tullie cornwaith Wollaston

the father of australia’s opal industry

T C Wollaston has been described as the father of the Australian opal industry. An entrepreneur who purchased who perhaps purchased the first Australian precious opals, and exported them for sale on one of several trips to England. In some ways Tullie Wollaston’s epic journey to find opal is among one of the greatest expeditions into the outback of Australia that is missed by history. And yet to the Australian opal industry it ranks as one of the highest achievements ever recorded.

An historic journey in the outback - to find opal

How do we know about it? Well, for our historical convenience, TCW wrote about his expedition in the summer of 1888 from Marree in north western South Australia to the Kyabra Hills in central south western Queensland. All to buy precious opal from a miner in the outback. So begins a tradition of opal dealers travelling to far off places in search of the phenomenal gemstone we know as opal. Tully Wollaston’s diary, written for us to remember, is called: Opal: The Gem of the Never Never. One can wonder what… besets a man to leave family and to travel into the Australian outback, except perhaps for the love of opal.

“O please, Miss Em,

Send me a gem,

Drop me a Gem,

Toss me a Gem”

A portrait of Tully Cornwaith Wollaston, (TCW).

The cover of TCW’s Diary as published in 1924

A few passages from the diary are below.

Part 2: Chapter 2: “Off to the opal country……………. I found myself one hot Wednesday 21st November 1888, heading out to “spot” Joe Bridle and his newly found opal mine on the burning ridges of the far Kyabra Hills. The programme was to hire camels at Herrgott (now Marree) strike across to Strelecki and on through Innamincka and up the Cooper to Windorah hence through Hammond Downs, Maroo, and Tallyho to the Kyabra Hills where my meagre information who was supposed to have made teh the discovery of Sandstone opal.”

December 12th Arrived at Toolache about 3:30 pm, 118 F (thats 47.8C) in the shade, with a furious hot wind blowing…….Dust storms blowing throughout the night and a few drops of hot rain then stretches of suffocating closeness, with mosquitoes as large as bees. The nights are awful.”

a note of despair

Then perhaps TCW pens one of the most notable, often reproduced, and emotional quotes in opal literature:

“December 27th Same old entry, “heat awful.” Self and beast utterly exhausted on reaching Tanbar at 9:30pm. The sun went down in rayless in an angry murk of blood, and a hot wind came fanning over the stone floor………...I shall, as long as I live, remember that blood red sun sinking over the blackening desert, that sickening hot wind, fanning up as if it were from Gehenna, the smell of smoking clay and burnt stones, and a sinking sense of despair.”

Better news and times were ahead:

“January 9th Next morning we were moving at 4:30……….It was only following a foot pad for the last lap that it was possible……..But now we were actually at Stoney Creek Opal mine….and there was Joe Bridle in the flesh! That was a happy fact! We had covered our 700 miles in seven weeks in the worst year known, and over long stretches where much maneuvering was necessary to keep even a camel alive. We had risked the whole venture on the hope of finding a man in that ungettable spot, whom Buttfield (TCW travelling companion) had not heard of for two years at least. It sounded a ridiculous enterprise, and no doubt was so described by some of my stay at home friends, but it succeeded and put an end to any criticism.”