First White Child Born at Cooper Pedy, South Australia.
Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : Wednesday 22 June 1932)
BABY BORN IN ROCKY CAVE
Mother's Ordeal At Coober Pedy
A HARD LIFE
ADELAIDE, Tuesday.
Alone in a cave below the earth at the Coober Pedy opal fields in Central Australis, a woman gare birth to a son.
News has just been received in Adelaide that -a month ago on a sunny Sunday- morning Herbert Coo- ber Wilson wat born in a cavern 7ft. by 7ft. hewn from solid rock eight feet below sea level.
In its 20 years' history this is the first child bom at Coober Pedy opal fields, 800 miles north of Adelaide, in the Stuart Ranges.
Of 100 men and seven women, all living in caves-one of the most curious place on earth-no one knew that a baby was expected, the mother being a stranger.
During the crisis an elder child was hurriedly sent the round of the camps' to borrow "a little brandy and a doctor's book."
There was no brandy. Strong drink is never encouraged on the fields.
With the "doctor's book" and young children about her, the woman, Mrs. Herbert Wilson, went through her darkest hour. The baby is a beautiful child.
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/104368/20090821-1546/www.oldtimersmine.com/rg.html
Ron Gough and some Coober Pedy history:
Ron was one of the real old timers. A Coober Pedy miner and one of the towns individual characters. His first visit to Coober Pedy was in June 1954 travelling from North Queensland with his friend Bert Wilson who was the first white person to be born in the mining town. In 1931 Bert's parents owned and operated the General Store and Post Office.
In 1955 Ron purchased for sixty-five pounds, the business lease of one acre which included four dugouts over the area of the General Store. He went into partnership with Bert to run and own the store, this stood on the site where the Desert Cave now has above ground apartments.
It was in 1957 that Ron´s T model Ford was in a head on collision with a vehicle driven by Steve Matusiak who for some reason had forgotten which side of the road he should be driving on. Although the cars were not going very fast the T Model broke her back. The partners decided that a better location would be where the Opal Inn Bottle shop now stands and so a move was made. This store was sold in 1965 to Beppi Coro.
The partnership with Bert was also a mining venture with the opal profits being split three ways between Ron, Bert and the store. The store supplying all expenses with Ron and Bert doing the mining. It was during this time when money was tight that Ron worked on Mabel Creek Station, cutting fence posts for 1/- (10 cents) each, until he had saved enough to go back mining.
