Not many South Australians have visited Andamooka, way up in the outback.
But, as it turns out, people who have grown up in the town have also missed a lot of their history, if the first female opal miner, Minnie Berrington, is anything to go by.
Lara Lukich joins us to dig into Andamooka’s history.
In the SA Drink Of The Week, we have a quick sip of 2016 DiGiorgio Sparkling Merlot, from Coonawarra.
And in the Musical Pilgrimage, Dino Jag returns with a Sam Cooke cover. Wow!
You can navigate episodes using chapter markers in your podcast app. Not a fan of wine? You can click next to jump to the next chapter in the show. We’re here to serve!
And please consider becoming part of our podcast by joining our Inner Circle. It’s an email list. Join it and you might get an email on a Sunday or Monday seeking question ideas, guest ideas and requests for other bits of feedback about YOUR podcast, The Adelaide Show. Email us directly and we’ll add you to the list: [email protected]
If you enjoy the show, please leave us a 5-star review in iTunes or other podcast sites, or buy some great merch from our Red Bubble store – The Adelaide Show Shop. We’d greatly appreciate it.
And please talk about us and share our episodes on social media, it really helps build our community. Oh, and here’s our index of all episode in one concise page
Running Sheet: A Minnie History Of Andamooka
00:00:00 Intro
Introduction to the show.
00:03:00 SA Drink Of The Week
The SA Drink Of The Week is the 2016 DiGorgio Sparkling Merlot, Coonawarra.
00:04:16 Lara Lukich
Andamooka has a reputation as a town in South Australia’s north that is home to opal and “characters”. While big companies tried their hands at mining opal in the area, the nature of the opal fields is such that they’re best suited to independent miners, trying their luck. In the mix of this history was a woman, Minnie Berrington, who left clerical work in England in 1926 to become the postmistress and first female opal miner in the town. Lara Lukich (with Katalin Wilby) has a project to capture the life and work of Minnie B, through the company, Cinematica Films, and ahead of this weekend’s Andamooka Opal Festival, she’s joining us to shine some light on this jewel in South Australia’s crown.
Link to the Minnie Berrington Project.
Link to details about the 2021 Andamooka Opal Festival
Link to our Arkaroola episode
Let’s get the lay of the land sorted first. How far are you from Adelaide and surrounding landmarks?
What do you see when you first arrive?
What would Minnie Berrington have seen and experienced?
What captured your imaginations about Minnie? (The Sand That Ate The Sea)
How do the people of Andamooka govern themselves? Is there something we can learn?
Is mining still central to life in the town?
And what about art? I see there is an Andamooka Tiger on display as part of this weekend’s Andamooka Opal Festival. Is this a sign of a healthy artistic element in town?
Us westerners value opals for their monetary worth. Is that just because they’re pretty? Or is there something intrinsincly valuable about them, for example, do you have any idea how they have been thought about by the traditional owners of the land?
Tell us about the weekend’s event AND the raffle we can all join.
01:18:52 Musical Pilgrimage
In the musical pilgrimage, Dino Jag returns with a soulful version of the Sam Cooke classic, A Change Is Gonna Come.
BREAKING NEWS! Excited to announce Dino Jag’s nomination for the 2021 PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS in the category of “SOUL/FUNK/R&B ARTIST” at this year’s Music SA South Australian Music Awards 
Dino would be truly honoured if you would support him with a vote 
Here’s this week’s preview video
No official promo video this week, so here’s Dino’s song.
SFX: Throughout the podcast we use free SFX from freesfx.co.uk for the harp, the visa stamp, the silent movie music, the stylus, the radio signal SFX, the wine pouring and cork pulling SFX, and the swooshes around Siri.