Palestine

Palestine is an opal field located on the southern side of Nobby, worked intermittently from the 1930s. The field was originally prospected by a group of four Jewish visitors. Camping on site, they reportedly used an unusual X-ray apparatus to search for opal. The invention apparently worked, as they found opal at an average depth of eight feet. Ever inventive, the group also tried to cut the stones they found using a machine powered by a car engine — with many stones burnt or damaged during the process.

After their departure, other miners occasionally returned to work the field, and at least one good stone was eventually found. According to The Lightning Ridge Book by Stuart Lloyd, production from Palestine had reached £500 by 1967. Despite its low production, the field has been noted as “not without possibilities.”

• Palestine @ MinView.

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. 66.