Tent City

Initially in 1941, the only accommodation in Leigh Creek was rows of one and two man tents. There was no electricity and water was carted by tractor from Copley. When the exploratory drilling had finished and mining commenced the tent city soon doubled and tripled in size. Plans had been drawn for a permanent town that would accommodate 1,000 people. As the town grew the tent city remained on the northern fringe as tents continued to be used for accommodation for the decade.

“the tents have been there since work began on the coalfields. As the town has grown they have become more and more of an eyesore, but as they are free, some men prefer them to the single men’s quarters.”

— Noel Adams 1949

Building Blocks

After considerable investigations into different building materials, a choice was made by ETSA to use hollow concrete blocks as a building medium for the new township. A suitable site was located, and a factory designed and erected at Telford. A block making machine was purchased from America and a contractor produced the blocks using overburden shale baked using burning coal. While the baking method was a bit hit-and-miss, by 1946 over 15,000 blocks had been manufactured, or the equivalent of 1,000,000 building bricks. The first houses were completed in the township in 1944. During 1945, some electric light was installed, the single men’s quarters and the Australian Inland Mission (AIM) hospital were finished and by 1948 the nucleus of a town had been built. By 1949 the police station, school and community hall had also been completed.