In Coober Pedy, South Australia, people don’t live in houses. They live in “dugouts,” – or at least, that’s the reality for about half the population. Going underground is nothing unusual in this town – billed as the “Opal Capital of the World” – where digging up dirt in search of the precious gem has been a way of life for about 100 years.
Originally dugouts were small one-room dwellings that started as holes in the ground, dug up from shafts in the search for opal. Today, many dugouts are created by excavating into hillsides, using modern tunneling machines.
The interior of a local inhabitant’s dugout. (Photo by Diane Slawych)
The machinery leaves a distinctive pattern on the interior walls of the rose-colored sandstone dwellings and after construction, dust is kept at bay with a clear sealer that is applied to walls and other surfaces. When more shelving or closet space is needed, homeowners simply dig another hole in the wall. The rooms are ventilated through vertical shafts, the tops of which can often be seen protruding out of the hills.
The sandstone in the Coober Pedy hillside is well suited for underground homes. It’s strong and stable enough to allow huge ceiling spans in rooms and it isn’t unusual for a family to buy an adjoining property and tunnel to link two or more dwellings. Some homes spread up to 500 square metres underground.
This unusual way of living was apparently introduced by soldiers who returned from the trenches of France after the First World War. Local miners quickly discovered the advantages of living underground to escape the heat of the summer and the winter’s cool desert nights.
A room at the Desert Cave Hotel looks much like a bedroom in an average Coober Pedy home.
Coober Pedy, it should be noted, is not the most attractive of towns. Located on the edge of the Stuart Ranges, the sand and stone landscape doesn’t support much plant life. In this semi desert climate, summer temperatures can be scorching, often exceeding 40 C. It can also get windy and, with little vegetation to hold the soil in place, very dusty.
Going underground offers a peaceful retreat. No matter how harsh the climate is outside, the underground rooms maintain a comfortable, even temperature ranging from 23 C to 25 C day and night throughout the year. That’s in contrast to the closest North American equivalent to a dugout, the basement, which can sometimes be cold, damp or mouldy.
Coober Pedy’s inhabitants are an incredibly close-knit group. The town of 3,500 people has four churches, several shops, galleries and museums (such as the Umoona Opal Mine and Museum) that are all underground.
The Australian dugout has even made an appearance on the big screen. A famous local character named Crocodile Harry (mentioned in a Lonely Planet guidebook to Australia) lived in an underground home that was featured in the film Mad Max – Beyond the Thunderdome.
Travellers can visit Harry’s home or book a night at one of the many underground hotels. Among them is the award-winning Desert Cave hotel, built in 1987, which has 19 underground and 25 above ground rooms.
Aside from the comfortable temperature, another defining feature of the typical dugout is the incredible quiet. Noise doesn’t seem to penetrate the walls. In fact it’s not unusual to hear hotel guests say, “It was the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had.”
Diane Slawych is a contributing writer for REM.
