Roxby Downs, South Australia
Roxby Downs is a mining town in outback South Australia, 563 kilometres north of the state capital Adelaide. The town has a highly transient population of around 4,000 people, almost one third of whom are under the age of fifteen.
Roxby Downs is often referred to as the most 'modern town of the outback' and it has many leisure and community facilities including swimming, cinema, cultural precinct, community radio, shopping centre, schools, TAFE, cafes and sporting clubs and facilities. There are just two neighbouring towns in the area: Andamooka, an opal mining town about 30 km to the east, and Woomera, 84 km south of Roxby Downs. Andamooka people call the town home, and many are of European background since the days of early opal mining.
History
The town of Roxby Downs was built in 1987 (land survey commenced in November 1986) to service the Olympic Dam mine and processing plant, located 16 kilometres north of the site of the town. Roxby Downs was officially opened on 5 November 1988. The opening was celebrated with a "town party" held on the main oval and sponsored by the then owners of the operation Olympic Dam Project (O.D.P.). The town is subject to a specific Indenture Act and is administered by the Municipal Council of Roxby Downs in the form of an appointed Administrator.
