Port Augusta
Monday June 18
Mayor Joy Baluch
Gayle Mather
Tahnee Jackson
Pauline Hedger
Vince Coulthard

Hawker
Tuesday June 19
Tracey Spencer

Blinman
Wednesday June 20
Lisa & Jordan
John & Michelle Henery
Blinman Community
Julian Todd

Leigh Creek
Thursday June 21
Nicole Slater and Laurie Cowan
Rex Guthrieand Michael Diorio
Overland Telegraph Descendents

Coral Fee
Visitor Information Centre Staff

Iga Warta
Friday June 22
Coulthard Family Members

Marree
Saturday June 23
Chelsea Rose
Jan White
Shirley Oldfield

William Creek
Sunday June 24
Helen Anderson
William Creek Hotel Staff

Oodnadatta
Monday June 25
SOTA Year 7 Class
Women of the Outback

Alan Wilson and Bev Kemble
Rosanne Woodforde
Oodnadatta Aboriginal School Student Representative Council
Ruby Plate and Adele McCallum
Dr Terry Cutler
Lynnie Plate

Mataranka
Tuesday June 26
Peg McFarlane
Maryanne Lewis

Alice Springs
Wednesday June 27
Brenton McRae
Alec Ross

Tennant Creek
Thursday June 28
Alderman Peter Davenport
SOTA Students and Parents
Jimmy Hooker

Katherine
Friday June 29
Bill Daw
Peter Haddow
Emma & Caitlyn Lowe
Norman Rosas

Pine Creek
Saturday June 30
Tex Moar
Bolda Hunter
Gaye Lawrence

Darwin
Sunday July 1
Duguid Children
John Ahnfeldt
Eddie Quong
Irene Patanzis
Katrina Fong Lim

 

Repeater Station - Chat Archive
 Chats and Forum Archives | Biographies | Special Dates

Room Visitor Information Centre Staff (11-12noon CST)
Topic Tourism in and around Leigh Creek
 Jun 21, 09:34: Coral has entered the room
 Jun 21, 09:34: Welcome Coral,
 Jun 21, 09:35: Coral> Good morning Karen
 Jun 21, 09:35: Karen> G'day Coral - good to see you!
 Jun 21, 09:36: Karen> If you go into 'options' you can change the refresh rate so it updates faster than 30 seconds.
 Jun 21, 09:36: Coral> What would you like to hear about?
 Jun 21, 09:36: Karen> What do you do at NRG?
 Jun 21, 09:37: Coral> OK - I am currently working on the mine site as
 Jun 21, 09:37: Elyse has entered the room
 Jun 21, 09:37: Welcome Elyse,
 Jun 21, 09:37: Coral> the General Managers secretary
 Jun 21, 09:37: Karen> Hi Elyse
 Jun 21, 09:37: Karen> How long have you been working there?
 Jun 21, 09:38: Coral> It is an interesting job. You get to have a good
 Jun 21, 09:38: Luke has entered the room
 Jun 21, 09:38: Welcome Luke,
 Jun 21, 09:38: Coral> understanding of what is going on with all the field
 Jun 21, 09:38: Coral> Hi Elyse, Hi Luke - where are you from
 Jun 21, 09:40: Luke> i'm from Gawler
 Jun 21, 09:42: Melanie has entered the room
 Jun 21, 09:42: Welcome Melanie,
 Jun 21, 09:42: Coral> Elyse - Leigh Creek is a town
 Jun 21, 09:42: Coral> Leigh Creek also is the name of the coalfield that is 24km away from the town
 Jun 21, 09:42: Coral> The town was built to house the people who work at the mine
 Jun 21, 09:43: Melanie> Goodmorning Coral, what does NRG stand for?
 Jun 21, 09:43: Coral> HI Melaine - where are you from?
 Jun 21, 09:44: Melanie> I'm from good old Adelaide
 Jun 21, 09:44: Coral> Hey Luke my younger sister lives at Williamstown. I bet you are cold
 Jun 21, 09:44: Karen> How do you like living in Leigh Creek Coral? Have you lived there long?
 Jun 21, 09:45: Coral> NRG doesn't stand for anything! we were all dissapointed when we found that out.
 Jun 21, 09:45: Karen> So is it supposed to be like 'energy'?
 Jun 21, 09:45: Coral> I enjoy living here and have stayed for 20 years. That makes me feel ancient!!!!
 Jun 21, 09:46: Melanie> Coral, you will have to make something up
 Jun 21, 09:46: Elyse has left the room
 Jun 21, 09:46: Coral> NRG Engergy our parent company is based in the USA at Minneapolis
 Jun 21, 09:46: Karen> Where did you live before Leigh Creek?
 Jun 21, 09:47: Coral> In fact Karen when you say the words NRG out loud it sounds just like energy. Since we are in the mining business which creates electricity (energy) its remarkable
 Jun 21, 09:47: Coral> Before Leigh Creek I was a city girl (Adelaide)
 Jun 21, 09:48: Karen> You've been there for 20 years so you must love it!
 Jun 21, 09:49: Coral> NRG is a world wide company with businesses in many countries, places such as Germany, Czech Republic, England, Turkey,
 Jun 21, 09:50: Melanie> Does nrg employ lots of leigh creek people?
 Jun 21, 09:50: Coral> Leigh Creek is a great place to live, we are in the open bush area with the Flinders Ranges as our backyard.
 Jun 21, 09:51: Coral> Leigh Creek is developing as a Tourist town and a lot of people are enjoying coming here.
 Jun 21, 09:51: Luke> What would the population be?
 Jun 21, 09:51: Melanie> How many hours away from adelaide is Leigh creek?
 Jun 21, 09:52: Coral> We have tennis courts, basketball stadium, squash courts, ovals, cricket pitch, golf and pistol clubs, and an olympic size swimming pool - great in the summer when the temp is hot hot hot.
 Jun 21, 09:52: Coral> If you were driving you would take 6 hours to get here
 Jun 21, 09:52: Bob has entered the room
 Jun 21, 09:52: Welcome Bob,
 Jun 21, 09:52: Coral> Population is around 600 people
 Jun 21, 09:52: Bongo has entered the room
 Jun 21, 09:52: Welcome Bongo,
 Jun 21, 09:53: Coral> Hi Bob - where are you from?
 Jun 21, 09:54: Coral> NRG is the main employer at Leigh Creek and currently we have 200 employees. Truck drivers, shovel operators, maintenanc people, office staff and people to look after the houses
 Jun 21, 09:54: Bob> I've heard that the town of Leigh Creek lacks passion for its history because it is a company town ... is this true?
 Jun 21, 09:54: Bob> I'm from the Adelaide Hills
 Jun 21, 09:54: Coral> We also have an area school which takes children from kindy right through to year 12
 Jun 21, 09:54: Bongo has left the room
 Jun 21, 09:54: Bongo has entered the room
 Jun 21, 09:54: Welcome Bongo,
 Jun 21, 09:55: Coral> Like Luke you also must be cold Bob up there in the hills - our temperature two days ago was -1 degree
 Jun 21, 09:55: Bongo> wow ... it's hard work getting into this room .... aaaah ... but I'm here now! ... g'day Coral
 Jun 21, 09:56: Coral> In the past Bob that may have been true. But as luck would have it I have been researching our history and the people back at the start were very enthusiastic about the place
 Jun 21, 09:56: Bob> yeah ... it's very cold at the moment ...
 Jun 21, 09:57: Karen> I had no idea there were 600 people in Leigh Creek! We were 'in' Blinman yesterday and they've got a population of about 16!
 Jun 21, 09:57: Coral> We have gone through a process of downsizing the workforce which has created a sense of loss, but we are now stable and the passion/community spirit is coming back
 Jun 21, 09:57: Bob> I'm sitting in front of a log fire ... very cosy
 Jun 21, 09:57: Trevor has entered the room
 Jun 21, 09:57: Welcome Trevor,
 Jun 21, 09:57: Luke> yeah, i actually live at the edge of the barossa valley and it occasionally gets down to zero in th mornings
 Jun 21, 09:58: Bob> what are you actually doing to revitalise this passion
 Jun 21, 09:58: Coral> We are hosting a stockmans dinner tomorrow night and it has been a sell out 150 people have booked us out. It will be a fun night
 Jun 21, 09:59: Karen> What are you going to do with your history research Coral?
 Jun 21, 09:59: Bongo> can you tell us something about the big "tonka" toys in the coalfields - I saw one once and the scale of these trucks is unbelievable
 Jun 21, 09:59: Coral> Sorry bob- we hold various community events such as the stockmans dinner. Every Xmas the action group puts on a xmas pageant with the whole region entering floats, afterwards we have a party on the oval with a huge fireworks display
 Jun 21, 10:00: Coral> A fire log or otherwise would be magic right now I'm freezing sitting here in the Cafe
 Jun 21, 10:01: ann has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:01: Welcome ann,
 Jun 21, 10:01: Coral> They are certainly big tonka toys. Holding a 240tonne capacity the tryes are 58" in height and weigh 5 tonnes each. 2500 hp engines.
 Jun 21, 10:01: Coral> Karen we are having posters made up of the history to display
 Jun 21, 10:02: ann> Hi Coral and everyone
 Jun 21, 10:03: Coral> Hi Ann where are you from?
 Jun 21, 10:03: Karen> What made you go into the mining industry, Coral?
 Jun 21, 10:04: ann> Coral - I read some intresting history of leigh Creek - there were a lot of DPs (displaced persons) who went there after WW2 - apparently it was a bit like the Snowy Mountains Scheme - are there many of thos DPs still living in LC? Coral, I'm in Adelaide
 Jun 21, 10:04: Coral> We use the big Tonka toys to move coal and overburden from the mine. In 1999 we had to upgrade our crusher facility to take the weight of the trucks.
 Jun 21, 10:05: ann> Coral - I might have missed it - what is your role at the mine
 Jun 21, 10:05: Coral> Basically my husband got a job here and after the children I decided to ensure the grey matter didnt deteriorate and went back to TAFE to upgrade my skills. I then found employment at the mine.
 Jun 21, 10:06: Coral> Sadly I think now all of our DP's have left the area. I agree Ann it was a great part of our history. A few people here today, remember these people.
 Jun 21, 10:08: Coral> Currently I am the General Managers Secretary. I am usually found at the Town Services office helping people with housing, accommodation and all that type of stuff
 Jun 21, 10:08: jason has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:08: Welcome jason,
 Jun 21, 10:09: Liam has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:09: Welcome Liam,
 Jun 21, 10:09: jason> hey guys
 Jun 21, 10:09: Coral> Hi Jason - how are you and where are you from
 Jun 21, 10:09: jason> whats up
 Jun 21, 10:09: jason> adeladie
 Jun 21, 10:09: Liam> Hello
 Jun 21, 10:09: jason> u?
 Jun 21, 10:10: Coral> Hi Jason - we are discussing life and living at Leigh Creek - a coal mining town in the northern Flinders Ranges
 Jun 21, 10:10: Liam> I'm from adelaid too
 Jun 21, 10:10: jason> where r u from
 Jun 21, 10:10: jason> what scgool
 Jun 21, 10:10: Coral> Jason - Iam the one living in Leigh Creek!
 Jun 21, 10:10: jason> school
 Jun 21, 10:11: Luke has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:11: Coral> I work at the coal mine Jason
 Jun 21, 10:12: Liam> What school do you go to Jason
 Jun 21, 10:12: Coral> Rude question Jason - I have been in Leigh Creek 20yrs
 Jun 21, 10:13: Karen> How old are your kids now Coral?
 Jun 21, 10:13: michael has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:13: Welcome michael,
 Jun 21, 10:13: Coral> Our coal is sent to Port Augusta Power Station via the longest train in Australia - 161 wagons!
 Jun 21, 10:14: Coral> The train runs once per day 364 days a year. Last year we cancelled it for xmas day for the first time.
 Jun 21, 10:14: Coral> Employee numbers at the coalfield are 200 people
 Jun 21, 10:15: Karen> How 'hands on' do you get with the mining - you've got a pretty sound knowledge of operations!
 Jun 21, 10:15: Coral> Since we upgraded our truck and shovel fleet to the much larger size we didn't need the numbers of people to run the field like before.
 Jun 21, 10:17: daniel has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:17: Welcome daniel,
 Jun 21, 10:17: Karen> Hi Michael, where are you from?
 Jun 21, 10:17: Coral> thank you Karen. Hands on? I have never driven a truck or operated a shovel, but I find our work very interesting. Plus having to take minutes at meetings for both operations and maintenance sections a lot rubs off or sticks in your mind!
 Jun 21, 10:17: daniel has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:18: jason has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:19: Karen> How long have you been working for NRG?
 Jun 21, 10:19: Keith has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:19: Welcome Keith,
 Jun 21, 10:19: michael> this is weird
 Jun 21, 10:20: Kate has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:20: Welcome Kate,
 Jun 21, 10:20: Coral> Trevor I am not sure but will check for you hopefully before my time finishes here this morning.
 Jun 21, 10:20: Bubble has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:21: Coral> Hi Kate - welcome. Where do you come from?
 Jun 21, 10:21: Liam>
 Jun 21, 10:22: Karen> What did Trevor ask you? He must have whispered it!
 Jun 21, 10:22: Liam> ):
 Jun 21, 10:23: Liam> (b)
 Jun 21, 10:23: 6anorth has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:23: Welcome 6anorth,
 Jun 21, 10:23: Liam> Kate where do you mcome frome
 Jun 21, 10:24: Coral> If you are interesting in getting some information on Leigh Creek in particular the mine - you can write to NRG Flinders at PO Box 21 Leigh Ceek 5731 attention Mrs D Smith and she will send some out to you.
 Jun 21, 10:24: Keith has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:24: 6anorth> Hi Kate. I come from Adelaide. I am now on line at school
 Jun 21, 10:24: Coral> Trevor asked what size our railway wagons are
 Jun 21, 10:24: Liam> Kate where do you come from
 Jun 21, 10:25: Liam> KATE WHERE DO YOU COME FROM
 Jun 21, 10:25: ann has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:27: Liam> 6anorth what school do you go to
 Jun 21, 10:27: michael has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:27: Karen> Okay guys, we need to let Coral get back to work so are there any last questions before we let her go?
 Jun 21, 10:28: Coral> Just found out that our rail wagons are loaded to 63tonnes.
 Jun 21, 10:28: michael has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:28: Welcome michael,
 Jun 21, 10:28: 6anorth> Who are you
 Jun 21, 10:29: 6anorth> '
 Jun 21, 10:29: Coral> Thats a lot of coal for the Port Augusta Power Station to burn -
 Jun 21, 10:30: michael> i just needed to go to the toilet
 Jun 21, 10:30: Kate has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:32: Kate has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:32: Welcome Kate,
 Jun 21, 10:35: Coral> Karen there does'nt seem to be any more questions
 Jun 21, 10:35: Natalie has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:35: Welcome Natalie,
 Jun 21, 10:36: Karen> Thanks Coral for your time today - it's been great having you in the chatroom!!
 Jun 21, 10:36: Bubble has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:36: michael has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:36: Coral> Hi Natelie - where are you from? I am living and working at Leigh Creek
 Jun 21, 10:36: Natalie> Hi my name is natalie i live in south australia
 Jun 21, 10:37: Karen> Has anyone been to Leigh Creek before?
 Jun 21, 10:37: Natalie> no
 Jun 21, 10:37: Roger has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:37: Welcome Roger,
 Jun 21, 10:37: Liam has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:38: Natalie> is anyone going to talk to me
 Jun 21, 10:39: Karen> Trevor where did you work?
 Jun 21, 10:39: Karen> Hi Natalie - talk to Coral about Leigh Creek!
 Jun 21, 10:39: Coral> What would you like to know about Leigh Creek natalie
 Jun 21, 10:39: tanita has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:39: Welcome tanita,
 Jun 21, 10:40: jaimee louise has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:40: Welcome jaimee louise,
 Jun 21, 10:41: Coral> Hi welcome tanita and jaimee lousie - where are you from?
 Jun 21, 10:41: Karen> Natalie would like to know anything about Leigh Creek, Coral!
 Jun 21, 10:41: jaimee louise> hi my name is jaimee whats yours
 Jun 21, 10:41: tanita> how many years of coal are still there?
 Jun 21, 10:41: Coral> Leigh Creek is a coal mine and town in the northern flinders ranges.
 Jun 21, 10:41: Coral> We are owned by an company called NRG which is based in Minneapolis USA
 Jun 21, 10:42: tanita> I'm at augusta park primary school
 Jun 21, 10:42: Coral> We expect that there is another 20 years of coal here at Leigh Creek
 Jun 21, 10:43: Coral> You are not that far from us Tanita - have you visited before?
 Jun 21, 10:44: tanita> my instructor says burning your coal is like trying to burn mud
 Jun 21, 10:44: Karen> Coral do you have much contact with the USA base in Minneapolis?
 Jun 21, 10:44: tanita> no but other students in my have
 Jun 21, 10:44: Coral> We use very large trucks called Unit Rigs to take the coal from the pit to the crusher they hold 240tonnes of coal or overburden
 Jun 21, 10:45: tanita> hi jaimee
 Jun 21, 10:46: Coral> We have to report each week to our "boses" in queensland who in return report direct to the USA. We have had people from America visit, they are very interested in our operations
 Jun 21, 10:46: tanita> how many schools are in Leigh creek?
 Jun 21, 10:46: ann has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:46: Welcome ann,
 Jun 21, 10:47: jaimee louise has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:47: Coral> We also have direct assess to the company information via the internet and web site.
 Jun 21, 10:47: Natalie has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:47: Coral> We have one school in Leigh Creek which caters for kids from year 1 right up to year 12
 Jun 21, 10:48: Roger> Good morning to you all up there in the good country.
 Jun 21, 10:48: tanita> we have all your coal blow over our houses after the power station has burnt it
 Jun 21, 10:48: Coral> Hi Roger - sounds like you have been here before
 Jun 21, 10:49: tanita> how many students are there?
 Jun 21, 10:49: Coral> That doesnt sound too good tanita. Maybe it is your wind that blows it around?
 Jun 21, 10:49: tanita> is there a miss Moody still at the school?
 Jun 21, 10:49: Karen> Okay everyone, we really need to let Coral get back to work - hope you will all come back to chat with staff from Leigh Creek's Visitor Information Centre at 11am!!
 Jun 21, 10:50: Karen> Thank you for your time with us this morning Coral, it's been most appreciated!
 Jun 21, 10:50: Roger> Coral That I have many times in my younger days when I visited lots of the sheep stations up that way and beyond
 Jun 21, 10:51: Coral> bye every one and thanks for the chat
 Jun 21, 10:51: Abdul has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:51: Welcome Abdul,
 Jun 21, 10:51: glenda has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:51: Welcome glenda,
 Jun 21, 10:51: tanita> no its just the main winds are from the south. we get used to the acid rain and fine coating of coal dust on our washing lines.
 Jun 21, 10:52: Roger has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:52: Coral> See Ya
 Jun 21, 10:52: tanita> just kidding
 Jun 21, 10:52: Coral has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:52: Trevor has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:52: Jolanda has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:52: Welcome Jolanda ,
 Jun 21, 10:52: glenda has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:52: tanita has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:53: Karen> You're all welcome to hang around and chat if you like - I'll leave the room open - our next guests are due in at 11am
 Jun 21, 10:53: glenda has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:53: Welcome glenda,
 Jun 21, 10:53: Jolanda > sorry I missed the chat
 Jun 21, 10:54: glenda has left the room
 Jun 21, 10:55: Emma has entered the room
 Jun 21, 10:55: Welcome Emma,
 Jun 21, 10:55: Karen> Never mind Jolanda - there are always more!!
 Jun 21, 10:55: Jolanda > Hi Tanita I taught at Augusta Park PS some years ago .

 

Created by Kate Dibben, Open Access College, South Australia, Australia
email: kdibben@oac.sa.edu.au