Coober Pedy - Places to See

Coober Pedy
There are a number of truly remarkable attractions around Coober Pedy and the most sensible, and most reasonably priced, way of seeing them is to take a bus trip which usually lasts for about four hours.

Crocodile Harry
The highlights include a visit to the underground house of a man calling himself Crocodile Harry. This wonderful old lecher (his walls are festooned with the addresses of girls who he claims to have seduced) declares himself to be Arvid Von Blumentals, a Latvian Baron who was forced to leave his country after World War II. He claims to have worked as a crocodile hunter in Northern Australia before coming to Coober Pedy to fossick for opals in about 1975. Although his story seems implausible - a good piece of bush mythology - it is interesting to note that Roger Jose, the Hermit of Borroloola, who lived in a damaged 1000 gallon tank at Borroloola on the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory until his death in 1963, reportedly sold his unusual accommodation to a crocodile hunter named Harry Blumental. Are these two one and the same person? And are all of Harry's larger than life stories true?

Crocodile Harry's underground house featured in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and before they left the crew created a singing sculpture out of metallic trash which they called 'The Orchestra'. It rattles in the breeze.

Coober Pedy Underground Catacomb Anglican Church
At the eastern end of Coober Pedy is the town's famous Underground Catacomb Anglican Church which is a unique expression of the materials and activities of the local area. The altar is made like a winch and both the crucifix and the lectern are made out of mulga wood. Behind the altar are two air vents.

The Big Winch and the Oldtimers Mine
Nearby are the town's two overt tourist attractions. The Big Winch (a good quality gift shop) and the Oldtimers Mine which shows underground mining and some of the old equipment which was used. It also has an opal reef on display. When the door was being cut they came across a seam of opals in the wall.

The Underground Pottery
The Underground Pottery is another popular tourist shop. It has some superb photographs of the area for sale. But don't be fooled. The pottery may be locally made but the clay comes from Melbourne.

Coober Pedy Golf Course
No visit to Coober Pedy would be complete without seeing the local Golf Course where there is not a blade of grass on the fairways and the greens are oiled sand.

There is an excellent book on the town by Kerry E Medway titled Coober Pedy: Opal Wonderland of Australia which covers both the modern town and the history of the place from the first discovery of opal.