Pony Fence

Pony Fence is an opal field located about one mile southeast of Lightning Ridge, in shallow ground adjacent to Walshe’s Field. The field was found by George Bailey in 1909. It was popular in December 1929, after a series of new finds. The name "Pony Fence" derives from a low four-strand wire fence that once ran through the area, marking the boundary of a paddock on the Dunumbral property.

Despite being shallow, the workings here had an unusually thick opal level, up to 20 feet deep in some places, with opal levels found between one and 25 feet. The field produced good quality opal. According to The Lightning Ridge Book by Stuart Lloyd, production had reached £12,500 by 1967.

The most successful claims were worked by George Bailey, Walter Arnold, and Darkie Anderson, the latter of whom named his lease the “Bread and Fat Claim.”

• Pony Fence @ 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. 69; Lightning Ridge - The Home of the Black Opal: Unique to the World, Gan Bruce, 1983, p. 89; The Occurrence of Opal at Lightning Ridge and Grawin, with Geological Notes on County Finch, J. W Whiting & R. E. Relph, 1958, p. 10.