About Curiosity Mine
Behind the scenes on Australia’s Newest Dinosaur with Dr. Phil Bell (UNE) at the Australian Opal Centre’s Black Opal Heritage Shed.
Curiosity Mine is a series of videos about science, history, trivia and stuff. I make videos in collaboration with organisations like the Australian Opal Centre, the Lightning Ridge Historical Society and other awesome projects. I'm a huge believer that there's an interesting story in everything, and that it's important to share those stories and find new and interesting ways to tell them to unfamiliar audiences.
Curiosity Mine is a hobby that I indulge out of my own pocket at considerable expense. I am not paid by any of the organisations or individuals I work with, and I have never been paid to make a YouTube Video. (I was sent a no-strings-attached review copy of a book for this video, which is the only material reimbursement I have ever received for making a video.) Curiosity Mine is supported by YouTube advertising and by a few generous Patreon supporters who choose to contribute to support the channel. I thank all of my Patreon supporters for their generosity and for simply being there to give me an obligation to continue making content! If you would like more information on how to support Curiosity Mine, please check out the Support page.
If you have an idea for a Curiosity Mine video, or you have access to something awesome, unique or interesting that could form part of a Curiosity Mine story, please don't hesitate to get in touch. If you just want to drop me a line, feel free to do so through the contact form also. Always happy to receive feedback on videos, it’s how I get better at what I do and make sure I’m making content that’s relevant to your interests as well as mine.
Filming various videos with Dr. Patrice Rey from the University of Sydney including a discussion about Martian opal!
Paul Sedawie talks enthusiastically about some of the magnificent opalised fossils he has donated to the Australian Opal Centre.
Shaun Galman and I sitting down for a chat and recording a number of episodes of OpalWords.
Chatting with Andrew Kemeny from Down to Earth Opals about opal cutting and carving for an episode of OpalWords.
Catching up with Peter Sherman at Lightning Ridge and learning the history of the Sherman’s Back Holden FC.
Barbara Moritz and Ruth from the Lightning Ridge Historical Society at the 2023 Lightning Ridge Opal Festival.
Signage on the way to Lightning Ridge. Even the basic amenities are unusual. Artesian baths?
About Lightning Ridge
A typical opal mining scene, with an automatic hoist on a mine shaft, dump truck and heaps of “mullock” or discarded opal dirt.
A lot (but not all) of my videos are made in, or involve the town of Lightning Ridge, an opal mining community in northern New South Wales, Australia. I grew up in Lightning Ridge. It’s a unique and interesting place, in just about every way. Nothing is “normal” about Lightning Ridge. At the most fundamental level it’s isolated by distance, is limited to a very specific industry, has a bizarre internal economy and practically has its own language and customs. It’s an alien world within Australia, and one of the most amazing places you could possibly visit. Lightning Ridge has often been promoted as a “weird” place with “weird” people. Entire tourism campaigns have been built around the notion. It’s simply not true; the town is unique, it’s not weird. And if small elements of it are weird, they’re weird in a good way.
The main street of Lightning Ridge on a bustling weekday evening.
Since leaving Lightning Ridge about fifteen years ago, I’ve discovered how difficult it is to explain to friends and colleagues (ahem, “normal people”) how Lightning Ridge works, and why it’s such an unusual place in so many ways. I never had this understanding when I lived in The Ridge, and was immersed in it’s culture. It’s only since leaving and assimilating into the real world that I’ve learned methods and tricks to making stories about Lightning Ridge seem interesting to the uninitiated. I hope, at least.
I hope to explore all of the intricacies of Lightning Ridge in future videos, and give the world a chance to learn about Lightning Ridge’s “weirdness” (their word, not mine) in a purely non-judgmental and hopefully enlightening (pun intended) way.
About the Australian Opal Centre
The Australian Opal Centre’s tame Muttaburrasaurus, Russ, with…Russ.
Please excuse my laziness while I quote directly from the Australian Opal Centre website’s ‘about’ page:
The Australian Opal Centre is an extraordinary national museum being developed in the outback opal mining town of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales to preserve, display and research the greatest ever public collection of Australian opal, opalised fossils and the colourful history and heritage of the Australian opal fields.
The Australian Opal Centre is a lot of things, including everything described above. It’s a future museum, a scientific institution and a non-profit organisation. It’s also a community of amazing people both knowledgeable and enthusiastic who support the industry of opal mining and the Australian and world-wide scientific community.
I have had the privilege of working with the Australian Opal Centre since the first video I made on this YouTube channel, The Secret Weapon of Crayfish with Dr. Elizabeth Smith. It’s not a stretch to say that my YouTube endeavours and my hopefully valuable contribution to the YouTube science and education community would never have come to be without the support and trust of the Australian Opal Centre.
In return, I ask that you consider supporting the AOC. If you visit the AOC website, you’ll find links and details on how you can contribute, become a member at multiple levels, or simply stay connected and aware of future developments as the museum building progresses from an excavation in one of Lightning Ridge’s oldest and most historically significant opal fields to a world-class state of the art cultural and scientific nexus in outback Australia.
About the Lightning Ridge Historical Society
The LRHS museum in Morilla Street, Lightning Ridge takes the form of an old miner’s hut, as owned by the Graham Brothers.
The Lightning Ridge Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation of opal mining and community heritage in Lightning Ridge and surrounding areas.
The LRHS is a volunteer-run organisation that has worked tirelessly for decades to chronicle local history and curate and manage an extensive collection of local heritage items, books, photographs, digital files and documents.
I have been honoured with a life membership at the Lightning Ridge Historical Society for my contribution to preserving and presenting local history here on Curiosity Mine.
About the creator
My name is Russell and make YouTube videos.
I like to tell interesting stories. I enjoy creative projects. I've dabbled in photography and music. I also make replica movie props and miniatures, you can find some of those projects here and on YouTube here.
Thank you for supporting Curiosity Mine, and supporting online content made by independent creators.
Equipment list
I use this stuff, in case you’re curious. (None of this matters; the best camera is always the one you have.)
Cameras: Panasonic GH5, Panasonic HC0VX870-M, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6, Canon T3i/600D, GoPro Hero 3, FLIR ONE, various other things as required
Microphones: Røde VideoMic Pro, Røde NT-USB, Røde SmartLav, HTDZ HT-320A
Aircraft: DJI Mini SE
Other equipment: DJI Ronin SC
Software: Adobe CC, Strata Design 3D CXi, Blender, GarageBand, Video Copilot Element 3D
