White Cliffs - Opal Mining Town

LOT 1A Keraro Road , White Cliffs NSW 2836 , New South Wales 2836 , New South Wales , Australia ,

Category: Destinations

Tags: abandoned., cars, opals, hill, white cliffs, australia, mining

White Cliffs is a small town in the outback of New South Wales, Australia. The town was established in the late 19th century when Opal was discovered and it has been mined here ever since. In 1872, when a party of kangaroo hunters were operating in the White Cliffs area one of them, who had left the party to track down a wounded kangaroo over some low stony hills, picked up a pretty stone which appealed to him. When taking back the stone, they suspected it could be opal which the local jeweller confirmed. When the group filed a claim, opal had not yet been listed under gemstones, and it was decided to file the claim under the "Gold Mining Act".