From my family’s mine

Opals from White Cliffs

My Mum and Dad mine opal at White Cliffs, in outback New South Wales. Here is a little of their world, and the opal pieces I make.

Out west

White Cliffs

White Cliffs is an intriguing place in Australia. Mum and Dad purchased the dugout (home) in 1992 after holidaying in White Cliffs as a family in 1987, and annually since then.

Dad ‘retired’ in 2000 and began the journey of opal mining. The first opal shop they opened was another little shop and dugout they bought in 2003. In 2006–07 they moved the shop and showroom to the front of the main dugout, their home, on Turley’s Hill. They both love the lifestyle of being their own bosses.

Although the temperatures in White Cliffs regularly hit the high 40s and even 50s in the summer, it is a stable 18–20 degrees year round inside the dugout – no heating or cooling required. It is an awesome place to have a holiday and experience a place like no other on Earth.

Down the mine

Looking for a line of colour

Their mine goes straight down, by ladder. Underground the work is done by the light of a head torch, along the rock, looking for opal.

Looking up a narrow mine shaft, a steel ladder running up to daylight — The way down

Someone in a hard hat and ear muffs working the rock face underground with a hand tool — Working the rock

A seam in the red and white rock underground, lit by a torch — A line of colour in the rock

The family

Mum and Dad at work

My brother has a mine there too, and is a big part of the family business, Southern Cross Opals.

Two people at the top of a mine shaft under a hoist in the outback sun, lifting a bucket — Mum and Dad at their mine

Two people in hard hats with head torches working underground — Dad and Mum, underground

Rachel and her Mum smiling underground in hard hats with head torches — Mum and me, underground

In my studio

Opal, set by hand

All my opals are from Mum and Dad’s mine in White Cliffs. Opals are as individual as people, so no two pairs are the same.

My 12 mm mosaic studs are chips of opal set in resin. My 6 mm studs are opal triplets and my drop studs are opal doublets: a doublet is a slice of opal on a backing, and a triplet has a clear cap over it as well.

Turn them in the light and the colour moves.