Aboriginal people were the first people to find opals in the area; during the First World War, they traded in black opals at Coober Pedy. Conditions were harsh, and it was only in 1976, with the help of new large machinery, that non-Indigenous people came to the area to mine, and a small township was established. At around the same time, Anangu began their struggle for land rights. Consequently, by the time the South Australian Parliament began to seriously consider granting land rights in the area, a growing number of opal miners were setting up operations around Mintabie.