Roxby Downs, South Australia
| Roxby Downs South Australia | |||||||||||||||
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  Roxby Downs | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 30°33′S 136°54′E / 30.550°S 136.900°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 4,500 est (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1987 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 5725[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Municipal Council of Roxby Downs | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Giles | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Grey | ||||||||||||||
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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.[3]
Roxby Downs is often referred to as the most 'modern town of the outback'[Newman is better] 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.[4]
Water supply
Water is extracted from the Great Artesian Basin and desalinated by the operators of the Olympic Dam mine. It is then supplied via pipeline. In 2004, the township was estimated to consume a daily average of 3 megalitres.[5]
Climate
Like most of inland South Australia, Roxby Downs has a desert climate, with little rainfall all year round, however Roxby Downs is in one of the driest areas of the state. Summers are scorching hot, with temperatures over 45 °C, while winters can be cold with temperatures below freezing
| Climate data for Roxby Downs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 48.5 (119.3) |
46.5 (115.7) |
43.2 (109.8) |
40.0 (104.0) |
33.0 (91.4) |
27.0 (80.6) |
28.0 (82.4) |
33.0 (91.4) |
39.0 (102.2) |
42.0 (107.6) |
45.0 (113.0) |
46.0 (114.8) |
48.5 (119.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 37.2 (99.0) |
35.7 (96.3) |
31.9 (89.4) |
27.3 (81.1) |
22.4 (72.3) |
18.5 (65.3) |
18.4 (65.1) |
20.8 (69.4) |
25.2 (77.4) |
28.0 (82.4) |
32.0 (89.6) |
34.2 (93.6) |
27.6 (81.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21.1 (70.0) |
20.3 (68.5) |
16.9 (62.4) |
12.5 (54.5) |
8.1 (46.6) |
4.9 (40.8) |
4.2 (39.6) |
5.5 (41.9) |
9.3 (48.7) |
12.4 (54.3) |
16.6 (61.9) |
18.6 (65.5) |
12.5 (54.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 11.5 (52.7) |
11.0 (51.8) |
5.0 (41.0) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
2.6 (36.7) |
6.0 (42.8) |
8.0 (46.4) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 10.8 (0.43) |
21.1 (0.83) |
7.4 (0.29) |
14.9 (0.59) |
8.1 (0.32) |
17.5 (0.69) |
8.0 (0.31) |
8.3 (0.33) |
9.9 (0.39) |
13.8 (0.54) |
15.2 (0.60) |
14.9 (0.59) |
150.1 (5.91) |
| Average precipitation days | 2.2 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 42.7 |
| Source: [6] | |||||||||||||
Politics
Roxby Downs is in the state electoral district of Giles and federal Division of Grey.
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Roxby Downs (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ^ Roxby Downs Postcode Australia Post
- ^ Population by Age and Sex, South Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
- ^ Roxby Downs (Indenture Ratification) Act 1982 Archived 25 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Day, B. "WATER MANAGEMENT AT AUSTRALIAN URANIUM MINES – WATER MANAGEMENT IN ARID REGIONS" (PDF). IAEA. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
- ^ "Climate statistics for Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam Aerodrome)". Bureau of Meteorology. April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.