Blowers & Opal fields at sunset - Coober Pedy, South Australia

Coober Pedy is known as the "Opal Capital of the World". Coober Pedy was originally known as the Stuart Range Opal Field, named after John McDouall Stuart, who in 1858 was the first European explorer in the area. In 1920 it was re-named Coober Pedy, an anglicised version of Aboriginal words "kupa piti", commonly assumed to mean "white man in a hole".
During the 1960's, the mining industry expanded rapidly due to the many European migrants who came to seek their fortunes. The 60's and 70's saw opal mining develop into a multi million dollar industry with Coober Pedy developing into a modern mining town.
Millions of conical dumps in the desert identify the Coober Pedy opal fields. These dumps are created by the blower, a unique Coober Pedy innovation. The blower is essentially a giant vacuum. It sucks mullock, dirt, smoke, gases and even water from underground workings.
The name "blower" comes from a machine used by Mario Pagnon in the early 1970's. Designed to go on a tunneling machine, it sucked dirt straight into a fan which blew it everywhere, creating a huge dust cloud visible for miles.

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Taken in: Australia / South Australia / Coober Pedy (show map)

Taken on: July 14, 2013

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