A HIDDEN GEM

The Australian Opal Centre will, according to the official website, “celebrate our national gemstone and be filled with glittering treasures from the earth and the stories of the people who found them”.

The $34 million museum, which will also coincide with a cultural tourism facility, has secured funding by the government for construction at Lightning Ridge. It is hoped to become an Australian tourism attraction and inform visitors of the Australian opal, as well as be a hub for community, economic and cultural development for Australia’s opal production.

The centre was designed by Murcutt and Lewin, Pritzker Prize laureates, and will hold the world’s most inclusive collection of Australian opals.

The government and Council are supplying $20 million total for the building, with $1.08 million donated by the community and opal industry. Funding for the final stage will be fundraised and patrons are currently welcome to support the building.

The museum will be built on a site adjacent to the disused Three Mile open cut opal mine and will include underground spaces that allow for people to visit the opal mines directly. A ramp will lead to a suspended space inside the mine, with the layers open for visitors to view clearly.

The building will be two storeys high, 100 metres in length and 30 metres in width from ground level. Inside will feature exhibition spaces, education facilities, a library, opal cutting workshops, jewellery making workshops, research labs, and event and conference spaces.

“This is a bold and exciting project for all of us,” said Murcutt. “We have worked with the remarkable community in Lightning Ridge for over 13 years and now to be able to realise the new Australian Opal Centre in this iconic Australian landscape is just wonderful.”

The president of the centre, David Lane, said the project was a result of more than 15 years of community investment. “This funding will enable us to position Western NSW and Australia as the world’s leading destination for opal- and fossil-related tourism, education, training, certification, arts and culture.”

“The centre will revolutionise the tourism offering in Lightning Ridge as a world hub for opal-related knowledge, training and certification.,” said federal member for Parks, Mark Coulton. “This will be an iconic centre that we can all be extremely proud of.”

Visit the website for more information.

Images from Australia Opal Centre.