In September 1976 ETSA decided that the town of Leigh Creek would be moved to allow the coalfield to expand. A new site was selected, south near Windy Creek, in 1977 and in 1979 contracts worth $10 million were signed to start building a new town. In July the following year the first families relocated to the new town. When most of the residents had been relocated the “Old Leigh Creek” township was sold. In September 1982 more than 1000 people attended the first town auction and in the weeks that followed the town slowly disappeared. A second auction was held in June 1983 and when the last town item was sold it signalled the “End of an Era”. Forty years of hard work, dust, sweat and tears had gone with only memories remaining.*

A house in Fourth St and Peter & Rhonda Smiths’ old house at 28 Sixth St were bought by Bill Hickey and his brother in law Bob. They were “twin” L-shaped houses built on concrete floors so they had to be dismantled for transportation. The dismantled houses were loaded onto an Irvine Transport semi and trucked to Crystal Brook to be reassembled. As luck would have it Kevin Waters provided the original construction plans for the two houses and they were able to be reconstructed with relative ease.

Transition to a New Town

In 1976, when the decision was made to move the Old Town, a number of established Leigh Creek residents, including Enid Blieschke, Rosalie Patterson and Kevin Waters, assisted with planning transition to a new town. A Site Selection Advisory Committee considered 18 possible sites before selecting the final location, near Windy Creek. This area was selected for its excellent views, a sense of natural enclosure, a rocky ridge for the new Town Centre and the tree lined creek to the South known as Morgan’s Creek. Approximately 300-400 native species were assessed as most suitable for the environment, with about 100,000 plants per year being produced from seeds and cuttings at the ETSA Nursery. When planted they helped blend the new town structure into the landscape. Civil works commenced in 1979 and the first houses were completed and occupied in July 1980. By 1983 the transition was complete and Leigh Creek had started a new chapter in its history.