Property hunters are quite literally going underground in the search for a bargain, burrowing into old NSW mining shafts to unearth some of the country’s coolest homes.
From the surface, it looks like nothing more than red dirt and desert scrub. But scratch below ground in the outback town of White Cliffs, 200km northeast of Broken Hill, and you’ll find a subterranean suburb, where residents live below the surface in cave-like homes known as dugouts.
And some of those dugouts have recently come up for sale for under $200,000.
It is reported residents began living in dugouts in the early 1890s, as miners created the homes converting old opal mines into shelters and carved homes into the hills in the area.
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A three-bedroom dugout posted for sale this year. Picture: Facebook
The dugouts are old Opal mining shafts converted into homes. Picture: Facebook
White Cliffs Underground Motel has 44 serviced motel dug-out-style cave rooms
Among the partly underground structure is the White Cliffs Underground Motel, which has been operating for 20 years in the region. It has 44 serviced motel dug-out-style cave rooms, all fully furnished and fitted out.
The motel’s website states due to the searing heat of outback NSW, people sought refuge underground and discovered the “unique and magical style of living”.
The motel is said to remain a constant and comfortable 22 to 23 degrees all year.
Although these quirky homes rarely frequent the market, one post on social media page ‘Whitecliffs Buy, Sell, Wanted’ garnered widespread attention due to its unique offering.
White Cliffs dugout for sale $190,000. Picture: Facebook
One of the bedrooms of the dugout for sale.
The post from August listed a $190,000 price for the dugout and attracted a mix of comments.
“This is awesome” one Facebook user wrote, “I could live here in this beautiful home. Cheap to” another said, while another commented “this is our retirement plan”.
Residents who live in the outback community of White Cliffs were granted permanent leases in 2021, following agreement between the NSW Government and the Barkandji people who are native title holders over the land, according to NSW government.
The agreement was labelled a ‘win-win’ to provide permanent security for White Cliffs dugout residents and recognition of the Barkandji Aboriginal community and its traditional and enduring links to the land.
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Inside the underground dugout home posted for sale. Picture: Facebook.
The Federal Court endorsed a native title claim over the White Cliffs area by the Barkandji Registered Native Title Body Corporation in 2015.
Many of the residents living in the dugouts are hobbyist miners or opal prospectors.
The surrounding stone remains rich in opals, which can sometimes be extracted directly from the homes themselves.
Other inhabitants are drawn to the calm pace of the town, home to just 200 people, and its affordable lifestyle.
Founded during a minerals boom in the 1890s, the town once had a population of 5,000, but today is reduced to a single general store, a pub, and a school with 15 students.
The roughly 140 dugouts in the town rarely come up for sale.
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