The purpose-built mining town of Leigh Creek is unique among the outback townships of the northern Flinders Ranges.
It has a hospital, olympic-sized swimming pool, smooth bitumen roads and carefully maintained infrastructure.
In aesthetic, it resembles a leafy suburb of Adelaide, and not at all like the spare outback settlements that stretch out along the highway to the north and south.
It's also a closed town, owned by the state government and leased to mining company Alinta Energy.
Only employees of the coal mine, and support staff, are able to live here.
That hasn't stopped residents like Kirsty Nicholls from putting down roots.
“It’s an awesome town, it’s a great set-up,” she said.
“It would be sad to just see it go. There are so many tourists that use it, and surrounding station people as well".
When Alinta Energy ceased operations last year, 250 workers lost their jobs.
Many packed up their families and left in search of work.
Desley Wardell has remained, for now.
She runs the town’s supermarket - one of the few remaining retail businesses still open in Leigh Creek.
“The township has gone down, yes. There’s only about a third of the people left here, so we’re struggling at the moment to keep the doors open,” she says.
Ms Wardell says the sudden decline has hit locals hard.
“We’ve lost our community. Friends, everybody is gone. It’s very hard.”
With the mine that sustained the town now closed,Leigh Creek must reinvent itself if it hopes to survive.
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After months of community consultation, the state government-commissioned Leigh Creek Futures report recommended in June that the town should transition to an open town.
Adnyamathanha man Terry Coulthard welcomes the move.
“Certainly our people, Adnyamathanha people, would move into those houses tomorrow, if they became available. And that would certainly keep the town alive.”
With the nearest large town of Port Augusta a five-hour drive away, his community at Nepabunna relies on Leigh Creek for essential services.
“We only hope a doctor remains there,” he says.
“That’d be fantastic, because we still need it, [and] the school, we need all those services.”
The Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association (ATLA) runs the popular Wilpena Pound resort in the southern Flinders Ranges.
Chair of the group, Michael Anderson, sees an opportunity to use Leigh Creek's infrastructure attract more tourists to the sprawling desert landscape.
“That’s right in the heartland of our traditional land, and we see ourselves as being part of the landscape,” he says.
“We’re prepared to look at all the possibilities, ranging from a complete takeover, if necessary, and become a regional authority.”
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The state government welcomes ATLA's initiative.
State Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Kyam Maher, told SBS in a statement: “…the State Government is supportive of any tourism proposals for the area, including from the ATLA. ATLA is already doing great work at places like Wilpena Pound, and that could be replicated at Leigh Creek.”
For now, the town will be administrated by the Regional Outback Authority, which looks after dozens of unincorporated towns across South Australia.
There are hopes Leigh Creek can attract another big energy project in the future.
Until then, tourism may well be the town's biggest source of income.
But it isn't likely to be nearly as lucrative as mining was before it.
And some, like supermarket owner Desley Wardell, fear it won't be enough to ensure the town's survival.
“We cannot survive on tourism alone, because that is only six months of the year,” she says.
“It is so hot [in summer], people won’t come here.
“And also, where do we get our staff from to run our business?”
The state government has committed to keeping essential services running until at least 2018.
Beyond that, the town's fate remains to be seen.
