William Sim

William Sim was born on 28 February 1858 in Sydney, New South Wales, the son of Alexander Sim and Anne Allen. He spent his life in the Walgett district, where he worked as a surveyor and stockman. From 1896 to 1899 he had registered stock brands with his location recorded as Wallangilla, Walgett.

In February 1900 Sim fell victim to a serious accident near Lightning Ridge. While driving his horse and buggy, he was thrown beneath a tree and suffered severe internal injuries - either a spinal injury or an abdominal wound; possibly both. Despite receiving medical care (such as it was in 1901), his condition left him incapacitated, and he endured long-term pain for a year before his passing. On 21 March 1901 he died at Marrickville, aged 43, his death attributed to the lingering effects of the accident. He was buried in New South Wales.

Sim’s Hill one of the earliest opal fields at Lightning Ridge, and the location of the original Wallangulla settlement (“Old Town”), was named after him.

• William Sim @ Find a Grave.

Article: Research by Russell Gawthorpe and Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: ‘Country Items’, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 24 February 1900, p. 463; Walgett Spectator, 23 March 1901, 29 August 1929; The Occurrence of Opal at Lightning Ridge and Grawin, with Geological Notes on County Finch, J. W Whiting & R. E. Relph, 1958, p. 9; The Book of Opals, W. C. Eyles, 1964, p. 91; The Lightning Ridge Book, Stuart Lloyd, 1967, pp. 45, 48; Lightning Ridge - The Home of the Black Opal: Unique to the World, Gan Bruce, 1983, p. 74.