Steve Dowle, our founding director, has been involved in the Opal industry for 16 years since 2005.
I ventured out to explore Lightning Ridge and on my first day there, I met Chris Cheal (Outback Opal Hunters) while I was drinking at the local pub. After a few too many drinks he asked if I would like to come to a ”tailout” where opal dirt that has been washed in a mixer (an agi) is sorted after being washed down for many hours or days. Well at that tailout rolled out a few rough opals and a yabby button – opalised fossil. This was my first exposure to an opalised fossil. I used to find these yabby buttons on the dam bank of our property “homeleigh” of Mendooran when I was young. I could not believe that they existed in nature as an opalised yabby button created in the cretaceus period 110 millions years ago.
I still have that yabby button in my office I now have probably the biggest collection of yabby buttons in the word numbering nearly 1000. Ranging in size from 0.1 ct to 12.5 ct (2 foot long yabby) and from gem red on black specimens to common potch ones. Needless to say I was afflicted with “opal fever”.
The next person who influenced my future who I met at the “Ridge” was Barbara Montz. She was my guide on “Black Opals Tours”. On the second daty I was at Lightning Ridge showing me such wonders as Amigo’s Castle and Fred Bodells camp.
The following day Brian McCudden took me over to Grawin sheepyards, I ended up buying $2,000 worth of opals from him. I did not know it then but my new passion had begun.
