Monitor The
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Volume 11, Thursday 21st September, 2006
Population surges for shutdown Written by Stuart Deed
I Love the Knight Life success The cast of Roxby Downs Area School’s “I Love the Knight Life” performed brilliantly during the Friday night performance to a near capacity crowd at the Leisure Centre’s Auditorium.
Directed by Joslyn Fox and Stephen Bice and set in the mythical Court of Camelot, the play featured a very amusing Elvis Presley-obsessed King Arthur (Josh Bishop). On his wedding day to Queen
Guinevere, Arthur is cursed and his people will be forced to suffer a fate worse than death - a lifetime of the King’s favourite songs!
For more information see Arts - Page 15.
The shutdown of the Smelter at the Olympic Dam mine has brought an additional 900 workers and contractors into Roxby Downs and the surrounding towns. Businesses providing housing and hospitality are the most likely to benefit from the influx but there are also potential downsides to having more people in town. Manager of the Myall Grove Caravan Park, John Knowles, said all the permanent beds in the park were in use during the shutdown. “At the moment we are fully booked out, except for the powered sites which we keep open for tourists when they come in. “We’ve been busy all year but BHP Billiton is still looking for more beds to put people in – they just can’t get enough,” Mr Knowles said. The majority of the bookings for Myall Grove, Mr Knowles said, went to BHP Billiton contractors, but there were a few drilling operators who also housed workers in the park. An unexpected bonus for residents of the park had been the presence of roving security staff, hired by BHP Billiton, to patrol the park at night and increase safety and responsible behaviour. “BHP Billiton is a great company to work with because they do everything they can to look after their staff,” Mr Knowles explained. Any business which provides food and beverages service, like the Tavern, could also be expected to do well during a busy time in town. The Monitor spoke with Tavern Manager Paul Gunn. “We haven’t seen a big increase in business yet but it’s just starting to pick up and we expect that will continue,” he said. Mr Gunn said extra staff had been placed on many of the shifts to cater for the expected increase in visitor numbers. “We are ready for more people and for us, the busier the better, because the
more people we get in equals a good time and a better atmosphere for everyone. “We’re really looking forward to it,” he said. However, with all the additional people in town, an increase in criminal behaviour could also be expected. Senior Constable Scott Cheers said the Roxby Downs police were prepared for the shutdown. “Historically speaking, shutdowns generally lead to an increased workload for us,” Snr Const Cheers said. “In the past we’ve seen an increase in the amount of traffic and alcohol related crimes and because of that we expect to be busier than usual,” he said. Senior Constable Cheers drew attention to recent Operation Vulcan raids and operations in Woomera as part of police preparations for the shutdown. For Family and Youth Officer, Tom Beever, shutdowns at the mine also meant an increase in counselling work. “For shutdowns I get a lot of people who come up here alone but many of them have families elsewhere. “They come to me and want to talk about issues in their lives – some have relationship problems, behavioural problems and some addiction problems,” Mr Beever said. He said he had also noticed many parents became more guarded with their children during shutdown periods and tried to keep them off the street at night time. “There’s seems to be a change of ethos for some parents in how they manage their children when the town gets busier like this,” he said. Mr Beever observed the long hours which many employees worked during shutdowns impacted on both workers and their families. “Shutdowns emphasise a problem with a lack of places to meet up in town. These guys are working extended shifts and then don’t really have places to meet up that don’t involve alcohol and gambling.”
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