1986: Opal Mining Down Under | World About Us | BBC Archive

0:37 That was good.

0:41 Oh, got him.

0:43 One bone out in your neck.

0:53 You're pushing a cow, scraping your boots, just mopping your brow.

1:02 Stop what you have your bloody trucks laid some eggs.

1:23 No.

1:24 A come here.

1:28 Just having a brew.

1:29 You want one?

1:31 Yeah.

1:31 I don't think that water's hot yet.

1:32 I've just got the fire going properly.

1:34 Yeah.

1:34 I can cool the wind today.

1:38 I think it's going to rain.

2:16 sort of looking around me.

2:17 I I I think how incredibly lucky I am

2:19 to have found this place all through a chance meeting.

2:23 I was in the advertising business in uh London and uh I went

2:29 I was going to this party and on the way to the party

2:32 I decided to call in to uh this pub for a drink

2:36 and started chatting to the chap next to me and I don't know how

2:39 it came up but Australia came up and uh he was saying how

2:42 keen he was to get out here and I said yes I I

2:45 sort of feel the same way it's a country I'd like to go

2:47 to and he he said do you really mean it and I said Yes.

2:53 And he said to me, "What do you know about Opal?" And I said, "Nothing.

2:56 Never heard of stuff." He said, "Well,

2:58 there's a little place called Lightning Ridge.

3:11 I realized that I was really enjoying it when I was making excuses to stay,

3:16 but that was 20 years ago, and I still don't want to leave the place.

3:21 But it wasn't the lure of the opal as much

3:24 as the way of life that the ridge has to offer.

3:27 Because if it was the lure of opal,

3:28 there wouldn't be many people here because it's surely difficult to find.

3:31 The opal is a reason to enables you

3:34 to stay and uh and you had a complete freedom.

3:38 If you want to sit around and do nothing all day long, you can do.

3:40 No one's going to say anything to you.

3:42 There's space whatever you sort of like if you want to go and smoke marijuana,

3:46 that's quite all right because there's enough

3:47 space not to interfere with anyone else.

3:50 Um, so you can't say it's an Opal fever.

3:52 The only time we have Opal fever is if there's a rush.

3:56 If there's a rush while the town goes mad, we all get hold of axes and brace out

4:00 and cut pegs and register claims and everything else.

4:02 That lasts for a couple of days and then it's back to the normal humrum.

4:07 Although it's not humrum,

4:08 it's quite exciting really uh the way the life one has chosen.

4:12 So it is that more than Opal in my opinion that holds people here.

4:18 It is so different.

4:20 It is the alternative lifestyle.

4:28 I was born in Liverpool.

4:30 Uh left Liverpool about 1945 46.

4:36 Spent five years in the area.

4:37 Then I came out here to Australia as an entertainer.

4:42 I left the entertainment business and came to Lightning Ridge looking for Opal.

4:47 Well, uh, I found Opal all right, but, uh, things started getting difficult.

4:53 Government regulations and goodness knows what spoiled everything.

4:56 So, I left the Opal mining game and, uh, started other businesses.

5:02 Now, this is the camp I built while I was mining.

5:06 Never did have a roof.

5:09 Well, this used to be the kitchen.

5:13 There was a stove here.

5:15 Even though a very smoky stove, very smoky.

5:19 And the goats used to come through the window here.

5:24 So I had to block them off.

5:26 I lived here about four or five years on this one.

5:32 That's when I like when I left the thing.

5:55 Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

5:57 I hope you're going to enjoy the next few days here in Lightning Bridge,

6:01 the home of the famous Black Opal.

6:04 You'll be visiting some of the 65 opal fields

6:06 which extend for miles in the surrounding bush as well

6:10 as meeting some of the local characters and seeing

6:12 the sites of the town itself in the country.

6:26 It's time now for what's on read by Liz Meling.

6:30 The final fundraising event of the Burke women's team in the Burke to Burketown

6:33 Bash will be held this Sunday at 1:00 at the Carriers Arms Beer Garden.

6:37 The event is a reggae afternoon featuring gusto on half and bongos.

6:42 There'll be a sheep on a spit and loads of fun.

6:45 The Lightning Ridge Debutant Ball will be held

6:48 this Saturday at the Lightning Ridge Bowling Club.

6:50 Tickets are available from Maud's Takeaway.

6:53 For further information, contact Lorraine Harrison on 290580.

7:08 The wife and I were going around Australia on a work

7:10 on holiday and we got as far as Lightning Ridge 8 years ago.

7:13 Went opal mining for about two years went broke.

7:17 So I tried me luck on top of the ground.

7:21 Not that I went out opal.

7:22 I still do opal dealing.

7:24 But I've gone into got a card printed.

7:27 I've gone into the uh selling opal.

7:29 We've got the bush museum, cart firewood, paint and gray merchant.

7:34 I also do chiropractic, buying and selling of opal gear,

7:38 pine poles, props, anything that goes.

7:41 Bit of hair cutting.

7:43 It's just working out good for us now.

7:48 Well, this machine here is the Shelton ultraviolet high frequency ray lamp.

7:53 It was made in Long Island, New York.

7:56 sometime we think in the 1930s.

7:59 It was used in the Second World War in a in a German prison camp.

8:03 I bought it off an old German for $1,000.

8:06 Each one of these instruments have got their own job to do.

8:09 This one is for between the ear and the scalp.

8:12 This instrument here is for the tongue.

8:14 Uh any diseases that you get on your tongue or This one here is for your throat.

8:20 That one there is for warts and moles.

8:23 This little one here is for knits in the hair or any any thing that is

8:28 alive inside the scalp that it's got anything

8:31 to do with the hair that that'll kill it.

8:34 To my knowledge, there's only two of these in Australia.

8:37 I've got one and there's a bloke in Victoria's got the other one.

8:44 This is the one that goes into your ear and you just

8:46 keep turning it like that and it melts the wax inside the ear.

8:52 And then at night when you're laying down,

8:54 you can feel the wax running out of your ear.

9:09 Well, this is this is very hard country and uh extremely difficult to process.

9:15 And what is more, it doesn't look very promising.

9:19 So instead of using the jackhammer and knocking this stuff

9:22 out and and taking it away and processing it,

9:24 I'm making I'm checking with the pick to see if

9:27 I can see any traces of opal uh on the face.

9:31 And if I see any traces,

9:33 then I will knock it out with a jackhammer and take it away and wash it.

9:37 But uh previously it did look very promising.

9:40 And I thought there's going to be a lot of money here.

9:43 But it's cut right out.

9:44 There were seams of rich color which uh then turned to PCH which is

9:51 common opal which has no no actual color and uh even that has disappeared.

9:58 So much so that I'm thinking of moving to another part

10:00 of the claim to put a shaft down say 40 or 50 ft away.

10:12 Okay people, our next port of call is going to be the Lightning

10:16 Rich Bush Museum where you will see

10:19 hundreds and hundreds of bits of Australiana.

10:22 This place is run by Ken Fisher and his wife and probably the highlight

10:27 of this afternoon visit is going to be a performance by the ineitable cat.

10:37 Lightning Ridge is a pretty free and easy place.

10:40 You work whatever hours you want.

10:41 If you don't want to work, you don't work.

10:43 Anyway, Kenny Fischer comes along and he says,

10:45 "You want too much to run the museum." I thought, "Oh,

10:47 that'll just suit me nicely." And I thought, "Well,

10:50 it's about time we had a theater in the museum." So, we built it and here it is.

10:58 Every now and then we put shows on here.

11:00 Sometimes we don't.

11:01 It's any tourist comes in.

11:03 If it's only one or two of them, we don't bother.

11:05 If you get a bus load or something like that enough to fill these chairs up,

11:08 that's when we put the full show on the lot.

11:10 Knock, stock, and barrel.

11:13 Did you like that?

11:15 You liked it?

11:16 Well, I'll go and get my violin and play you another tune.

11:21 Mr.

11:21 Punch, I hear you playing a violin.

11:23 That's right.

11:25 I have a bin, too.

11:27 That's all there is to it.

11:28 You just rub it up and down all over the leg.

11:31 And once you kill it, that's it.

11:33 Well, I've never seen it or never had a patient come back.

11:37 That's it, folks.

11:38 I'm going home.

11:39 Good night.

11:41 You can't feel it, can you?

11:44 No.

11:43 But I can touch you there.

11:45 Feel the sparks.

11:48 Yeah.

11:50 You touch any the head and the big toe.

11:53 You're alive everywhere.

11:55 Try sticking a light bulb in your mouth.

11:58 I won't be playing your mouth or again because you've already had one.

12:01 I don't suppose there's anybody here from Melbourne.

12:04 No way.

12:05 No.

12:06 No.

12:06 Oh, good.

12:06 Oh, we can all have a good time now then.

12:11 I uh we rented a house in in Melbourne.

12:15 Been rented this house.

12:15 Very nice house in a very select area.

12:17 The council has selected it for the rubbish dump.

13:02 for who?

13:03 Terry over here.

13:04 Oh, yes.

13:06 I say, "Do you mind if I come down and have a look around?"

13:10 Sure.

13:09 Because um I want I want to put down this other shaft and I'm not quite certain

13:13 where to put it and I thought if I come down and have a look around here,

13:17 you will tell me all.

13:19 And what I want to do is to put a shaft down on our border.

13:23 Well, I've had some in here.

13:25 Not a lot, but just over in that other side there.

13:28 Where are we?

13:29 We are sort of near near the road now.

13:31 We're underneath the road just there.

13:32 You see, I suppose you you were saying just

13:34 now that you find your stuff in the pink stuff.

13:37 Now I find all anything I find is in the white.

13:41 That is what see this is what drives you mad about this business.

13:44 It's different.

13:44 I'm what am I a couple of hundred feet away

13:47 and yet all my good stuff is in the um

13:50 in the white stuff.

13:52 But that just shows the difference of the country.

13:54 Just a couple of hundred feet away.

13:56 So that's what over mining is, isn't it?

13:59 It's just luck.

14:01 So, I think I'll go on on the border if that's all right with you.

14:04 Good idea.

14:22 Had a good journey.

14:42 A lot of the people in town reckon that you look like Billy's sister.

14:45 And I said, "Oh, come on now.

14:46 That's Billy's mother." Oh, I said, "He doesn't look that that much sure."

14:50 Yeah, but if you turned around and lived 16 years on kangaroos,

14:54 pigs, and emus, you'd look like it did, too.

15:06 leg.

15:09 Well, that was for other cause that wasn't raining.

15:14 Remember one morning I woke up and I said,

15:16 "There's an emo in the bedroom." He said,

15:18 "I shut up in there." I said, "No, there's not.

15:21 I can hear it going beep beep beep.

15:30 Listen to the food.

15:33 Choose three.

15:39 Behave.

15:39 Look up.

15:40 Be proud and smile.

15:42 Going to be the most elegant guys here on Saturday night.

15:54 And watch your spaces, Jimmy.

15:55 Not too fast.

16:00 Go through that again because you really need it.

16:04 Hold your head up, smile, and no gum on Saturday night.

16:25 Not much nicer, you know, if you keep it short.

16:27 Don't cut too much off, you know.

16:29 No, I'm not going to do.

16:34 You got a ticket to do this or union?

16:39 Actually on Union, didn't you know that?

16:41 That'll do.

16:41 I've got to come around by his ears.

16:43 Where could I throw?

16:44 Don't take them off.

16:45 Oh, anyway.

16:47 Won't make any difference here.

16:49 Why don't you get some new teeth?

16:50 They're shocking those teeth are.

16:52 You've only got about two there at the front.

16:55 Yeah, that was pretty hard ground over there.

16:57 Let me have a look at them.

17:01 Shocking.

17:01 They are.

17:03 How long have you been up here?

17:06 Oh, about 18 years now.

17:07 18 years.

17:08 And you've never got a proper job yet?

17:10 I mean, you was going to make fortunes.

17:12 And I don't know what you wasn't going to do for your mother and father.

17:16 Now, last night when you left me, did you stay home?

17:24 The fellow who started this museum off,

17:26 his name was Ronnie Gardner and he died in 1977.

17:28 But when he died, he was cremated.

17:31 That's his ashes in the box.

17:32 We found that in the bottom of a refrigerator.

17:35 I think they were trying to keep him cool.

17:38 That's his hat.

17:39 That's his pipe.

17:40 And that was the saddle he put on his cat.

17:42 Now, um, as I told you, he'd rather fight than drink.

17:45 That's his teeth.

17:48 We got a nice thing here.

17:49 This bomb 1914.

17:52 The record is about 1933.

17:54 But unfortunately, the spring is disconnected.

17:57 We can't keep it fastened.

17:57 So, we got to do it by hand.

17:59 Cuz this shows you what it sounds like.

18:03 Don't me tell you how grand you are.

18:08 I've tried to explain.

18:11 Come on.

18:14 Hey, Billy.

18:15 So kiss me and say you'll understand.

18:25 Okay people.

18:25 Well, so we conclude our visit to the Bush Museum.

18:29 I know you're all interested.

18:30 I can tell by the laughs and chuckles of you all.

18:33 You wouldn't like to beat some of the old pioneer using some of that gear.

18:39 And the next port of the call is

18:41 going to be the bottle house of Lightning Ridge.

18:43 Constructed entirely of bottles.

19:21 Opal is what we all think about and dream about.

19:25 We are all looking for opals,

19:29 but the only way of finding out is by sinking a shot.

19:32 You just have to keep on doing it.

19:35 You cannot tell from the surface what the ground is like underneath.

19:40 You have to go down to find out.

19:51 I reckon old Andy the pin's a bit of a hermit out there.

19:53 Hey, but I don't know.

19:55 He just seems to like living on his own, didn't he?

19:57 He got fed up with the way everything's modernizing in this town.

20:00 Well, everybody's getting fed up with that.

20:01 He's quite happy where he is.

20:17 You practicing Andy or what?

20:22 This is where you see the professional play.

20:27 Look at that.

20:33 Nice practice board, Dad.

20:36 Where's the other one?

20:37 Right on the stump.

20:39 Where is it?

20:40 That little stump on the middle.

20:42 Jump there.

20:42 Yep.

20:43 That's the best.

20:49 Why did you ask

21:07 one?

21:16 So hot.

21:20 Which one?

21:41 Now, I am convinced there's opal on this claim,

21:44 but I I have that feeling also that I am not going to be the person to find it.

21:50 Now, three times I've left an area that turned out later to be extremely rich.

21:55 I wasn't annoyed.

21:56 I was vaguely disappointed that I had missed it.

21:59 But providing one can still find enough to live on, um, this is all one.

22:08 So, how deep do you think we are now?

22:13 30.

22:15 30.

22:15 You could go on to 50 and still not hit the next level.

22:19 It's so soft.

22:20 You see, it's getting soft now, which means it's difficult.

22:23 It's difficult to work under.

22:25 You want really hard sandstone.

22:27 This is You can break this with your fingers.

22:29 It's not It's not good enough to um to be able to work under safely.

22:34 Well, that's a lot of trouble of propping, but it's too soft.

22:40 Not in other words, it has no content silica.

22:43 So, I think I'll I don't think I'll go any deeper.

22:47 If later I can always do do it by hand if um I think it's worthwhile,

22:55 but I don't think that is.

22:58 Yeah, I think we'll call a halt at that.

23:03 It's a fortune lying underneath the catch.

23:28 Young lady had a bit of a crowd out here over the holidays.

23:37 All the time, huh?

23:39 All the time.

23:40 Nearly every day somebody call me.

23:43 Yeah.

24:45 He's dead.

24:47 Man dead.

24:49 What are you on about?

24:49 I just took him his kippers.

24:52 Oh my god.

24:56 What?

24:57 What are you looking at me like that for?

25:02 There's a keeper sticking out of your two three four on fire.

25:58 that you get.

25:58 You got some sandstone here.

26:00 How much level would you get over level?

26:02 I don't know.

26:03 I don't know.

26:04 You see, it was very vague.

26:08 Paddling tanks are a fairly new innovation.

26:10 They came in about 14 years ago.

26:14 The dirt goes in with the water also being at the same time.

26:19 This breaks it down and the end of it all that remains

26:23 is either some hard stone or opal where it was something bad.

26:44 My ground's improving as it gets down towards your plane.

26:52 Right.

26:53 Plenty of beer.

26:58 Cold.

26:58 Yes, please.

27:00 Nicely cold, too.

27:01 It is.

27:03 You wouldn't mind putting this on the stove for a few minutes, would you?

27:06 You're looking better and better all the time.

27:21 Wow, that's really interesting.

27:23 What a buy book.

27:45 I take a couple of these books with me.

27:52 Okay.

27:51 Thank you.

27:58 Heat.

28:00 Heat.

29:02 We don't go to the regist.

29:09 That's the only time you both come out of your hole, isn't it?

29:12 Either that or you run out of grog.

29:16 No,

29:16 don't run out of grog.

29:18 Not yet.

29:19 We come close a couple of times.

29:24 A couple of times.

29:38 Yeah.

30:30 I told you a lot in this.

30:33 Yeah.

30:33 Yeah.

30:33 But there there were a couple of nice shells that you got,

30:35 but I saw that one you picked out as it came out of the machine there, Terry.

30:39 My god, there this is the the end result of a truckload of dust.

30:44 Not all of it opal clear.

30:46 And uh we've worn it down with water

30:51 and wearing it against a a mesh, circular mesh.

30:56 But the result is it's reduced to about three bucket loads.

31:01 Three bucket balls.

31:03 See what we are all we found so far is these two pieces of rubber.

31:09 Well, it's a it's a lobby.

31:11 What we're really looking for is something that gives off a deep bright color.

31:16 Um it's it's a lottery no more than a poker machine.

31:21 You keep putting your money in and then

31:22 you walk away from the machine in disgust.

31:25 Someone else comes along and puts in 10 cents and they get the jackpot.

31:30 All you can say is for Lord's sake, don't get the B.

31:48 How the hell are we going to get this on there?

31:49 There's only four of us.

31:52 It doesn't matter.

31:52 We'll get it there, mate.

31:53 If you get it for nothing, I'll shift the world.

31:56 Okay, I'll I'll be in that.

32:19 Hey, Gwen.

32:21 How are the kangaroos?

32:22 Oh, fine.

32:24 Oh, you got any new ones?

32:26 Oh, yes, quite a few.

32:28 This u one of the doe's here has got a joey in the pouch.

32:31 Oh, for sure.

32:33 You got any sick ones?

32:35 At the moment, I've had one little fellow recovering from broken legs.

32:39 The both back legs were broken.

32:40 Good lord.

32:41 What?

32:41 By a car?

32:42 The mother was killed by a car and the Joey was injured.

32:46 Yeah.

32:46 And one little one was found near a dam

32:48 where the mother had deserted it because of the drought.

32:51 Yeah.

32:51 So, how many have you got now?

32:53 Oh, well, they come and go as they like.

32:56 Yeah.

32:57 It's remarkable, isn't it, that they that they do that coming?

33:00 About 27 in last night.

33:02 Go.

33:04 27?

33:03 Yeah, there were about 27 in last night for a meal.

33:06 Where's the red?

33:07 Where's the red?

33:08 Oh, he's gone off down the bush now.

33:09 He's

33:10 Well, he's upset.

33:13 He wasn't getting all the attention he wanted.

33:16 And uh Oh, at night time too when the weather's rough,

33:20 they come in and rest in under the box trees and the mop there.

33:24 And uh because a lot of them have were reared here, they think it's home.

33:29 Yeah.

33:29 Do you get any in the last few days?

33:31 Oh, yes.

33:31 But three, four babies are in the nursery pen.

33:35 This little fellow, he's had broken legs.

33:39 Oh, yes.

33:39 The mother was hit by a car and his legs were broken.

33:41 See?

33:42 Yeah.

33:42 And they're bent.

33:44 Yeah.

33:43 I had them in plaster, but they'll never be really straight.

33:46 But 4 days ago, he actually did hop.

33:49 Did he really?

33:49 So, we're very pleased with him.

33:51 And see, he can stand himself.

33:53 Oh, yeah.

33:54 Steady, steady, darling.

33:56 Yes, he's

33:56 and and he hops a little sideways,

33:58 but he is learning to hop, but he will be all right.

34:02 And u as he gets older, I'm hoping they'll straighten a little bit more.

34:07 What's the I mean, suppose you know someone came along

34:09 with two today and that someone came along with three more tomorrow.

34:11 What What are you going to do about that?

34:13 Well, because you can't take them on.

34:14 Yes, I do.

34:15 Do you?

34:17 Yes.

34:17 Luckily, I've got a loving husband and a very patient husband.

34:21 and he steps over kangaroo bags and kangaroo nappies and

34:26 and in the fridge he has to fight among

34:28 the formulas to find a bit of sausage or something.

34:34 I'm going to take them inside now because

34:35 they sleep beside the wood stove each night.

34:37 Oh, I'll give you a hand.

34:38 Oh, thank you.

34:44 Right.

34:42 There we go.

34:43 Come on, little fellas.

34:50 Steady.

34:51 Yep.

34:55 Go again, Travis.

35:30 Right.

35:44 Yeah.

35:45 But it was good of that boat to give it to us though, wasn't it?

35:47 Yeah.

35:48 put in the museum that back fence there.

35:51 Yeah.

35:51 Well, don't forget to paint it and look after when you get

35:53 it.

35:53 Get put on a few.

37:26 Oh, no.

37:26 No.

37:27 If I put on a few pounds, I can only do it the same way.

37:32 All together.

37:37 Don't fall on your back again.

37:38 as your mother gives you a goodbye of the air.

37:44 Oh my god.

38:03 That was really good.

38:21 The bumblebee.

38:30 No, I'm standing at the sitting right Don't

38:56 forget the Lightning Ridge debutant ball is on tonight.

38:59 So if you'd like to go,

39:01 pick up your tickets from Mor's Takeaway in the main street of Lightning Ridge.

39:05 You're on 2WEB and here's Old Man Emu.

39:11 It's a far cry to what it was, isn't it?

39:13 Oh yeah.

39:13 Bit over 20 years ago when we first came

39:15 here and there was no 100 yards of bumen.

39:18 A little pub Dawson's Dawson story.

39:21 Oh, he got everything.

39:22 Was a post office, Petrol Bzer, little butcher shop across the road.

39:27 We used to walk down there and

39:28 all Dawson coming up.

39:29 Old Dawson there.

39:31 Look, you're asking for something.

39:33 It takes him half an hour to find it.

39:35 Razor blade, cigarettes, flour, tobacco, just like old western times.

39:39 It was times changing now, Bill, eh?

39:58 There's a chance nice blue green color in this one.

40:01 Did you mine it or buy it?

40:04 No, no, no.

40:04 I said some time ago.

40:08 No.

40:07 Well, we'll have to discuss it a bit.

40:09 There is quite a bit of lump of opal here and it might make a nice big stone.

40:15 Al.

40:15 So this part here on top is still jelly.

40:19 The pattern is further down.

40:21 What are you going to saw that end off?

40:23 Yeah, that is the question.

40:29 The problems with cutting is that the cutter knows what he's doing,

40:32 but you have to confirm what he wants to do.

40:35 And I've known cases where there's

40:37 a slight imperfection and the cutter says, "Well,

40:39 shall we leave it in or take it off?" And at that moment,

40:43 the stone will say it's worth $500.

40:46 You get rid of that imperfection.

40:47 You go a little deeper and it's worth

40:50 $2,000 or it could be worth nothing at all.

40:57 It's very hard to find opal.

40:58 Now, goodness knows how many millions of tourists

41:01 have been around and everyone's picking up stone.

41:02 So, I thought, well, I'll buy the opal and spread it around the mine.

41:06 Charge them $2 a day to go specking.

41:09 I've had no complaints yet.

41:31 Good afternoon.

41:32 How are you?

41:33 Not too bad.

41:33 How are you?

41:35 Hello.

41:37 Hello.

41:36 We've bought a whole bus load of Americans this time.

41:39 That's good on you.

41:44 Hi.

41:46 Hi.

41:45 Did they pay you or you're early in a minute?

41:50 And uh you you can pay Billy here.

41:53 Pay me.

41:54 Hey you guys.

41:56 Don't forget.

41:57 Are you Billy?

41:57 That's me.

41:59 Okay.

41:59 Thank you.

42:02 Billy.

42:02 And here's for another one.

42:03 And then I need to pay for me.

42:06 See you.

42:09 The only place you won't find anything is just on this little patch here.

42:13 It could be anywhere over the rest of it.

42:34 Well, let's have a look at that stone.

42:36 Terry, it uh like to make a very commercial shape of it.

42:43 I propose to put the next cut in just outside of that outside of the sand.

42:50 Outside the hole.

42:51 Yeah.

42:51 Yeah.

42:56 The bloody bloke went out here.

42:57 I think it was le goes down his hole.

43:00 He walked walked up the bloody shaft.

43:03 He's walking along and next thing he could hear

43:04 this in the real bloody sheep fell down that way before.

43:14 Here comes Here comes this white bloody ghost coming.

43:19 He did himself.

43:21 He probably did the truth.

43:24 Bloody ass.

43:25 You bastard keeping up stories to me.

43:27 These stories in in what myths are they?

43:31 Well, you know, I had a friend that used to mine

43:33 in Peru and he said that uh the people down there,

43:37 they don't take a bath, you know, they take maybe one bath in a lifetime.

43:42 And when they do take it while the relatives gather around

43:46 and wait and see if he's going to survive the plumbing, I'm watching the sun.

43:55 Oh, that's nice.

43:57 Nice little blue green one.

44:00 them are keepers.

44:02 Yeah, I guess.

44:04 Huh?

44:04 I guess I'm going to have to look harder.

44:15 Still got sand in my mouth.

44:17 It's beautiful.

44:21 Please.

44:21 I guess I'll kick along a bit later.

44:24 All we want to do here is turn around and have our own

44:27 little claim and mine and let the rest of the world leave us alone.

44:32 That's where I found this out when I first came to this town.

44:35 Eone what's happened?

44:38 Bure bure what do they call it?

44:39 Bureaucratic them other bus them ones that get shiny asses in Sydney.

44:47 We now reach the stage where no more decisions.

44:51 The steering won't get any better or worse.

44:53 In actual fact, it's better than I thought it would be.

44:55 I thought we might be lucky to get even a small one,

44:58 but we've got one probably five or six carats and one of about two carats.

45:06 Here it is.

45:10 Well, it's better than I expected.

45:13 It's um scent showing through from the bottom.

45:16 Yes.

45:16 Yes.

45:16 Pay for the petrol for the week, I suppose.

45:18 And that's about it.

45:23 Well, say goodbye.

45:24 I don't know when I'll see you again.

45:25 I know if you That beard is awful.

45:29 Look, I left up the fields of the north.

45:33 I've come to the ridge to mine.

45:35 And don't tell me in the Queensland area.

45:39 The miners right is right.

45:41 You're not in Queensland now.

45:42 Right.

45:43 I know that.

46:07 Oh well people that's Lightning Witch and we can say goodbye

46:10 to the 65 opal fields of Lightning Witch and the thousands of mother keeps.

46:22 We're off to do now.

46:23 Unfortunately, you cannot get up here until we get to do

46:27 and then you can have three or four if you wish.

46:43 Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to the 1985 Debutan's fall.

46:48 Lovely looking crowd.

46:49 The whole place is full.

46:55 The term debutan was bestowed upon young

47:00 ladies making their debut or introduction into society.

47:23 Well, let's get the message rock and beat.

47:28 Let it travel your body till it hits your feet.

47:32 Shake it in your shoes, boy.

47:34 Going to make you feel wild.

47:37 Well, if you can't dance, then I'm going to show you how.

47:41 Well, I'm a rockabilly rapper from head to toe.

47:46 Going to keep it rocking everywhere I go.

47:51 Everybody join us for a beh.

47:57 You ever be a real good me?