Bob Buckley

Sidney Robert “Bob” Buckley was born 24 March 1878 at Orange, New South Wales to James and Grace Buckley. He married Jane Denis in 1908 at Walgett. They had three children.

He was one of the earliest opal miners at Lightning Ridge, arriving from White Cliffs around 1903. He discovered good opal on the Cleared Line in June 1914, working alongside Peter Ferguson. Buckley was on the field during the early years, frequently mentioned in literature alongside early miners such as Jack Murray, Watty Heness, and Charlie Nettleton. He was one of only a handful of men working the shallow ground on what later became Nobby’s Hill in the early 1910s.

Buckley is said to be a third-generation descendant of the legendary “Wild Bill” Buckley, a convict who arrived on the First Fleet and famously escaped into the Tasmanian bush. According to folklore, Wild Bill lived with Aboriginal people for nearly two decades and lost his ability to speak English, but was eventually found. Some say this is the origin of the expression “Buckley’s Chance.”

Buckley was listed as a customer at Regan’s Store from 1912 to 1921.

Bob Buckley passed away on 23 December 1938 at Walgett and is buried at Walgett Cemetery.

• Bob Buckley @ Find a Grave.

Article: Research by Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: The Opal Book, Frank Leechman, 1961, p. 90; Beautiful Lightning Ridge and History, Len Cram, 1996, p. 3; ‘District News – Lightning Ridge’, Walgett Spectator, 2 July 1914.