Rough Diamonds and Pure Gems

Getting shafted takes on a very literal meaning at Lightning Ridge. Folklore in the black opal country of the wild northwest of New South Wales is full of examples of rough outback justice.

“If I caught a ratter down my mine I’d drop some gelignite on him,” George tells me. “And believe me, that’s happened plenty of times around here.”

A ‘ratter’ is an opal thief and George is an old miner I meet at the bowling club, which is Lightning Ridge’s social hub.

Miners’ camps at Lightning Ridge have every type of accommodation possible.

"While I'm here talking, some bloke could be down my shaft stealing thousands of dollars worth of opals. The worrying thing is that the only person I've told about my strike is you," George says.

George is typical of the eccentrics who call this outback town home. He has lived for 8 years at a camp he bought for $20,000 on the outskirts of ‘the Ridge’ and came here fossicking on and off for years before he finally stayed. George has joined people from over 50 nationalities lured by the elusive black opal.

Cooper’s Cottage is a testament to the pioneering days at Lightning Ridge.

Black opal has a dark body hue, which allows the stone’s striking colours to stand out. This characteristic makes the black variety the most valuable opal, and some experts claim that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the stones have been found at Lightning Ridge.

The Glengarry Hilton has one of the
world’s most rugged golf courses.

Mining has been at the heart of the Australian dream since the gold rushes of the 1850s, and get rich quick stories of valuable opal finds have attained legendary status at Lightning Ridge. But the ‘shaft and tunnel’ underground style of mining here involves hard physical work and significant overheads.

“I gave mining away years ago,” Pete of Pete’s Opals tells me as I browse in his shop. “Holding a heavy drill twenty metres underground takes its toll, so now I use what I learned about opals to sell them.”

Pete patiently explains the differences between types of opals and their relative values. He tells me that there are still plenty of opals being found, and that miners often sell to him when they need cash for supplies.

There are around 20 opal shops in Lightning Ridge and it pays to do some research if you intend to buy. But even if you haven’t come here to purchase opals, there’s plenty to see and do. My first stop in the main street is at Cooper’s Cottage, one of the oldest houses in Lightning Ridge. Built in 1916, it’s now a monument to life in the early days.

Rusting mining equipment on the Grawin opal field is a reminder of faded dreams.

The nearby Visitors Centre provides plenty of information about other local attractions, as well as maps of the car door tours. Because there are no street signs on the opal fields, painted car doors have been strategically placed to indicate sites of interest. There are four tours that follow numbered red, green, blue and yellow car doors, taking you to such places as Lunatic Hill, Pig Hill, the walk-in mine, the cactus garden, the sinister sounding Chambers of the Black Hand, an award winning theatrical performance called The Black Queen and, of course, the town opal fields. There are also some quirky landmarks such as Amigo’s Castle, the Astronomer’s Monument and a house made of bottles.

The cactus garden, claimed to have the largest cacti display in the southern hemisphere, is a standout. The Chamber of the Black Hand turns out to be a replica Egyptian tomb featuring hundreds of carvings of everyone from Nostradamus to Homer Simpson. Back in town, the John Murray Art Gallery in Opal Street is another artistic venture worth seeking out. Murray’s distinctive, often humorous outback art is among the best in the genre.

While there’s nothing fancy about the Glengarry Hilton, the welcome is friendly.

Next day I explore the Glengarry and Grawin opal fields 70 kilometres from Lightning Ridge. Locals say that these fields represent what Lightning Ridge used to be like before it became a large town. At the Glengarry Hilton, an authentic bush pub started in the 1970s as a sly grog shop, I meet Gisela, one of the proprietors. Gisela tells me that in the old days the police repeatedly tried to raid the illegal pub, but warnings via the bush telegraph always ensured there was no booze around when the authorities arrived. In 1993 the Glengarry Hilton was finally granted a bottle shop licence.

The rustic bar at the Glengarry Hilton Hotel seventy kilometers from Lightning Ridge.

People come to the Glengarry Hilton to meet the locals and to ‘noodle’ (fossick) on the huge mullock heaps nearby, where Gisela assures me that many valuable opals have been found.

It’s evening when I get back to Lightning Ridge and I go for a soak in the free outdoor artesian baths, which have a constant temperature of 41.5 degrees.

Searching for colourful opals by day and lying in a hot thermal pool beneath a canopy of diamond-like stars at night makes the Lightning Ridge lifestyle an attractive proposition.

[Travel Facts]