By the year 1875, there had been many wonderful finds throughout South Western Queensland especially in the Kyabra Hills. During those early years, production was fragmented as there was no ready market for the gem; a situation which was not to change for many years. This was borne out when joe Bridle, probably the most remembered of all early miners, took a parcel of fine opal down to Silverton in New South Wales as late as 1887, where he displayed it in the offices of F. E. Harris.

The first serious attempt to establish the fledgling industry was in 1875 when Mr Herbert Bond took up leases over the Aladdin, Scotsman and Cunnavalla mines in the Kyabra Hills. Opal from these mines enabled him in 1879 to float a company in London for two thousand five hundred pounds.

“We had risked the whole venture on the hope of finding a man, in that ‘ungettable’ spot, whom Buttfield had not heard from for two years. It sounded a ridiculous enterprise …. but it succeeded”. – Tully Wollaston

Mr Bond’s efforts, gallant as they were, eventually failed setting the industry back many years. Yet they were not unnoticed by Queen Victoria, an ardent opal lover, who awarded him a 40 acre freehold lease over the Aladdin Mine.

It was not until 1888 that Tully Wollaston, a young surveyor turned entrepreneur, from Adelaide made the next determined effort to market the gem. In so doing he engraved his name forever across the annals of Australian history. It was due to his tireless struggle and sheer determination in convincing the gem merchants of the world to accept our opal, that we now have a viable industry.

Wollaston gave a description of Joe Bridle, the man whose opal played a major part in setting the foundation of our present industry. “Extremely friendly, somewhat middle height, square set and as strong as a horse, square jawed, and executive nose, with kindly blue eyes”.

Bridle, though apparently friendly, still treated Wollaston and his party with some scepticism, for after breakfast the following morning he emptied the contents of an old battered tin across his rough bush table and to everyone’s amazement out tumbled a heap of pale barred sandshot opal. Noticing the look of disappointment on Wollaston’s face he quickly apologized explaining that these were only his seconds.

It wasn’t until the following morning that Bridle showed him his ‘firsts’. They justified the reason behind all those gruelling 1100 km’s of intense heat and mental strain, as they sparkled and danced in the sunlight with every colour known to man.

For some reason Bridle was reluctant to sell his opal to Wollaston at this stage. Spending the next few weeks showing him and his friends around the Kyabra Hills.

It was a fortnight after arriving at Bridle’s camp that Wollaston made his first purchase. Because of its place in history, I will quote Wollaston’s description of the event. “Next day explored ‘The Southern Gem’ and ‘Friday Gully’ and pegged the former. Had lunch at Donald Gordon’s camp, the only other party in the hills at the time, and here I blossomed out into the merchant and made my first purchase of opal!! Sixty one pieces of Breakfast Creek stone from Charlie Whitehead for twenty seven pounds and ten shillings. It was small stuff, but very brilliant and the dancing lights pricked my hands in a delicious way”.

Wollaston returned to Adelaide via Brisbane, leaving Buttfield and the aboriginal boy to look after their affairs on the field. It was during this period that Buttfield perished whilst searching for their camels.

Back in Adelaide, Wollaston was able to spend a few days with his family before departing for London on the S.S. Sydney, arriving in July 1889. Like those before him, he had no success with the conservative English. Who had come to accept only the milky types of Hungarian opal.

He eventually found a firm ‘Hasluck Brothers’ in Hatton Gardens, willing to give the new gem a chance. They set up cutters and distributed the opal throughout America.

Wollaston returned to Australia and the Kyabra fields to purchase opal for the new market. One morning Joe Bridle came hurrying into camp on his horse with news of a rich strike about 45 miles back behind Euronghella Station. Bill Johnson had discovered it and named it; “The Little Wonder”. On arriving at the mine they were disappointed to find that the adjoining ground had been pegged by a silent Scotsman known locally as Carney Jimmy.

The rest of the story, I feel, should be told by Wollaston himself. “Ah then, shall I ever forget it Old Bill, after interminable delays, as they seemed to me, tooling off to, spring his plant. William Johnson had his ‘firsts’ rolled up in an ancient nut brown singlet, stuffed inside a blue dungaree trouser leg, which was tied at each end with wallaby sinew.

That was not, I imagine, strictly as regards ‘firsts’ but was more distinctive. Unlike a mere sugar bag in which held ‘seconds and thirds’. As we squatted on our haunches my heart was pounding off my ribs. I wondered if the other two could hear it. Bill’s stubby fingers didn’t tremble as he fumbled with the sinew. Nor as he extracted the nut brown garment from its blue pupa case and tumbled the sacred balls of fire into a glowing pool. I felt a odd stiffness as I could not reach one of them. My lips were dry and cracked. Sixty pieces of pure red grain opal as large as Walnuts were in his ‘firsts’, ‘seconds’ and ‘thirds’. Though clothed in a sugar bag, were by no means poor relations.

All the opal I had ever seen paled in significance beside this “Little Wonder Stone”. Such that I became absurdly incapable while making a bargain. If old Bill had demanded a life pension, a villa on Lake Como, the Elgin Marbles, or any of these as a condition of sale, I would have closed instantly. When he merely said, “one thousand quid”. In a nervous but half defiant tone, I couldn’t for the life of me suggest breaking that deliciously ‘cool’ figure. Metaphorically, I leaned my forehead against its coolness and steadied myself sufficiently to write a legible cheque”. (1000 quid is $2000).