When does opal history begin?

You could say that opal history begins in the Ordivician period of geological time, 445-485 mybp (million years before present) for which the sandstone of the Mintabie beds in South Australia have been dated and are the source of precious opal. However it should be noted that it is likely that the opal did not form at the same time as the sandstone, but came later. You will have to read in the Sciences section and Geology of occurrences of opal to find out more.

More over you could say that opal history began with the Australian Aborigines who in there dreaming have several stories about precious opal. “The opal that turned into fire”, “Guba Walga-The White Lady”. “The Weeping Opal”.

Overseas opals and their history is often convoluted and open to much discussion. Allan C. Eckert in his book entitled “The World of Opals” and Chapter four “A Chronological History and Mythology of Opals” has said the history of opal begins with the discovery of opal artefacts in the Nakuru Cave by Dr Louis Leakey in Kenya, Africa. The artefacts discovered have been dated to be about 4000 years BP (before present). It would seem that this reference to opal is open to discussion.It is recorded in a Biography by Virginia Morell entitled “Ancestral Passions” pages 116-118 (reproduced in the Literature section of the Library), that the artefacts were described as opal. Leakey’s original information was published in 1938 in London in newspaper articles of “The Times”, and the reports were cautious and qualified using words like ‘tentative’ and appears to be’. In 1950 the more Scientific paper was published . The so called opal artefacts are revealed as a series of beads which are accurately described as agate, chalcedony, white and green quartz, steatite and several feldspars including amazonite. (See insert from Opal-The Phenomenal Gemstone, pp 6-8: Fact and Fiction, by Janet Clifford. Eventually the sight of the Njoro Cave in the Nakuru basin was radio carbon dated as approximately 960 B.C. The beads are preserved in the National Museum of Kenya in Nairobi.

As the years went by, opal was unearthed around the world, and over time most importantly commercial mines were exploited in Slovakia. These opal mines in the district of Dubnik produced much of the commercially available opal and eventually closed in about 1932. My colleague Peter Semrad has produced several magnificent books describing this “European Opal”. (details may be found in the Literature section).

Here in Australia, the history begins with a German mineralogist by the name of Johannes Menge. It was reported he discovered precious opal in the Barossa Valley in South Australia, now more commonly known for it’s wine industry than it is for opal. Australian Opal explorer, Tully Wollaston, then recorded his exploits in a diary now published as “Opal, Gem of the Never Never”. His entries show the discovery of the precious opal in Listowel Downs Station in 1869. From there opal occurrences spread across Australia.