Len Cram

Len Cram is one of the most prolific authors of books about opal and opal mining communities.

Born in 1929, Len was the eldest of eleven children. Len was raised near Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. In 1961, he came to Lightning Ridge to mine with his brother Ted, working around the Three Mile field.

Len was a Walgett Shire Councillor during the 1970s and remained active in local affairs for many years. A licensed pilot, Cram was known to fly across the country buying and selling opal. He was also an accomplished cutter and valuer of both black opal and Queensland boulder opal.

From the 1990s onwards, Cram devoted more time to research and writing. His self funded laboratory (built in his own shed) became the site of extensive experiments in opal formation and synthetic opal. He grew and studied cultured (man-made) opal samples to better understand the natural processes of opalisation. Though he never completed a formal education, his findings were respected in academic and scientific circles, and he maintained correspondence with researchers and institutions around the world.

Len Cram’s writings are extensive and prolific, publishing dozens of volumes on opal across New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland opal fields. His magnum opus is a four-book series titled A Journey with Colour covering the extensive and detailed history of the White Cliffs, Lightning Ridge and Queensland opal fields in four 400-page volumes.

Len was a keen historian as evidenced by his writings, and worked with the Lightning Ridge Historical Society to establish a lot of what we now understand about local history. Much of the information presented on this website stands on the shoulders of Len’s research.

Len Cram passed away on 8 July 2024 at the age of 95 years.

Article: Research by Leisa Carney and Russell Gawthorpe, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. Sources: A Journey With Colour: A History of Lightning Ridge Opal 1873-2003, Len Cram, 2003; ‘About the Author Len Cram’, G. Bruce, opalshop.com.