Lightning Ridge
Famous opal mining town
Although there are lots of opal mining towns in Australia there are four which have become household names - Coober Pedy, Andamooka, White Cliffs and Lightning Ridge. These are the four which seem to hold some mystery and interest to people who live in the cities. They are wild and unruly places surrounded by a moonscape of mullock humps where people fight against horrendous climatic conditions in their search for precious gemstones. They are, as one observer noted 'monuments to the tenacious optimism of all mankind'.

Of these four towns Lightning Ridge is particularly special because it is now the only place in Australia and one of the few places in the world where the precious and highly prized black opal is found. Unlike ordinary opals the black opal has carbon and iron oxide trace elements in it producing a very dark stone which still has hints of blue, green and red.

Located 768 km from Sydney and 72 km north of Walgett, Lightning Ridge has a population of about 1200 which is supplemented by over 80 000 visitors who arrive every year to either try their luck at fossicking or to see what an outback mining town is really like. This influx of tourists means that this once rough and ready town now boasts a number of good quality motels, an endless array of souvenir and gift shops, some good restaurants, and a veneer of civilisation.

There is an Aboriginal explanation for the opals in the area. According to legend a huge wheel of fire fell to earth and sprayed the countryside with brilliant coloured stones.

The first European to discover these coloured stones was Charles Nettleton in 1902. Nettleton had been an opal miner at White Cliffs but his luck and money ran out and he moved to Queensland. Convinced that there were more opals across the border he returned to New South Wales and started seriously prospecting on a hill, later known as Nettleton's Hill, on Angledool Station. This was to become the site of Lightning Ridge. The Lands Department later gazetted it as Warrangulla and it was known as that until World War 1 when it reverted to its original name.

A number of famous stones have been found at Lightning Ridge, including the 822 g 'Big Ben' and the 'Flame Queen' which was sold for £80 because the miner hadn't eaten a proper meal for three weeks.

The township and the lure of the black opal have been neatly summed up in Laurie Hudson's poem:

There's a sleepy little township, out beyond the western plains,

Lightning Ridge, the town of opal, where there's heat and scanty rains.

The location is not scenic, just rough ridges all around

Nature sired her scenes of beauty, in black opal, underground.

If you've never seen black opal, you have missed a splendid sight,

Like quicksilver gaily coloured, slipped through the shades of night.

Though you've roamed the whole world over, seen most all there is to see,

There are scenes you've never dreamed of, in the stone of mystery.

Lightning Ridge boasts a number of social and sporting facilities, including a golf course, pistol club and archery club.The town's Opal Festival is held in the September-October NSW school holidays. Other annual events are the Great Goat Race at Easter and the Opal and Gem Expo in July.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
With 80 000 people visiting the town each year the tourism industry has become almost as important as the mining of opals. At least it guarantees a regular income to those people prepared to set up a showroom.

The local tourist information office has a list of mines which are open for inspection and can offer advice regarding the best places to buy opals, tel: (02) 6829 0565 .

Opals, Souvenirs, Arts-and-Crafts
Inevitably the town has numerous opal, souvenir and art-and-craft shops. One of the most popular is The Bottle House, a mineral and mining museum in Opal St constructed of bottles in the 1960s, tel: (02) 6829 1068.

Also in Opal St are Everything Opal, Rainbow Opal, Sunset Opals and Jan Ridding's Opals, as well as John Murray's Art Gallery. In Morilla St you will find The Opal Cave and The Tram Shop. Graeme Anderson's pottery shop is in Potch St.

Out of town are the Kangaroo Hill Tourist Complex (open every day but Sunday, tel: 02 6829 0155), the Black Queen Opal House (with crafts and unusual bottle walls), the Big Opal (02 6829 0247) and Bevan's Black Opal and Cactus Nursery (02 6829 0429).

Mines
The Walk-In Mine at Bald Hill is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily. There are self-guided tours or an orchestrated outing for coaches, tel: (02) 6829 0473. Spectrum Opal Mines has an underground display and a mining video, tel: (02) 6829 0581.

Heritage Museum
The Heritage Cottage in Morilla St has displays relating to local history, including old-style arts and crafts.

Goondee Keeping Place
The Goondee Keeping Place is an Aboriginal museum in Pandora St.

Tours
Black Opal Tours offer two-hour guided tours of the town and opal fields daily at 10.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m. with five-hour tours by appointment only, tel: (02) 6829 0368. Narran River Safaris can be contacted on (02) 6729 0393.

Spa Baths
For those who want a warm, relaxing and therapeutic bath there are the Lightning Ridge Bore Baths, a permanent supply of warm mineralised waters bubbling up under natural forces from 900 m below the surface. The ready water supply made the site a favourite camping spot with the first miners. The baths are located in Pandora Street, 300 m east of the town boundary. They are open 24 hours a day.

Black Queen
A fully operational mining lease this is also a very unusual tourist attraction. You can visit the Black Queen to inspect their collection of oil lamps (the lamps date from 1700 and the museum contains over 200 kerosene lamps), to admire a house built from local limestone and ironstone or, more quirky and unusual, admire the walls built out of some 14,000 coloured bottles and cans which produce a strangely attractive ambient light. There are a total of three buildings in the complex. The Black Queen is open from Easter-October from 9.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. Contact 02 6829 0980 for prices and entry times.

	Tourist Information
	Lightning Ridge Tourist Information Centre Fred Reece Way Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 1462 or (02) 6829 0565 Facsimile: (02) 6829 0565
	Motels
	Black Opal Motel Opal St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0518 Facsimile: (02) 6829 0884 Rating: **1/2
	Lightning Ridge Hotel Motel Onyx St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0304 Facsimile: (02) 6829 0305 Rating: **1/2
	Tram­O­Tel Motel Morilla St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0448
	Wallangulla Motel Agate St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0542 Rating: **1/2
	Hotels
	Diggers Rest Hotel Morilla St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0404
	Caravan Parks
	Crocodile Caravan & Camping Park Morilla St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0437
	Lightning Ridge Caravan Park Harlequin St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0532 Rating: **
	Lightning Ridge Motor Village Onyx St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0304 Rating: **
	Tram-0-Tel Morilla St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0448
	Restaurants
	Diggers Rest Hotel Opal St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0404
	Lightning Ridge Bowling Club Morilla St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0408 Facsimile: (02) 6829 0040
	Wild Dingo Restaurant & Bar Opal St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 0215
	Wong's Chinese Restauant Opal St Lightning Ridge NSW 2834 Telephone: (02) 6829 2330