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INDEX
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Guts & Glory, Past & Present
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THE OLD-TIMERS
Crouched in tight, claustrophobic places, kneeling on sharp-edged rubble, they doggedly gouged opal 40 feet or more below the ground. The history books called what they did opal mining in the great outback of Australia. It was really underground
prospecting with a pick and shovel moving dirt and hoping to run into a paying patch. The one thing that the miners could count on if and when they found opal was that it would soon run out.
Working in extreme, hot temperatures in blowing dust, the opal seekers trudged over rugged terrain and up the sides of escarpments, crossed dry riverbeds, and hauled their supplies into the isolated expanses of the Land Down Under. They carried their
swags, their picks and shovels, across gibber-strewn plains shimmering in the heat of an unforgiving, waterless desert.
As they dug their prospecting shafts, rock samples were checked for rainbow traces that would lead them to fulfilling dreams of a pocket of gem opal to sell to the few buyers brave enough to follow the prospectors’ trail into the opal bearing country.
During the past one hundred years, men and women have toiled, sweated, and struggled to wrench a living out of the heart of Australia. In this period, partnerships, syndicates, and odd-fellow liaisons were contracted to share the labor it takes to harvest
Australia's ancient inland seabed's treasure. Those who shared the hardships and the joys came away from the opal fields with either a pocket full of cash or only a head full of bittersweet memories, IF they came away at all. Many perished of disease,
thirst, heat exhaustion, venomous bites, mining accidents or a murderer's violence. Others struck with opal fever spent their lives chasing the elusive opal.
The heady combination of sudden riches and hardship brings out the worst in Man, grinds him down; it also brings out his best, honing his qualities to make heroes. The conquests, the defeats, they are the fabric of legends.
[After writing this article, I remembered that I had just read, on a recent return flight from Australia, a paperback novel that pictures the lives of these old-timers. A review of this novel follows this article.]
THE NEW-TIMERS
Today, retired pensioners scratch in the dirt of outback Australia and do their bit in adding beautiful opals to the world market. Derelict alcoholic recluses shift a few rickshaws of opal dirt to regain their pride and status as an opal miner and
perhaps, with some help from Lady Luck, actually augment their Pub funds. Then there is the lucky or as the Aussies say, "assy" tourist who hits paydirt immediately upon having his first go in an unproductive mine. Women, be they adventurers, authors, or
helpmates to miners, discover that they too can shift dirt and find the not so easy to find silica dioxide gem.
When times are tough, the sheep shearers, farmers, and bank clerks try their hand at shoveling and jackhammering their way through the depths of Mother Earth. The gamblers come too, They come to sweat out a roll of the wheelbarrow instead of the dice and
try their luck in the world's largest outdoor casino-- the gem fields. Many full-time, hard-core opal miners aren't fifth generation miners. Opal’s siren call continues to lure men and women from all walks of life.
They still suffer the intense heat, dust, black flies and mosquitoes. Supplies are still more costly and more difficult to get than along the coast. Medical help is often hours away or dependent upon the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Thievery, skullduggery
and greed still come hand in hand with the instant fortunes and astounding luck. But now thieves are well equipped with night-vision goggles, all terrain motorbikes, advance field communications and close access to attorneys. These aid modern day bad guys
in their "ratting" of others’ claims and the burglarizing of camps and homes.
The modern opal miner is using high tech tools as well. New fields are found using satellite photos and geological reports, but no one is throwing out the old standbys of divining, pendulums, and the old "hat in the air" trick. Giant cement mixers with
endless contrivances of rumblers and conveyor belts process opal dirt and the sound of a cell phone can be heard ringing amidst the din of the giant agitators.
The outback has a great remote areas phone system so fax machines are found housed in tiny tin huts nearly lost in vast expanses of desert country terrain. Solitary miners post charts on the pricing of opal next to their dust-caked phones. These miners
still use a long-drop dunny (an outhouse over an abandoned mining shaft) and cook over an open fire. They stare into that fire with the same dreams as their predecessors and console themselves with its warmth during the innumerable times of disappointment
as did the
old-timers before them.
“The Opal Seekers”: A Book Review
So many eloquent authors, historians, novelists, and poets, have recorded these deeds and legends. Patricia Shaw, a contemporary Australian writer is all of these. Some fact, some fiction, but all recreate for us the miner's lot. All show the hold that
opal, the Queen of Gems, can have.
Patricia's book, "THE OPAL SEEKERS", published in 1996 by Headline Book Publishing, London, is billed as an epic Australian saga of triumph and loss. It is a good steady yarn that traces a Dublin family to the Aussie opal fields. Those of you who are
readers and collectors of opal books will recognize her clever use of historical figures and incidents woven into the fictitious character's lives. It is a love story, a tale of human frailties and strengths, and an adventure, with the Australian opal
fields as a backdrop. It is currently on the shelves in the United Kingdom for 5.99 English pounds and in Australia for $14.95 Australian dollars.
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Copyright, 1997 by Barbara McCondra
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Barbara McCondra is a popular lecturer who travels widely on speaking tours. Her son Ron Vil, who mined with her for many years, is the owner of Outback Gems, specializing in Australian Opal including, Lightning Ridge and Yowah Nut Boulder opal. They
were featured in the June 1995 issue of Lapidary Journal. You can contact Barbara through
Outback Gems, voice and/or Fax 602-846-0407 or email at RedonBlack@AOL.com.
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