shafts remained cool and comfortable. Thus began a tradition that continues in Coober Pedy to this day; 40% of the residences in town are constructed at. least partially _ underground. Rooms are cut out of the friable red sandstone with the small cat-tracked diggers used. to quarry opal. Plumbing and electricity are easily: installed in the soft rock walls are treated with a resin sealant to keep the dust down and painted or left interesting. Some dugout homes are open to ‘the public and wel} worth a visit. One of the best is “The Digger's Rest”, " whose vestibule i is the white-washed See Aussie page 35 EGS 2 a Oe RB SL, Ce ee ESD Ne KIDS FOLLOW THE WATER SAFETY RULES DO You? op The Canadian Red Cross Society EXPLORING THE ARTS Airfares from Vancouver | Finca. fre. & PRINCESS CRUISES requests your attendance at a Gala Evening where “EAST MEETS WEST’ from the Orient to the Caribbean Tuesday ~ March 14, 1995 A Very Special Place for a Very Special Event Space Limited — RSVP Required Advance tickets available 926-7245 2383 MARINE DRIVE WEST VANCOUVER “It's More Than A Cruise — It's the Love Boat” 1 month fares B EN -__ooa5| ODYSSEY | trors can” eDAEED | _1 year fares to it (ta Atlajs tron can® RA TO | jaca. son can ABBO | _and plastered over. The reddish rock - FOR INFORMATION: (604)920-4118 VICTORIA LIONS GATE BRIDGE SINGLE LANE TRAFFIC / SIDEWALK CLOSURES The Ministry of Transportation and Highways advises motorists that there will be single lane traffic in both directions and sidewalk closures on the Lions Gate Bridge from Sunday, March 5 to Friday, March 31. Single lane traffic and sidewalk closures are needed for the replacement of sidewalk panels on the bridge and will be in effect as follows: THE SOUTH REE SPECIALISTS 409 Granville Street, Suite 452, Vancouver . 1-800-663-5115 687-3083 _ THOMAS COOK TRAVEL ' PARK ROYAL 926- 5555 PACIFIC CENTRE 687- 0055 TAKE 5 % OFF puus HONG KONG ; ail FIESTA WEST Airfare or Package Holidays! Single Lane Traffic Sunday to Thursday 41:60 PM - 5:30 AM SIDEWALK CLOSURES Southbound: Sunday, March 5 to Sunday, March 19 (24 Hours/day) wy — a ‘Northbound: Sunday, March 19 to Friday, March 31 (24 Hours/day) ot Fly Now Pay Later! EUROPE Ss on BRITAIN/ EUROPE Vacations BONUS! booked with THOMAS COOK Ag Legare ps on your EATON'S CARD “Applicable for NEW BOOKINGS ONLY on Fi be combined with any other offer. Ta. Motorists ‘and cyclists are asked to obey construction zone signing. epg artime ci, 1 West advertised prices - can not and Insurance not included, _ Province of : British Columbia. - Ministry of Transportation ~ and Highways