Roxby Downs, South Australia

The town of Roxby Downs was built in 1986-88 (land survey commenced in November 1986) with the aim of servicing the Olympic Dam mine and processing plant, located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north of the site of the town. Roxby Downs was officially opened on 5 November 1988.^[9] 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.).^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^[12]

Roxby Downs is located within the federal division of Grey, the state electoral district of Giles and the state government region of the Far North, and with land within the town of Roxby Downs being located in the local government area of the Municipal Council of Roxby Downs and the remainder of the locality of Roxby Downs being located in the Pastoral Unincorporated Area of South Australia.^[6][1][5]

Roxby Downs is in an area, like many other arid zones in Australia, that was very badly overgrazed by sheep and cattle during the nineteenth century, as pastoralism was introduced by European settlers. This caused many long-lived species of trees and shrubs to give way to short-lived annual plants and weed species. It was estimated that there were once at least 27 species of Australian mammals in the region, but by 2016 over 60 percent had become either completely or locally extinct since European settlement.^[13]

Introduced feral rabbits, cats and foxes exacerbated the threat to both flora and fauna. Some bird species, including the bush thick-knee and plains wanderer, are now either locally extinct or classed as an endangered species, and many of the medium-sized desert mammals are now completely extinct or only exist on a few islands of Australia.^[13]

The Arid Recovery Reserve is a wildlife conservation reserve 20 km (12 mi) north of Roxby Downs, about 550 km (340 mi) north of Adelaide. As of 2024, the fenced area of the reserve consists of 123 km² (47 sq mi) of arid land.^[14][13] The initiative known as Arid Recovery was established in 1997 by Katherine Moseby and John Read, whose vision was the creation of a reserve dedicated to restoring the ecosystem, which meant keeping feral animals such as rabbits, cats and foxes out. WMC Resources, the South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage, the University of Adelaide and a community group formed a committee. The first reserve was created when fences were constructed around 14 km² (5.4 sq mi), and it has grown from there. The current (2024) board of directors consists of mainly independent directors, but also has representatives from Bush Heritage Australia, BHP, Adelaide University, and the Department for Environment and Water. Its three-pronged focus is on conservation, research and education.^[15]

 

In October 2020, nine bilbies – four males and five females – were released into the Arid Recovery Reserve, with the aim of increasing the gene pool. The first bilbies had been brought in 2000, with a second group ten years later, and this is the third release. These bilbies were caught on Thistle Island, which has a very large population of the marsupials.^[16]

Heavy rainfall in January 2022 led to the reserve's annual survey finding the second highest number of native animals in 25 years, with particularly high numbers of reptiles such as skinks and geckos.^[17]

Roxby Downs has a subtropical desert climate (Köppen: BWh), with very hot summers and mild winters. There is large seasonal variation due to the town's inland location. Average maxima vary between 36.9 °C (98.4 °F) in January and 18.5 °C (65.3 °F) in June while average minima fluctuate between 21.3 °C (70.3 °F) in January and 4.3 °C (39.7 °F) in July. The mean annual precipitation is very low: 149.3 millimetres (5.88 in), though is well-distributed across the year, occurring within 42.3 precipitation days. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 48.5 °C (119.3 °F) on 25 January 2011 to −6.0 °C (21.2 °F) on 30 June 2002.^[18] Climate data was sourced from the nearby Olympic Dam mine north of the town.

• Official website