Di's Dugouts

23/08/2026

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22/08/2026

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19/08/2026

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07/07/2026

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Located in the South Australian outback, Coober Pedy regularly experiences summer temperatures above 40 degrees. Rather than fighting the heat, many residents simply dug homes directly into the hillsides. These underground houses, known as "dugouts", stay remarkably comfortable year-round without the need for constant cooling.

What started as a practical solution eventually became the town's identity.

Today you'll find underground homes, underground churches, underground hotels, underground bars and even underground museums. From the road, parts of Coober Pedy barely look inhabited at all. Then you discover that entire neighbourhoods are hidden beneath your feet.

The town itself was built on opal mining, and many of the original dugouts began as mining excavations. People realised the tunnels stayed cool during the day and warm at night, so they simply expanded them into homes.

It's one of the most uniquely Australian responses imaginable.

The desert became almost unliveable.

So Australians dug a giant burrow and carried on as normal.

04/07/2026

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