Bill de Boer

William Henry Smeth (sometimes spelled as Smith, sometimes Swift), known as Bill de Boer, was a Dutch-born opal miner at Lightning Ridge.

Smeth was born on 26 June 1862 in South Africa to Dutch parents. His early life was spent between South Africa and Holland. At age six, he moved to Holland with his parents. He became a sailor, travelling extensively until he landed in Melbourne in 1886. From there, he worked across Australia before eventually settling in Lightning Ridge, where he would spend more than thirty years.

Smeth was described as a big man, “built nearly square”, with a knack for finding opal. He suffered from consumption and came to Lightning Ridge for the dry climate. Before arriving, he had lived an adventurous life, including time in South America and a stint smuggling Chinese migrants into the United States, charging £5 per head.

At The Ridge, Smeth was a successful miner. In 1930, he helped discover an opal field later named Bill de Boer's, located just south of Hornet’s Rush. The field produced large seam opal, but the quality was generally poor. Still, Smeth’s name (or rather, nickname) became permanently associated with it.

On 12 March 1919, Smeth formally applied for Australian naturalisation. His letter (still preserved in the National Archives) outlines his background, time in Australia, and his wish to become a British subject.

Bill Smeth died on 31 August 1940 in Lidcombe, New South Wales, aged 78, and is buried at Rookwood Necropolis.

• Bill de Boer @ Find a Grave.

Article: Research by Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: Collarenebri Chronicle, 28 April 1919; The Lightning Ridge Book, Stuart Lloyd, 1967, p. 33; Lightning Ridge - The Home of the Black Opal: Unique to the World, Gan Bruce, 1983, pp. 77-78.