'Like landing on the moon': Queer married couple on life and family in the opal mining town of Coober Pedy

Kaysy and Cherry de Leon are among the Filipino migrants living in Coober Peddy, an outback town in South Australia with a population of only around 1,576.

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Key Points

• Coober Pedy is a regional town in South Australia known as the 'opal capital of the world'.
• Kaysy and Cherry de Leon have both been living in Coober Pedy for almost two decades.
• Many of the Filipino migrants in Coober Pedy are specialist workers, such as nurses, and those who married the town's residents.

Kaysy and Cherry de Leon were the first couple to get married under the Coober Pedy's iconic Big Winch. Credit: Kaysy and Cherry de Leon

Coober Peddy didn't look like the photos my aunt showed us...When I got there, there was nothing. It was like I landed on the moon.

Kaysy de Leon, Coober Peddy resident

Kaysy and Cherry de Leon with their daughter, Charlie Credit: Kaysy and Cherry de Leon

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