The Bruce Family

The Bruce family have early beginnings on the opal fields. Jennings Bruce (aka “Son”) and wife Edith (nee Thompson) came from Cobar in 1909, with six children.

Jennings Bruce was born 17 May 1870 at Forbes, New South Wales. Edith Bruce was born 29 September 1875 at Hill End, New South Wales. They were married in 1895 at Broken Hill.

Edith joined several of her brothers mining at the Nettleton settlement.

The family moved into New Town in 1916, and their house stood in Morilla Street, where the pharmacy now stands. The house was built from iron that was recycled from the Nettleton Mechanics Institute building on the Three Mile Flat.

Robert “Bob” Bruce was born on 28 February 1901 in Cobar Shire. Arthur Albert “Artie” Bruce was born 26 September 1904 at Cobar, New South Wales.

In the early 1920s, Artie and Bob mined opal and had lucky strikes on the Three Mile, as did Jennings. The boys carted wool, and Artie was a baker in the 1930s-40s. Bob drove the Whippet delivery truck.

Artie married Pearl Matilda Ann Urwin (born 28 May 1913, Lightning Ridge) on 23 April 1938 in Lightning Ridge and they had four children, including Gan Bruce who would go on to write two books documenting Lightning Ridge history from the Bruce family’s perspective.

Jennings Bruce passed away 24 July 1953 at Collarenebri. Edith Bruce passed away 5 September 1952 at Lightning Ridge. Artie Bruce passed away 19 January 1974 at Tamworth, New South Wales. Pearl Bruce passed away 23 June 2001. Bob Bruce passed away 4 January 1988 at Lightning Ridge. All of the above are buried at Lightning Ridge Cemetery.

Article: Research by Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: The Lightning Ridge Book, Stuart Lloyd, 1967, pp. 27, 29, Lightning Ridge - The Home of the Black Opal: Unique to the World, Gan Bruce, 1983, pp. 17, 27, 33, 51-52, 54, 63, 65, 72, 160, 177; Lightning Flash Newspaper, 7 February 1974; Walgett Spectator, 19 September 1919.