The Rocker

The Rocker is an opal field located about half a mile south of Sim’s Hill. It was discovered around 1907 and is considered one of the earliest fields at Lightning Ridge.

Levels ranged from one to thirty feet, most of the material found was potch (common opal with no play of colour). According to The Lightning Ridge Book by Stuart Lloyd, total production by 1967 had reached £750. The field was difficult to work, though some good stones were found. Jackie Neighbour sold an 8½ carat stone to Jack Phillips, who later recalled he “never saw a better stone.”

The name “The Rocker” was coined by a pair of navvies who, frustrated by the hard shincracker just below the surface, loaded a shaft with three plugs of gelignite and declared, “This will rock her!” The resulting blast blew the shaft wide open, making it impossible to climb down.

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, pp. 87-88.