Vintage DIY Motorised Bicycle - Lightning Ridge Historical Society →
The opal miners of Lightning Ridge have always been inventors and problem solvers, including Frank Thomas who built (or modified) this bicycle!
100 Year Old Radio Receiver - Tamworth Regional Astronomy Club
Sending equipment (and people!) to space requires communication - one of the first terrestrial radios was incredibly simple but functional: the crystal radio set!
Special thanks to Warwick Schofield and the Tamworth Regional Astronomy Club.
An Incredible Collection of Opal Specimens - Australian Opal Centre @ Lightning Ridge →
Opal specimens can tell us so much about opal formation and opal science. Not all opal is gem-quality, but it's all fascinating!
Special thanks to Paul Sedawie and to Jenni Brammall from the Australian Opal Centre. Special thanks also to Shaun Galman and Elizabeth and Bob Smith.
New Lightning Ridge Historical Society Website! Opal Mining History @ Lightning Ridge
The Lightning Ridge Historical Society website has just launched! So much content: profiles on historical figures, never-before-seen photographs, updated timeline of local history, so many things.
1960s Opal Mining Scam - Diamond Cliffs - Lightning Ridge Historical Society →
An interesting business venture from the 1960s, offering accomodation and opal mining -- and probably very little success or profit!
Special thanks to Barbara at the Lightning Ridge Historical Society.
FYI - Opal Studies Course - Gemmological Association of Australia
Just a quick video to talk about the Certificate in Opal Studies course available from the Gemmological Association of Australia.
(The GAA and its people have supported Curiosity Mine in the past, and will continue to do so into the future. I was given free access to the course and asked to make a quick video if I felt it was deserved, which I did, and I have.)
A Look Inside - Australian Opal Centre Site Tour 2025 - Building a Museum →
The Australian Opal Centre's new world-class museum building on the historic Three Mile opal field is looking amazing -- in this video we take a tour of the facility and check out some of the architectural features, temperature control systems, layout and explore the visitor experience! We also travel back in time to 2016 to see how far we have come!
Special thanks to Jenni Brammall, the Australian Opal Centre, BARPA, Darcstudio, and everyone who has contributed to the Australian Opal Centre!
What if Jurassic Park had Australian Dinosaurs? →
All of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park are female....and from the Northern Hemisphere. What if they were from the Southern Hemisphere instead?
We have some pretty awesome dinosaurs in the Souther Hemisphere, and to prove the point I've taken it upon myself to re-cast the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park with their Australian counterparts!
(This video was made without consulting palaeontologists, so if anything is incorrect in this video, I take full responsibility.)
"The Myth of the Black Opal" Ballet, 1961, Lightning Ridge Historical Society →
One of the last things you would expect to be inspired by the opal fields of Lightning Ridge is a ballet, and yet...
Three Amazing Doctors @ Angledool & Lightning Ridge →
In the Wild West of Australia in the late 1800s, three doctors performed miracles at Lightning Ridge!
Top 10 Australian Flags You've Never Seen →
Here are 10 Australian flags that don't get the attention they deserve!
Albury Pioneer Cemetery - Sinkholes, Riots & Superstitions →
The Albury Pioneer Cemetery has a lot of small but fascinating stories to tell.
Bush Fruits - Lemon, Orange, Passionfruit, Apricot - Bush Botany @ Lightning Ridge NSW →
Some bush fruits are named (unofficially) after supermarket fruits, despite having no botanical similarity -- join Warwick Schofield as we investigate the Wild Lemon, Wild Orange, Bush Passionfruit and Wild Apricot...
This video was made with Warwick Schofield, with support from Margaret Schofield and Kay Wotherspoon.
Plornishmaroontigoonter - Charles Dickens' Youngest Son - Moree NSW →
We stop by to visit the grave of Charles Dickens' youngest son, Edward "Plorn" Dickens, who moved to Australia in 1868 because.....reasons.
Lightning Ridge: Spectre of the Black Opal - Curiosity Mine Book Club →
Lightning Ridge: Spectre of the Black Opal is an e-book by Roy Lester Pond about supernatural and extraterrestrial surprises on the opal fields of New South Wales!
Syntropic Garden Update 2024 - The Hungry Spirit @ Lightning Ridge →
This is a follow up to: -
A Literal Oasis - Syntropic Agroforestry @ Lightning Ridge, NSW, Australia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llazeATdn7s
Why is there a Dam? Syntropic Garden Q&A with Rebel & Thiago @ Lightning Ridge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFVq99kyJzI
I caught up with Rebel at The Hungry Spirit in Lightning Ridge for an update on what's new, what's changed, what's struggled and what's thrived in the syntropic system in 2024.
Special thanks to Rebel Black from The Hungry Spirit at Lightning Ridge.
Opalised Mollusc Fossils - Not Actually Boring! Australian Opal Centre @ Lightning Ridge →
Bivalve molluscs are one of the most common types of opalised fossil at Lightning Ridge, but just because they're common it does NOT mean they're boring!
Special thanks to Sherri Donaldson and Jenni Brammall at the Australian Opal Centre!
Off-Grid Living @ Lightning Ridge - A Century of Miner's Camp Innovations →
A lot has changed in 100 years, but the human need for basic services and comfort remains the same! In this video, we compare the oldest surviving miner's camp (1916) with a modern up-to-date off-grid dwelling!
Special thanks to Rebel, Peter and Roy from The Ridge Castle and Barbara from the Lightning Ridge Historical Society and Australian Opal Centre!
The Opal Dinosaur - Curiosity Mine Book Club →
The Opal Dinosaur is a book by Yvonne Mes for readers aged 5-9, illustrated by Sylvia Morris and featuring dinosaurs identified from opalised fossils at Lightning Ridge!
Special thanks to CSIRO Publishing and the Australian Opal Centre!
A Fruit of Many Names: Emu Apple (Gruwi, Colane) - Bush Botany @ Lightning Ridge →
This fruiting tree has many names and many interesting characteristics -- join Warwick Schofield as we investigate the Emu Apple, Gruwi, Colane, Sour Plum...
This video was made with Warwick Schofield, with support from Margaret Schofield.