Andamooka is the largest town administered by the Outback Communities Authority instead of a local government area.

At that time (1866) it was also known as 'Swinden's Country', after Charles Swinden of Riverton, the leader of the small horseback party which discovered it in 1857.

It was those meagre prospects which attracted pastoralists, resulting in the foundation of Andamooka Station, which for the next half century was the only industry.

A number of historic buildings in the town are heritage-listed: the Andamooka Historic Precinct (containing Frank Albertoni's House, Bob Cutzow's Dugout, Tom Brady's Dugout, Mrs Perry's Kitchen and Andy Absalom's House) and Dick Clark's Residence are both listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.

The original pick and shovel shaft miners, many of whom were the bush characters and social outcasts who gave the settlement a 'Wild West' reputation, were gradually displaced from the 1960s and 70s by the arrival of miners using bulldozers which made deep cuts to reach the respective opal levels, from where horizontal drives could easily be made to fully exploit the level.

Their limited activities mainly related to electricity generation and supply, and maintaining the dirt airstrip in case the Flying Doctor was needed.

All roads were unsealed tracks, while the main street was a dry rocky creek bed (unless there was a rare thunderstorm).

In the 1980s, with an influx of work through the advent and development of the nearby mine at Olympic Dam, more houses were built and transported in.

Most (75.2%) were born in Australia; the next most common countries of birth were England 6.1%, Austria 1.5%, Germany 1.5%, Croatia 1.5% and Italy 1.1%.

[2][15] Until recently, Andamooka townsfolk had to rely on water supplies trucked in from Roxby Downs, or above ground cisterns for the limited rainfall of the region.