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Situated approximately 600 kms north of Adelaide lies
an Oasis in the desert known as Leigh Creek. The climate
is typical of the arid Australian Inland. Temperatures
can range from 0 to 50 degrees Centigrade. Climate-wise
the best time to visit Leigh Creek is between March
and December.
The
town and the coal mine use water from the nearby Aroona
Dam to the south-west of the township. A reverse osmosis
plant also provides water drawn from bores when the
water level in Aroona Dam is too low due to low rainfall
in the area, as the average rainfall is less than 10
inches. The waste sewage from the town is used to water
the ovals, parks and trees around the town as well as
watering the local golf club during winter months.
Some
250,000 native trees were planted when Leigh Creek was
built and many more were planted in an ongoing program
over the years since the town existed. Many trees were
propagated in the town's own company owned nursery which
has since been closed down.
If you take note of the street names in Leigh Creek
you will find that they are all names of Australian
Native trees with a large number being Eucalypts family
names. Each street has some of the trees it has been
named after planted along it, for example Quandong Place
is planted with its namesake the Quandong.
The
distinctive rock mulch you see all along the footpaths
is used as a means of keeping the weeds at bay and was
all obtained from Windy creek to the south of the town.
The
Aboriginal people called coal deposits at Leigh Creek
"Yulu's Charcoal" long before white
men came to this country. The story of Yulu's Charcoal
tells of huge fires being lit and burning so many trees
that the remaining charcoal formed the coal deposits.
It
is only in the last few years that Leigh Creek has decided
to "open up its doors" to welcome in tourism.
Prior to this the town was considered to be a "closed
town". The core business for Leigh Creek was mining.
Mining is still the major industry for Leigh Creek,
however tourism and hospitality are allowed to co-exist.
In the last two years the Film Industry has become very
interested in the area and have used Leigh creek as
a base camp for their crews.
Coal
mining began in the 1800s, leading to large scale mining
in 1948. In 1976 the Electricity Trust of South Australia
(now NRG Flinders) made a decision to move the original
township away from the coalfield. In 1982 the new township,
located 22 kms south of the coalfield, was completed.
This massive undertaking gave ETSA a unique opportunity
to construct an "environmentally friendly"
place for it's then 2000+ residents.
Due
to the changing of mining methods, downsizing of the
workforce and recently the purchase of larger mining
equipment the population has dropped to its current
size. Some of the houses in the new town have already
been sold in a series of two auctions. The land that
the houses sit on is returned as best as it can or even
better than its natural state after each of the areas
has been cleared of houses.
All
housing in Leigh Creek is built to face north and south
and massive plantings of native trees and shrubs thrive
thanks to the smart recycling of the town's water that
comes from the nearby Aroona Dam. The dam is accessible
via a turn off some 3 kms south of Leigh Creek at Emu
Creek.
With
the thoughtful use of this precious resource it is no
wonder the locals refer to Leigh Creek as 'an outback
oasis'.
Today
Leigh Creek is home to more than 600 residents, most
of whom work for the company that now runs the coal
mine, NRG Flinders. Other people living in the town
work at the School, Hospital or for any of the business
owners in and around Leigh Creek. It is the mine policy
that you or your partner need to have at least 20 hours
of paid work in and around the town before you are allowed
to reside here. Once you have retired from the workforce
you must move on.
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