Digging around Coober Pedy: Exploring life in the little opal mining town with a big profile.

Book condition is very good. soft cover. 1st edition. Ex-library copy with bar code on the bottom of the spine, barcode on the left front bottom corner of the front book board and ink library stamp on the first fly leaf page. Spine intact. Text body is clean and unmarked throughout the book. No dust jacket. Book laminated. Book block is clean and unmarked all sides of the book. Book weight is 0.535. Extra charges for over-sea shipping as the weight exceed 500grams. Over-all a neat copy of the book. Digging Around Coober Pedy: Exploring Life in the Little Opal Mining Town with a Big Profile is a biographical and historical book published in 2006 by Sandstone Press. Written by Anne Johnson, a former Oregon resident who immigrated to Australia in 1974, the book offers an intimate look into the rugged, eccentric world of Australia's famous underground opal mining hub. The Author and Her Connection to the Town Anne Johnson: Arrived from the US in 1974 and spent over 30 years living in Coober Pedy. Local Roles: Worked as a waitress, taught school for over a decade, and eventually opened an underground restaurant and the well-known Anne’s Dugout B&B. Personal Ties: Her late partner, Joe Golemac, was a local opal miner with whom she shared her outback life. Key Themes of the Book: The book chronicles what Johnson colorfully described as a "Kimberley Acropolis" lifestyle, balancing the harshness of the Australian outback with the tight-knit, vibrant community spirit of the town. It covers: The "Dugout" Culture: How the extreme desert climate (frequently exceeding 40°C/104°F) forced residents to carve out homes, shops, and churches entirely underground. The Eccentric Cast: Vignettes and real-life stories of fellow prospectors, artists, and international immigrants who moved to the middle of nowhere chasing "the flash" of premium Australian opal. The Reality of Mining: Moving past fictionalized tropes to show the daily, dusty grind of using pickaxes, blowers, and UV lights to strike it rich.…