Paddy Burke’s (Bourke’s) Field

Bourke’s Field (also known as Burke’s Field, Paddy Bourke’s Rush, etc), was discovered in 1931 just beyond the old village boundary on the east side of Opal Street, around the site of the modern subdivision to the west of the Bottle House.

Opal was found at around 35 feet depth. The claim produced good quality opal, mostly small stones with plenty of black potch. According to Stuart Lloyd, production from the field totalled around £900 by 1967.

The Burke brothers, Paddy and Jack, were early opal miners at Lightning Ridge, living in Old Town by 1907 and mining on the Angledool field. Jack, known as “Happy Jack” found the famed Queen of the Earth (Dunstan’s Stone) with Charlie Dunstan in 1906.

Article: Research by Russell Gawthorpe and Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: The Lightning Ridge Book, Stuart Lloyd, 1967, p. 68; Lightning Ridge - The Home of the Black Opal: Unique to the World, Gan Bruce, 1983, p. 87.