Roxby Downs, South Australia
Encyclopedia
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 has numerous leisure
and community
facilities including swimming, cinema
, cultural precinct, community radio
, shopping centre, schools, TAFE, cafes and sporting clubs and facilities. There are merely two neighbouring towns in the area: Andamooka, an opal
mining
town approximately 30km to the east, and Woomera
, 84km south of Roxby Downs.
mine and processing plant, located 16 kilometres north of the site of the town. Roxby Downs was officially opened on November 5, 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.
, lighting
, electricity
, water
, etc. The state government
provided the recreation facilities, educational facilities, policing and the town administration. In 2005 a community management structure was initiated to implement a Community Plan developed during 2004 and 2005. The structure consists of a series of volunteers committees, appointed by the Administrator, known as the Community Board and Community Forums.
electoral district of Giles
and federal
Division of Grey
.
sponsored the first Roxby Billycart Bash, in Roxby Downs. The event saw over a hundred downhill racers hurtle down the only hill in town in home made or purchased billycarts. The event raised money for the Roxby Downs Health Service Auxiliary.
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, 563 kilometres north of the state capital Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. 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
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
' and has numerous leisure
Leisure
Leisure, or free time, is time spent away from business, work, and domestic chores. It is also the periods of time before or after necessary activities such as eating, sleeping and, where it is compulsory, education....
and community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
facilities including swimming, cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, cultural precinct, community radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, shopping centre, schools, TAFE, cafes and sporting clubs and facilities. There are merely two neighbouring towns in the area: Andamooka, an opal
Opal
Opal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. 3% to 21% of the total weight is water, but the content is usually between 6% to 10%. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most...
mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
town approximately 30km to the east, and Woomera
Woomera, South Australia
The town, or village, of Woomera is located in the south east corner of the Woomera Prohibited Area ; colloquially known as the Woomera Rocket Range...
, 84km south of Roxby Downs.
History
The town of Roxby Downs was built in 1987 (land survey commenced in November 1986) to service the Olympic DamOlympic Dam, South Australia
Olympic Dam is a mining centre in South Australia located some 550 km NNW of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is the site of an extremely large iron oxide copper gold deposit producing copper, uranium, gold and silver. The site hosts an underground mine as well as an...
mine and processing plant, located 16 kilometres north of the site of the town. Roxby Downs was officially opened on November 5, 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
Municipal Council of Roxby Downs
The Municipal Council of Roxby Downs is the local government area covering the town of Roxby Downs and the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia. It has an area of 110 km², and an estimated population of 4,484. The municipality was established in 1982....
in the form of an appointed Administrator.
Facilities
Roxby Downs is unique in South Australian history. Never before has a township and its administration been set up from scratch as a joint venture between the state government and a mining company. O.D.P. provided the infrastructure for the town including the housingHouse
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, lighting
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...
, electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
, water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, etc. The state government
State government
A state government is the government of a subnational entity in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or be subject to the direct control of the federal government...
provided the recreation facilities, educational facilities, policing and the town administration. In 2005 a community management structure was initiated to implement a Community Plan developed during 2004 and 2005. The structure consists of a series of volunteers committees, appointed by the Administrator, known as the Community Board and Community Forums.
Politics
Roxby Downs is in the stateSouth Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
electoral district of Giles
Electoral district of Giles
Giles is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. The electorate, named after explorer Ernest Giles, is the largest in South Australia, covering a 500,738.0km² swathe of outback South Australia...
and federal
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
Division of Grey
Division of Grey
The Division of Grey is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Sir George Grey, who was Governor of South Australia 1841-45 ....
.
Health
On 28 March, 2010, Sodexo and Billycart KidsBillycart Kids
Billycart Kids is an Australian company who make and distribute billycarts.-Etymology:The term "billycart" originates from the Australian billygoat-pulled cart of the 1880s...
sponsored the first Roxby Billycart Bash, in Roxby Downs. The event saw over a hundred downhill racers hurtle down the only hill in town in home made or purchased billycarts. The event raised money for the Roxby Downs Health Service Auxiliary.