NOW FOR THE REASON THIS IS ALL HERE - WHITE CLIFFS - PART 5 ('THE BLOCKS' AND THE OPAL FIELD) (16 - 20 MAY 2019)

As I have explained earlier, I have delayed presenting this blog in the hope that I would be able to resurrect my ability to share some critical photos from the Internet. Unfortunately this had not been possible to date, so I've decided to box on with what I've got and provide a reference for you to be able to see more for yourselves.

Bugger.....but the show must go on!

So, let's get to it. Well now that all the music festival partying has come to an end and we have taken a general look around the town, it is high time to focus our attention on the area which brought all this about......the opal fields themselves.

Let me set the scene with a quick return to the marvellous mud map produced by the town's tourist association which shows the location of the opal fields to the north of the town. It is out here that the third of White Cliffs' recognised hills can be found, although I should comment that Sullivan's Hill is not nearly as prominent at its two counterparts, Turley's and Smith's.

The area known as 'The Blocks' (just south of the main diggings) is the spot where as early as 1894 miners dug into the hill near the Red Earth Opal Cafe (we'll visit this shortly) to escape the unbearable summer heat in what were the first town dugouts, a residential tradition which has continued to this day for many of the 200 or so permanent residents of this town.

On the fields themselves you will see the map notations of 'Everybody's, Nobody's and Busybody's'. 

Here we have yet another example of the quirky local sense of humour. Because unlicensed fossicking is allowed throughout the White Cliffs fields, the town authorities considered public toilets to be an essential component of the area. Very practical indeed, but they did let their hair down with the names given to them!

We actually visited this area on two occasions, once during Rob's tour and later on our own. This missive brings both together.

But having spoken of the dugouts of 'The Blocks', I would like to begin this offering by taking you on a tour of one of the town's largest and most interesting underground homes, one where the incredible artistic talents of Cree Marshall and the ingenuity and endeavour of her husband Lindsay White have combined to produce a grand and beautiful residence.

The doors of the 'White House' are thrown open daily in the mid morning for any who want to see just what can be done with this style of home (for a charge of course, but a modest one). 

And now for one of the great disappointments of this visit as far as my blog goes. 

Photography is banned inside this magnificent home, but I was given a card which nominated a website from which I would be able to download interior shots. To my great frustration, all the relevant material has been blocked from reproduction, quite contrary to what I was told to expect. But the exterior does provide a very good idea of how things work here, and I did manage to find one interior shot, so I shall push on regardless. 

One characteristic of just about all the White Cliffs dugouts is the fact that from the exterior they look like a shambles. No-one here throws anything away! We were told of one bloke who, after being badgered by his goodly spouse for months, finally gave a portion of his exterior clutter to a neighbour, only to buy it back at a clearance sale a year or so later! Mother was apparently less than impressed, but that's White Cliffs for you.

I am sure some of the following photos will more than amply demonstrate what I mean.
  

Even the famed White House is not immune, where under this section of the huge front verandah, the proposed spa has apparently been a 'work in progress' for some time. I have to confess to pulling up in the nearby front parking area and thinking "Ye Gods, why would folk pay to see this?", but that first impression did not last long.

Before going inside we were taken to the top of the home. Here the extent of the front roofing became apparent as we gazed out over part of the White Cliffs vista. As I have mentioned earlier, these roofs provide both shade and a catchment for precious water. Here it is very much a case of the bigger the better.

Two other critical factors in making life underground comfortable are light and ventilation. This odd looking tower is one of several which allow air from below to vent into the atmosphere through a long shaft. 

This roam around the far from attractive 'roof' of the house brought us to one of the home's light shafts

and gave us a view over some of the dugouts 

which are typical of The Blocks.

And now for the one interior shot I was able to salvage. This is the kitchen of the White House. What an extraordinary room it is with its circular bench top salvaged from a Government department (we think it was Centrelink), a section of a huge redgum trunk used as a load bearing pillar and one of  Cree's magnificent artworks adorning the far wall.

From here passages twist and turn seemingly endlessly, leading to rooms which house all one would expect from a large, modern home. The excavated walls have all been rendered and sealed as is necessary to prevent the intrusion of dust and moisture. Cree spent eons painstakingly laying floor tiles in intricate patterns, and her artwork can be seen throughout the house.

Given my inability to bring these photos to you, I recommend that any who want to see more of the interior of this amazing home fire up your search engine to look for images of the White House, White Cliffs. You will be amazed!







From the wonderful White House we pushed further into The Blocks and the opal fields beyond.















The professional looking sign inviting all and sundry passing by to visit the Fossickers (sic) Den does not give a real hint of what one will find here,
















nor does this more 'arty' invitation a little further on.

We were rapidly learning that the opal shops of White Cliffs are not noted for their glitzy exteriors. Indeed the external appearances of all we visited (with the possible exception of the Stubbie House) varied little from the generally ramshackle appearance of the fronts of most dugouts.





We by-passed the invitation offered by 'The Den' and made our way slowly past another group of the dugouts of The Blocks













where front entrances like this were common (although this owner had gone the extra mile with the stone facade!)  

until we finally found the sign we had been looking for. In addition to opal and coffee and cake, this establishment offers mine tours. We thought we would take a quick look, but we had failed to take proper account of the fine print on the advertising sign......'open most days'.

As we made our way through the cut out entrance roadway

and pulled up in front of the shop, it was immediately apparent that today was not 'most days'. The doors were firmly closed and there was no sign of life, either here

or at the nearby house behind the quaint but practical outside loo which had been dug into the remnant of what was once the hillside.

I have to admit to a slight disappointment in that, whilst we were not interested in a mine tour, we were aware that this opal outlet housed a display of one form of opal which is unique to White Cliffs.....'pineapples'.

Thanks to 'pinterest' I can bring you a photo of this extremely rare opal formation. I won't bore you with the details of the manner in which they are formed, but should note that sadly many of those found in the early days on this opal field were not recognised for their intrinsic value and were cut up into smaller gem portions. Today the relatively few that remain are dotted all over the world, in private and museum collections......and they command serious money! One such as this could fetch anything up to $100,000.

So with a philosophical shrug of our shoulders, we retraced our steps (or wheel tracks) out past the mining equipment above the driveway

and made our way onto the road which would take us to the nearby opal fields through plains which were unusually green as a result of the recent rains.

We had not travelled far before we passed a cluster of vehicles and other paraphernalia which indicated the site of a mining operation. No permanent buildings are officially allowed on these fields, but we were soon to see that many sail very close to the wind in relation to this ban.

With the gentle slope of Sullivan's Hill in the background, we turned  off the main road to follow the track which would take us into 'Potch Gully' and beyond. 





As I have mentioned before, the White Cliffs fields are unique from a tourist perspective in that anyone can fossick throughout this area at will. The only proviso is the need to respect and stay clear of staked and posted claims, and, of course, to keep a sharp eye out for uncovered shafts.

With the cirrus cloud thickening above us we plodded slowing along the well signposted tourist track where the mud and wheel ruts were yet another reminder of the rare, recent rains.

We had now entered the White Cliffs 'moonscape', where the ground was covered with small mounds of the white shaft waste of old diggings.

Further examples of the ramshackle and makeshift accommodation which are typical of this opal field became increasingly frequent as we headed further into the fields. 

Some digs (yep, deliberate) were more easily spotted than others. The white square just visible here in centre shot, 

took on an entirely different aspect when I wound out the lens and the extent of the infrastructure came into better view. Small operations like this, tucked away in splendid isolation, are a common sight. 

Far less common are areas of green grass such as this (let alone small ponds of water). What a difference rain can make to this usually barren and parched landscape. We did consider ourselves lucky to have seen this rather rare sight on this normally dessicated rocky plain. 

The track we were following, which seemed to meander almost aimlessly through the opal fields, soon brought us to this sign which not only confirmed that public fossicking was welcomed, but directed those so engaged to one of those public toilets I highlighted on the map at the beginning of this offering. And here again we saw an example of the typical White Cliffs artistic whimsy adding interest to what could have otherwise been a very basic sign.

These long drop tin dunnies have been painted bright red so as to stand out from their surrounds.

This was 'Anybody's'.

We had no immediate need for a pit stop and pushed on further along the narrow track, 

where now old shafts right on the edge of the road were becoming commonplace.

I did make an attempt to gauge the depth of this particular hole, but my approach was severely restricted by both the sloping, loose gravel sides and the rather strident cautionary advice emanating from the Cruiser's front passenger window. 

I took note of both and retreated with a much better understanding of just how easy it would be to slip into one of these shafts. They reminded me of a man made antlion hole where the loose, sloping sides act as an inescapable trap for any unwary bug which then slides to its doom in the maw of the predator waiting below. 

As well as the deserted shafts, these fields are littered with abandoned equipment used to make them, gear like this large old windlass which was used to haul buckets of rubble to the surface.

These manually operated devices are a far cry from the more modern mining equipment of which 'blower's are typical, although most are not as gaudily decorated as this one. Obviously mining activity was not always hectic on this claim. 

The other piece of equipment which is to be found on all opal fields is the 'bucket tipper'. We had first seen these at Lightning Ridge, but never had the chance to watch one in action. Well, here at White Cliffs we were lucky, and incredibly, the couple operating this mine were our neighbours in the White Cliffs caravan park. They were typical of many who come to work these fields during the cooler winter months....predominately from Victoria.

The bucket tipper is a classic example of Aussie ingenuity which allows a sole miner operating underground to lift and dump mine waste on the surface. This is how it works.

A full bucket of mullock is strapped to a cradle at the base of the shaft. The miner pulls a lever which engages the winch motor. The bucket is hauled to the surface along two parallel rails. 

When these rails are well clear of the shaft entrance they curve sharply downwards to allow the bucket of mullock to be emptied about 5 metres from the shaft. 

At the point of tipping, an automatic reversing switch is tripped sending the now empty bucket back down the shaft to repeat the process when the miner is ready. 

How good is that!  Actually seeing one of these ingenious devices in action was a highlight of my day.

Not too far from this scene of action, the track climbed towards yet another of the shanty 'homes' which dot the fields,

although here the owner was obviously a little fed up with trespassers!

By now we were nearing the southern end of the workings, where the track widened considerably and the ground flattened out,

but walking around this area still demanded care and attention. We were told that recent regulations demand that all miners cover any unused shafts, but I have to report that we saw precious little sign of compliance. 

The same could be said for the 'building regulations' which stipulate that the construction of solid floors is prohibited. Apparently the powers that be are concerned that there should be no permanency of occupation of these fields. Looking at 'The Lodge', it occurred to us that this policy was either being ignored or cleverly circumvented.

Mind you, as I mentioned earlier, many come to White Cliffs to work their sites over the winter months before scuttling back south l manner as the weather heats up, and as we had already discovered some stay in the caravan park whilst other park up on their claims in all manner of makeshift accommodation.

And then there are those areas where the miners have come and gone and typically leave their equipment abandoned on site. 

At this end of the workings, the  road again rises gently to a lookout point, 

where, whilst on Rob's tour, we stopped to take in the views and to learn about the history and development of the White Cliffs opal industry.

But before we did this, he had a trick up his sleeve. I had earlier noticed a number of pieces of bent wire in the front of the tour bus, but had given them little thought until we reached this point. As we alighted we were each handed a pair of these 'instruments' and given a lesson in water divining.

Now some of you, dear readers, with incredible memories for the trivial, may recall that I had had a crack at this art/skill (?) whilst we were resident at a park just south of Busselton in 2014 when our neighbour at the time, who was a dab hand, explained the method to me and bade me have a try. To my astonishment, it turned out that I 'have the knack', and it had not deserted me here in White Cliffs.

Rob had chosen a spot here on the opal fields where there is a known underground watercourse. For some of us, the ends of our two wires, which had to be held directly out in front of us, swung inwards so that their tips met as we crossed the site of the water beneath our feet, but for most this remained a non-event.

Liz did her best, but with limited success.  

With this novelty exercise over, we turned our attention to the series of information boards here at the lookout which told the story of the discovery of opal and the development of the White Cliffs fields. The fellow pictured here, a bloke with the impressive name of Tullie Cornthwaite Wollaston, did not make the initial discovery, but did play a critical part in the development of the opal industry here. 

And, as is the case with other major gem discoveries in Australia, opals were found here by accident. In 1889, at the height of a severe drought in the area, the manager of the Momba Pastoral Company was keen to reduce the number of kangaroos competing with his sheep for what little grass was available.

I'll let the information boards take up the story,

which would seem fanciful if not true.

Not all who flocked to these fields were as lucky as the original four, as another of the plaques explained.

During the early years of the development of these fields, large mining syndicates such as the Wilcannia Block Syndicate and White Cliffs Opal Mines Ltd., held many mining leases. These were large, usually in the order of forty acres or so. The lease holders allowed others to mine on their claims, but could not afford to pay wages, so the 'tribute system' was introduced, a system which saw the 'tributors' allowed to keep 50% of what they found in lieu of wages.

Needless to say, this soon began to rankle those beavering away in the heat and dust, and much of what they discovered went undeclared.

In 1895, following a drop in the price of opal and a near riot in White Cliffs, the government decided it was time to step in. The Chief Mining Warden was dispatched to the town. He recommended that Royal Commission be established to examine the mining practices.

The findings of this 1901 Commission led to the reduction of the lease areas to 100 square feet and the disbanding of the large syndicates.

Today anyone can stake a claim, limited in area to 50 x 50 metres, the location of which is marked by a notice 

like this one. 









Given that a claim can be staked anywhere on the fields, I was fascinated to discover how on earth the mining authorities keep track of it all.






The system is both simple and very clever. Throughout the fields, a series of marker posts have been established. These are distinctly painted and have an identifying number on them. The position of each has been GPS plotted and recorded on a central data base.




Claims are laid out using these known  markers. Those wising to establish 'ownership' of an area must set four corner posts to identify the extremities of their claim. In doing so they must take a bearing from the nearest official marker post and measure out the distance when establishing the location of these claim posts. When the claim is officially lodged, these details are then recorded and the exact location of each claim, and the owner of the lease, is firmly established.

So there you are. Anyone can wander out here to White Cliffs, establish a claim and have a crack. And if all this is too much trouble, remember, providing there is no incursion onto claimed sites, fossicking is permitted throughout the entire field, quite unlike all other opal fields in the country.

And you just never know what you might find.

As well as the rare local 'pineapples', even stranger and more valuable finds have been made here.  In 1976 the opalised remains of a plesiosaur, which was nearly 2 metres long and is believed to be around 100 million years old, were discovered. Ken Harris, the miner who made the discovery, claims to have "knocked back over $1 million for it some years ago". As we understand, he is still deciding just how to exhibit it.

Let me conclude this tour of the opal fields with one last bit of trivia. Notwithstanding all the ups and downs of production here, by 1987 the value of the production of opal from the White Cliffs field was estimated to have topped $150 million.

What a wonderful time we had in White Cliffs. Our new found friend Rob, tour guide and park manager extraordinaire, and the equally avuncular and welcoming pub owner 'Seagull', both encouraged us to share our stories in the hope that more folk will be tempted to turn off the beaten track which is the Barrier Highway and take the 98 kilometre detour to what must be one of the most fascinating towns in the country.

We are  more than happy to do so.