Lightning Ridge | |
|---|---|
 Fossicking field in Lightning Ridge | |
  Lightning Ridge | |
| Coordinates:29°26′0″S147°58′0″E / 29.43333°S 147.96667°E /-29.43333; 147.96667 | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| LGA | |
| Location | |
| Established | 1922 |
| Government | |
| • State electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Elevation | 170 m (560 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 1,946 (2021 census)[2] |
| Postcode | 2834 |
| County | Finch |
| Mean max temp | 28 °C (82 °F) |
| Mean min temp | 13.9 °C (57.0 °F) |
| Annual rainfall | 470.7 mm (18.53 in) |
Lightning Ridge is a small outback town in northernNew South Wales, Australia. Part ofWalgett Shire, Lightning Ridge is situated near the southern border ofQueensland, about 6 km (4 mi) east of theCastlereagh Highway. The Lightning Ridge area is a centre of the mining ofblack opal and otheropal gemstones.
Thetraditional owners of the land around Lightning Ridge are theYuwaalaraay people.[3]Yuwaalayaay (also known asYuwalyai, Euahlayi, Yuwaaliyaay, Gamilaraay, Kamilaroi, Yuwaaliyaayi) is anAustralian Aboriginal language spoken on Yuwaalayaay country. It is closely related to theGamilaraay and Yuwaalaraay languages. The Yuwaalayaay language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of theShire of Balonne, including the town ofDirranbandi as well as the border town ofGoodooga extending toWalgett and theNarran Lakes in New South Wales.[4]
After they were displaced by the establishment of colonial pastoral stations, many Yuwaalaraay people stayed on as labourers, but were increasingly dispersed in the early 20th century. In 1936, several indigenous families living at a local government settlement were forced to move to theBrewarrina settlement.[5]
By the mid 1800s, British colonialists settled in the area, initially using the land forpastoral activities.[6]
The name Lightning Ridge is said to have originated when in the 1870s, some passers-by found the bodies of a farmer, his dog, and 200 sheep, which had been struck by lightning.[7][8]
Europeans did not discover the potential for opal mining in Lightning Ridge until the late 1800s. In 1905, the first shafts were dug, with the unique Black Opal soon attracting attention of fossickers in established mining towns such asWhite Cliffs.[9] Charlie Nettleton an early pioneer in the area, walked 700 km (430 mi) from White Cliffs to see the Black Opal, walking back to White Cliffs the following year with Jack Murray to develop a market and selling black opals to Ted Murphy, who later became the first resident opal buyer in Lightning Ridge. Nettleton, now regarded as the founder of the black opal industry, is commemorated with a life-sized bronze statue, the "Spirit of Lightning Ridge"; it is located in the town at 7 Morilla Street.[10][11]
At the2021 census, Lightning Ridge had a population of 1,946, with a median age of 53.
At the 2001 census, the town had a population of 1,826, of whom 344 (18.8%) were Indigenous Australians.[13] The population is said to be highly variable, as transient miners come and go over time. Prior to the 2004 public inquiry into the functioning ofWalgett Shire, it worked on the basis that about 7,000 people were in the town, but the enquiry found that this estimate was not supported by the 2001 census and contrasted with the 1,109 people who voted in the town at the local government elections in 2004.[14] At the2006 census, the population of Lightning Ridge had increased to 2,602 people.[15]
By the2016 census the population had fallen slightly to 2,284, with a median age of 51.
The town was listed as one of the poorest places in the state according to the 2015Dropping Off The Edge report.[16]
Lightning Ridge has ahot semiarid climate (BSh) under theKöppen climate classification.
| Climate data for Lightning Ridge | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 48.5 (119.3) | 47.2 (117.0) | 42.0 (107.6) | 36.1 (97.0) | 32.0 (89.6) | 27.2 (81.0) | 28.8 (83.8) | 36.2 (97.2) | 39.3 (102.7) | 41.5 (106.7) | 44.5 (112.1) | 43.6 (110.5) | 48.5 (119.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 36.1 (97.0) | 34.9 (94.8) | 32.4 (90.3) | 28.1 (82.6) | 23.2 (73.8) | 19.4 (66.9) | 19.3 (66.7) | 21.6 (70.9) | 26.2 (79.2) | 29.4 (84.9) | 31.9 (89.4) | 34.6 (94.3) | 28.1 (82.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.5 (72.5) | 21.7 (71.1) | 19.0 (66.2) | 14.4 (57.9) | 9.1 (48.4) | 6.6 (43.9) | 4.9 (40.8) | 6.1 (43.0) | 10.4 (50.7) | 14.2 (57.6) | 18.2 (64.8) | 20.2 (68.4) | 13.9 (57.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 11.5 (52.7) | 10.3 (50.5) | 5.0 (41.0) | 2.0 (35.6) | 0.0 (32.0) | −3.5 (25.7) | −4.4 (24.1) | −2.2 (28.0) | 1.5 (34.7) | 4.9 (40.8) | 6.0 (42.8) | 5.0 (41.0) | −4.4 (24.1) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 50.6 (1.99) | 40.0 (1.57) | 40.7 (1.60) | 27.6 (1.09) | 25.0 (0.98) | 47.3 (1.86) | 30.2 (1.19) | 18.2 (0.72) | 30.6 (1.20) | 40.3 (1.59) | 55.5 (2.19) | 59.5 (2.34) | 478.2 (18.83) |
| Average precipitation days | 5.8 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 5.5 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 61.5 |
| Average afternoonrelative humidity (%) | 35 | 38 | 38 | 41 | 44 | 54 | 48 | 38 | 33 | 34 | 39 | 33 | 40 |
| Source:[17] | |||||||||||||
The Lightning Ridge Opal and Gem Festival takes place yearly.[18] The town has a five-star Olympic pool, which features a diving complex, a rock climbing wall, and water theme park that operates during the summer holidays. Parts of the pool are protected by shade, and the complex has barbecue facilities. The Ella Nagy Youth Centre opened in 2000; it features askatepark. Until 2011, Lightning Ridge hosted an annual goat race in the town's main street and arodeo on the Easter long weekend. Goats were harnessed and driven by children, much likeharness racing in equine sports. The goat races were accompanied by wheelie-bin races, andhorse racing the following day.
Local football team the Lightning Ridge Redbacks play in theGroup 15 Barwon Darling Rugby League competition.
Lightning Ridge is home to theSt GeorgeSerbian Orthodox Church with a travelling priest from Brisbane attending several times a year to conduct mass.[19]
Some artists have settled in and around Lightning Ridge. One of the most famous local Australian painters isJohn Murray, who brings the impressions of theOutback, often in a situation with man or fauna onto the canvas.
Lightning Ridge is an importantpaleontological site, with opalisedfossils dating back to theCretaceous period, around 100 million years ago, deriving from theGriman Creek Formation. The site is especially important as a source of fossils of ancientmammals, which, at that time, were small creatures living in a world dominated bydinosaurs. The fossils are sometimesopalised and discovered by opal miners. Important discoveries at Lightning Ridge include the ancestralmonotremesKollikodon ritchiei andSteropodon galmani.[20] In June 2019, a new species of dinosaur,Fostoria dhimbangunmal, was described from fossils retrieved from Lightning Ridge. The plant-eating species lived at least 100 million years ago. It is the most complete dinosaur fossil to be found preserved as opal.[21]
Since August 1992 when the Mining Act 1992 commenced,fossicking licences have not been required for fossicking in New South Wales.[22]
Under the terms of this act, fossicking may now be carried out anywhere in the state providing these conditions are met:
Lightning Ridge has an abundance of hot water from a borespring into theGreat Artesian Basin and offers two hot-water pools for bathing.[24] The public can tap mineral water at a hose in Harlequin Street. The Hot Artesian Bore Baths and Nettletons Shaft, on McDonald's Six Mile Opal Field, have been placed on theRegister of the National Estate.
The town is serviced by three radio stations. Opal FM on 89.7 MHz,Outback Radio 2WEB on 90.5 MHz and2CUZ FM on 96.1 MHz.
The Western Herald is published on a weekly basis (every Thursday) year-round, except during a short break at Christmas and covers local Lightning Ridge Stories.
Australian comedian, actor and television presenterPaul Hogan claimed to be from Lightning Ridge to improve his chances to appear on Australian talent contestNew Faces, but was actually born in the suburbs of Sydney. As the myth helped drive tourism to Lightning Ridge, Hogan has avoided correcting the record.[25]
Tyrone Lindqvist ofRüfüs Du Sol grew up in Lightning Ridge.[26]
A legitimate native of Lightning Ridge is currentAustralia women's rugby union internationalBella McKenzie.[27]
This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Yuwaalayaay".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved23 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Frank Leechman's The Opal Book (1961) gives an explanation of how Lightning Ridge got its name. He tells how one night a shepherd, his dog, and a large mob of sheep were sheltering among the trees on the ridge from a wild storm. Suddenly, a mighty bolt of lightning struck right in the middle of the flock, killing over 200 sheep, the others scattering in terror.
Media related toLightning Ridge, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons
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