Jack “The Hornet” Franklin
“The Hornet” with his mud hut.
John (Jack) Franklin, known as “The Hornet,” was an early opal miner with quiet determination. He is famous for the mud hut he built east of Opal Street, which gave him his nickname. Born to John Franklin and Annie Saunders, Jack married Iris “Maisie” May Bright in Sydney in 1940. The pair later divorced, and Maisie remarried in 1955.
Franklin served in the Second World War with the Australian Army (NX59222), enlisting in July 1940 and rising to the rank of Sergeant with the 2/4 Australian Pioneer Battalion. He was discharged in October 1945. A chef by trade during his early years in Sydney, he came to Lightning Ridge after the First World War, likely in the late 1920s or early 1930s.
Franklin discovered the small opal field later known as Hornet’s Rush, located just beyond the cemetery on the Woolooroo boundary. Working shallow ground between 4 and 20 feet, he found a parcel worth £600 before selling the claim to Jack Boules, who earned twice as much. The field produced around £18,500 in total, with other successful claims worked by “Silent” Jim Reid, Peter Ferguson, Tommy Gale, and George Andy.
Franklin was often seen riding his bicycle around the fields searching for new ground. He was taught “the opal mining game” by old-timer Don Campbell and partnered early on with Jack Boules.
Jack “The Hornet” Franklin passed away in 1976, aged 72-73 years. He is buried at Lightning Ridge Cemetery.
Article: Research by Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: Lightning Ridge - The Home of the Black Opal: Unique to the World, Gan Bruce, 1983, pp. 73, 78; Lightning Flash Newspaper, 27 May 1976; Walgett Spectator, 21 March 1933; A Journey With Colour: A History of Lightning Ridge Opal 1873-2003, Len Cram, 2003, p. 164; ‘The Philosophy of Lightning Ridge: In a World Apart’, Daily Telegraph, 23 March 1933, pp. 6, 14.