Children playing cricket at Leigh Creek Public School

Leigh Creek
Company coal mining town on the edge of the desert
Located 567 km north of Adelaide, 261 km north of Port Augusta and 194 m above sea level, Leigh Creek is a company town on the edge of the desert (its annual rainfall is 205 mm) run by the NRG Flinders. It is a modern township with a modern shopping centre, a series of neat modern roads and small, attractive plots of land on which standard modern houses have been built to house the workers and their families who provide the labour force for the huge Leigh Creek open cut coal mine which exists 22 km north of the town.

The township is correctly known as Leigh Creek South. It is a new township because the original settlement at Leigh Creek, located 13 km north of the present site, happened to be under the coal seam. The new town site was chosen in 1977 and the first houses were occupied in 1980. The entire old town was auctioned off. Such is the economic imperative which drives this community.

The Leigh Creek area was first settled by Harry Leigh (after whom the town and creek are named) in 1856. Coal was discovered in 1888 and small quantities were mined but it wasn't until the 1943 that the fields were commercially exploited. By 1986 100 million cubic metres of overburden had been removed from the mine site.

The reasons for the late development of the mines are twofold. Early mining was thwarted by mine shafts being filled with water which made mining nearly impossible. The development in 1943 was a result of South Australia's total dependence on New South Wales for its coal supply. Thomas Playford, the SA Premier at the time, argued that the state needed to be self-supporting in energy. Most of the coal now goes to Port Augusta where it is used to fuel the power station.

Things to see:  

Leigh Creek
The main road actually by passes the town and the only indication of the primary activity in the area is a sign which reads 'Conducted bus tours of the Leigh Creek Coal Fields depart from this Information Park at 9.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. They depart only if there are six or more passengers and a fee is charged. Unescorted visitors are not permitted on the coalfields. Prior notice of booking is required. Bookings can be made at the Leigh Creek Regional Visitor Information Centre, tel: (08) 8675 2723. Tours depart from the Leigh Creek Shopping Centre and Copley Information Area.

Although it is true that visitors cannot enter the coalfields it is possible, by travelling north from the town and driving east for 3.5 km on the main road to the coal mines, to reach a lookout point where a superb view of the open cut is available without actually entering the mining area.

The open cut mine at Leigh Creek

Leigh Creek
At the lookout point there is an old walking dragline known as a Bucyrus Erie 9W. It began service at Leigh Creek in 1951. It has a 49 m boom and a 7 cubic metre bucket which was, at the time, the largest in Australia. There is also a huge tyre which achieved a world record of 289 215 km and 17 520 hours in service before it was 'retired'.

Eating at Leigh Creek
Leigh Creek Tavern: specialises in bulk bookings like bus trips, film crews and special functions. The restaurant/bistro seats approximately 150 people and has an a la carte menu for lunch and dinner. Trading hours for the restaurant are: Lunch 12:00noon - 2.00pm and Dinner 6.00pm - 8.00pm.

Open Cut Cafe: Closed for the week of Christmas and New Years the Open Cut trades all year round. It seats around forty to fifty people and has a wide range of sit down and take away meals. It has the full cappacino range, fresh cakes, flavoured milks, sweets, chips and some variety for the traveller who has forgotten items. Its trading hours are 8.00am - 6.00pm Monday to Saturday, Sunday it opens at 10:00am - 4.00pm.

	Tourist Information
	Flinders Ranges & Outback Information Leigh Creek SA 5731 Telephone: 1800 633 060 Facsimile: (08) 8223 3995
	Motels
	Leigh Creek Tavern P.O. Box 221 Leigh Creek SA 5731 Telephone: (08) 8675 2025 Facsimile: (08) 8675 2878
	Hotels
	Leigh Creek Hotel Copley Leigh Creek SA 5731 Telephone: (08) 8675 2281
	Leigh Creek Tavern P.O. Box 221 Leigh Creek SA 5731 Telephone: (08) 8675 2025 Facsimile: (08) 8675 2878
	Restaurants
	Leigh Creek Hotel Copley Leigh Creek SA 5731 Telephone: (08) 8675 2281
	Leigh Creek Tavern P.O. Box 221 Leigh Creek SA 5731 Telephone: (08) 8675 2025 Facsimile: (08) 8675 2878