Jim Murray

James “Jim” Murray was born in 1868 at Tamworth, New South Wales, the son of James Murray and Rose Ewing. He had at least two siblings, Jack and Roseanna (born 1873). He married Elizabeth Clara Bradley at Walgett in 1899. They had no children.

Murray was one of the early miners at Lightning Ridge. At times, he also worked as a butcher. Murray applied for a Western Lands lease at New Town in 1909. By the early 1920s he was running a butcher’s shop across from the hotel.

He and his brother Jack had one of the best claims at the New Chum rush of 1907, alongside Fred Bodel, Bob Adams and others. The Murray brothers “found a lot of gem opal” according to Bodel, though they were tight-lipped about the actual amounts. Jim also had a good claim at Walshe’s in 1912–13, as well as at the Old Four Mile field, where he and Jack Austin got £330 for a single large stone.

Murray may have been involved in the discovery of the Butterfly stone (Red Admiral) with “Canada Bill” Etheridge. Accounts differ wildly, with some suggesting the stone was found around 1920–22 on the Telephone Line field; others, including Leechman, give 1930 at the Butterfly field. Later authors, including Gan Bruce, say the Butterfly stone was dug at the same location as the Pride of Australia and Empress of Australia stones on Telephone Line, not at the Butterfly field itself, perhaps suggesting subterfuge to protect a rich claim. Other sources suggest the Butterfly stone was found by Jack Boules.

Jim Murray was on the opal fields into the 1930s. A Walgett Spectator report in 1933 lists him among miners at the Four Mile producing stones valued at several hundred pounds. He also signed with the occupation of “miner” on a 1929 petition for a public park at Lightning Ridge.

On 3 March 1923 he was injured in a fall from a water cart; Nurse Hulbert attended him.

Jim Murray died at Walgett on 4 November 1941, aged 73, and was buried in the Catholic section of Walgett Cemetery.

• Jim Murray @ Find a Grave.

Article: Research by Russell Gawthorpe and Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: Walgett Spectator, 22 March 1923; 13 September, 1933; The Opal Book, Frank Leechman, 1961, pp. 202-203; The Lightning Ridge Book, Stuart Lloyd, 1967, pp. 69, 72, 218; Lightning Ridge - The Home of the Black Opal: Unique to the World, Gan Bruce, 1983, pp. 77, 89; A Journey With Colour: A History of Lightning Ridge Opal 1873-2003, Len Cram, 2003, pp. 30, 165.