LIGHTNING RIDGE – THE HOME OF THE BLACK OPAL

The first reported “Pretty Stones” were found by a former gold miner, by the name of Robert Moore in the year 1873.

Opal was first discovered in a gravel pit at the “NINE MILE” in the year 1893.

The first mine was started by Jack Murray, a boundary rider, in 1901.

A group of shearers formed a syndicate to prospect for opal. They employed an opal miner from WHITE CLIFFS opal field by the name of Charles Nettleton.

The first shaft was started on the 15 th October 1902, at McDonald’s Six-Mile. This first shaft has been preserved by the Lightning Ridge Historical Society, and in now a tourist attraction.

OPAL – WHAT IS IT?

It is found in and around the Great Artesian Basin, which during the ‘Cretaceous’ period was a giant inland sea, that covers some 1,750,000 sq.kms or about 676,250 sq. miles in area, and is the most extensive basin in the world.

Silica rich sands around 30 million years ago turned, because of weathering and climatic changes, into a soluble form of silica which flowed into faults and fissures, eventually solidifying into what we call today common opal. And in fairly rare cases into gem quality opal.

It is believed that this soluble silica replaced cavities in the mud left by bones, wood, and a good deal of crustaceous forms.(Opalised coloured shells,bones and wood, are still being found today). This mud level is today called the ‘opal level’,’ opal dirt’ or just ‘the level’; this partly explains the diversity of shapes and forms of rough opal.

The colour in opal is caused by the formation of tiny spheres, rather than a proper crystal structure, and it’s the size of these, and the way the light ‘plays’ on them, which gives opal its huge diversity of colours.

LIGHTNING RIDGE OPAL FIELDS .

TO THE SOUTH :

THE GRAWIN , Which boasts “THE CLUB IN THE SCRUB’ and a Golf Course

SHEEPYARD

GLENGARRY This has “THE PUB IN THE SCRUB”, which boasts that it is open 8 days a week, and 25 hours a day!!

CARTERS RUSH

TO THE NORTH .

3 MILE , 6 MILE, 7 MILE, 8 MILE 9 MILE & 10 MILE FIELDS

THE COOCORAN Which has many smaller fields within its boundaries

WYOMING : From which many beautiful gem opals have been mined.

MEHI:

Mehi is approximately 65 kilometers North West of Lightning Ridge. It is a pastoral station, of approximately 17,000 acres. The opal field is part of this property.

The opal field was first discovered in 1894 by a Mr.Paddison, who was school principal at the school in Angledool. He and Mr.Charlie Gibson used to walk from Angledool to the field, a matter of approx 4 miles, or 10 kilometers through the scrub in order to look for and mine the elusive opal.

George and Pat Cross, are the residing owners of Mehi, which has been in the Cross family for generations.

• George’s grandfather, owned the bakery at Angledool from 1906-1930, and like Paddison and Gibson used to walk to Mehi from Angledool, to mine for opal regularly.
• There was a big Opal “Rush” in 1985, when Millions of dollars worth of precious opal was mined at the fields contained within the Mehi boundary, which stretches north to the Queensland border.
• After the rush, a few di-hard miners stayed on to try their luck. There is still some opal being found at the fields.

There are currently three members of the North Brisbane Lapidary Club, who own mining leases at Mehi

During the cooler weather, other members of NBLC are sometimes lucky enough to be able to go to Mehi in order to ‘speck’ for opal.

There is a fantastic social scene at the camps around the field, when the miners and friends gather around the roaring camp fire to have a meal and swap yarns.

The Lightning Ridge Show 2007