Leigh Creek, South Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Leigh CreekSouth Australia |
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 Leigh Creek
Location in South Australia
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| Postcode(s) | 5731 | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | ACST (UTC+9:30) | ||||||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | ACDT (UTC+10:30) | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Outback Communities Authority | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Far North | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Stuart | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Grey | ||||||||||||||
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| Footnotes | Adjoining localities | ||||||||||||||
Leigh Creek is a town in eastern central South Australia. It used to be a busy coal-mining town. In 2016, about 245 people lived there. This was a big drop from 550 people in 2011.
The town is west of the northern Flinders Ranges. The current town was built 13 kilometers south of the original one. This move happened in 1982. It allowed the mine to get bigger. Because of this, most buildings in Leigh Creek are fairly new.
The mine and its railway station are called Telford.
Contents
History of Leigh Creek
The area was named Leigh's Creek in 1856. It was named after the first settler, Harry Leigh. Coal was found here in 1888. Small amounts were dug from an underground mine. The town that supported this early mine was called Copley. It was named after William Copley, a local politician.
However, a lot of coal was not mined until 1943. This was done to help South Australia get its own energy. They wanted to rely less on New South Wales. The leader, Thomas Playford, wanted South Australia to be energy independent. This would help attract new businesses.
The Coal Mine Operation
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The Leigh Creek mine used to be an open cut mine. This means coal was dug from the surface. It produced a type of coal called sub-bituminous black coal. People often called it hard brown coal. This coal was sent 250 kilometers by train. It went to power stations near Port Augusta. These power stations were on the east side of Spencer Gulf.
The coal at Leigh Creek was found in several layers. These layers were shaped like bowls. Each layer was several meters thick. The company Alinta Energy ran the coalfield. They produced over 2.5 million tonnes of coal each year. Alinta Energy also ran the power stations in Port Augusta. These were the only coal-fired power plants left in South Australia. They were also the only ones that used coal from Leigh Creek.
Mine Closure and Town Changes
Since the early 1990s, Leigh Creek saw many changes. The mining operations were greatly reduced. The number of workers dropped from over 750 to about 200. The town also became much smaller. The population went from about 2500 people in 1987 to less than 250 in 2016.
On July 30, 2015, Alinta Energy announced plans to close the mine sooner. They decided to stop operations by March 2017. They even thought about closing as early as March 2016. On October 7, 2015, it was confirmed. The Leigh Creek mining operations officially stopped on November 17, 2015.
Leigh Creek Energy Project
In 2015, news came out about a new coal project. It was called the Leigh Creek Energy Project (LCEP). This project was proposed by a company called Leigh Creek Energy. They planned to get gas from the coal underground. They would drill wells and light the coal underground. This process is called in-situ coal gasification.
The company suggested sending this gas to other parts of Australia. They would use existing pipelines. They also planned to build a plant. This plant would make ammonium nitrate fertilizer and explosives. These products are used in the mining industry.
Aroona Sanctuary: Environmental Success
The Aroona Sanctuary is a great example of environmental recovery. By 1985, the land there was in very bad shape. Many rabbits and wild goats had eaten most of the native plants. This loss of plants caused a lot of soil erosion. The soil washed away, and Aroona Dam filled up with dirt. The land around Leigh Creek looked like a desert.
Too much grazing by animals also hurt the land. Using 4-wheel vehicles, motorbikes, and horses without limits added to the damage. For example, a local Pony Club let many horses graze freely. They destroyed all the plants in one area. "Dust devils" (small whirlwinds of dust) were common there. Sand started to pile up. Rainwater could not soak into the soil.
A big project to fix the environment started in late 1985. Beat Odermatt, an environmental scientist, led the work. They removed rabbits and wild goats. They also worked to stop erosion. This included digging small pits and building things to slow down water. Removing the animals helped the native plants grow back. Over 1 million trees and shrubs grew in the damaged area. Less dirt flowed into waterways and Aroona Dam.
In 1995, the South Australian Government made the area a sanctuary. It was for plants and animals. In less than 10 years, a very damaged area became healthy again. It could support many different native plants and animals. This project showed that damaged lands can be fixed. It is one of the best environmental recovery projects in dry areas.
At the same time, a program was raising yellow-footed rock-wallabies. This was happening at Monarto Safari Park. They had too many wallabies. The Royal Zoological Society of South Australia and scientists looked for a place to release them. Aroona Dam Sanctuary was chosen as the best spot. Yellow-footed rock-wallabies used to live there. But they disappeared because of wild goats, rabbits, foxes, and cats. Hunting also caused their numbers to drop.
A program started to control animals that might hunt the wallabies. These included wild cats and foxes. In 1996, a small group of wallabies was released. These wallabies had been raised in captivity. Scientists and volunteers watched them closely. They used radio collars to track them. Many people helped with this. This included local students, mine workers, and scientists from zoos around the world.
The Aroona Dam Sanctuary project became very well known. It won three state environmental awards. It also won a mining industry award for environmental excellence. It became one of Australia's most successful environmental projects. The Aroona Bio-Diversity Project also got help from the government. Local landowners supported it too. Today, NRG Flinders manages and funds the project.
Land damage is still a big environmental problem in Australia. It also causes rivers and creeks to fill with dirt. This leads to water shortages in many areas.
Images for kids
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A group of politicians inspecting the Leigh Creek coalfield in August 1913.
