Past Present Future

Past

Roxby Downs was originally a cattle station and 20 years ago the site of the town was no more than desolate outback paddocks. A few workers were the first to arrive, some with young families in tow, and they set up a caravan and tent city. Conditions were challenging but the fledgling town grew with a strong sense of community driven by an Australian pioneering spirit.

Infrastructure was completed during 1987/1988 and the town was officially opened on 5 November 1988.

The name Roxby Downs comes from the name of the original pastoral station.

Olympic Dam Mine was named after a livestock watering dam on the Roxby Downs pastoral lease under which the ore body lies.  The dam was built during the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956 and is very close to the discovery drill site.

The Olympic Dam Mine and the township of Roxby Downs were officially opened on 5th November 1988.  2008 was the 20th Anniversary.

Present

Roxby is a modern dynamic town with a strong get up and do it attitude. It is a vibrant and young community with a dominant family dynamic and strong sense of community.

Roxby Downs has excellent facilities for leisure, culture and recreation and comprehensive health and education services. It is a safe town to live with a much envied quality of life. There is virtually no unemployment.

It has a population of 4,500 living in Roxby Downs plus an estimated 900 who commute around shift rosters which range from 4 days on to 4 days off to 4 weeks on to 2 weeks off.

Future

The certainties concerning Roxby Downs and the Olympic Dam Mine are that it has a life of 70 to 100 years and that there will be an expansion within a few years. What is uncertain is the size of the expansion and hence the town's growth.