Albert Dominick
George Pile, John Dungey, Albert Dominick and Albert Nelson.
Albert George Dominick was a miner, postmaster and opal buyer at Lightning Ridge from the early years through to the 1930s. Born in 1877 at Coolac, near Gundagai, Albert was the son of Richard Dominick and Sarah Craig. He mined at White Cliffs alongside his father and brother Jack. In 1904 he married Florence MacAuliffe in Dubbo, the couple had two children: Percy and Ula. In 1907, Albert and Jack cycled to Lightning Ridge, the rest of the family joined them soon after.
Albert and Jack were the discoverers of the Cleared Line opal field in 1913. The brothers also worked at Bald Hill during the 1915 rush and later at the Deep Four Mile and Three Mile Gully fields. He held a Miner's Right from Angledool in 1910 and was a miner for many years.
Dominick served as postmaster from 1921 to 1927. After stepping down as postmaster, he purchased the former post office building from Tom Urwin. In 1934 he built the town’s second butcher shop next to his home and rented it to Stan Reeves.
Dominick served as a Justice of the Peace from 1925. He once presided over a hearing from the edge of a mineshaft on the Deep Four Mile, pausing mining to issue a sentence to “a drunken youth”. He signed the 1929 Western Lands petition as a J. P. advocating for public park in the Ridge.
Dominick was also the unofficial town dentist, extracting teeth in his back yard.
Dominick sold his property in the late 1930s to Mick Canfell. The house remained in the Canfell family until the 1980s, and parts of the butcher shop were still standing into the early 1990s before being demolished.
Albert Dominick died in Ashfield in 1962 at the age of 85.
Albert Dominick’s signature, sourced from the 1929 petition for a public park at Lightning Ridge.
Article: Research by Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: Lightning Ridge: The Land of Black Opals, Ion L. Idriess, 1940, p. 176; Lightning Ridge - The Home of the Black Opal: Unique to the World, Gan Bruce, 1983, pp. 50, 54, 56, 71, 91, 113, 120; The Lightning Ridge Book, Stuart Lloyd, 1967, p. 44; They Struck Opal!, E. F. Murphy, 1948, p. 154; Lightning Ridge: Turning Back Time - A Heritage Trail, Barbara Moritz, 1998, p. 18.