History of Australian Opal

A brief summary of Opal Mining in Australia.

…for a more complete history see further down this page

above: General store and Petrol circa 1950’s

Opal mining in Australia began in the 1880s with serendipitous discoveries, such as in White Cliffs (New South Wales) in 1884. Early efforts were rudimentary, driven by gold rush veterans and post-World War I soldiers accustomed to trench digging. Coober Pedy’s mining started in 1915 after a teenager found opal while his father prospected for gold, booming post-WWII with European immigrants. Lightning Ridge gained fame for black opal in the early 1900s. Initially labor-intensive with picks and shovels, the industry mechanized in the 1970s, incorporating drills and loaders. Today, it’s a mix of independent miners and small teams, with production focused on high-value gems amid declining yields from traditional fields.