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lightning ridge life at
words & photos Lucy Di Paolo
Meet the characters of Lightning Ridge. Life is a gamble for these unique adventurers. The magnetism of the black opal keeps this outback town thriving. Its inhabitants are prepared to give up their comfortable lives and escape reality in search of the mysterious gem.
Located 723 kilometres north-west of Sydney, Lightning Ridge is home to a group of people who could rightly be called Australia’s last frontiersmen (and women). Lightning Ridge has a population close to 6,000, but no one really knows exactly. In summer, temperatures reach 45 degrees celcius , but the dry heat proves no obstacle to people who have opted for this ‘outback change’. The people are warm, friendly and fiercely loyal to their town, where mateship and camaraderie are plentiful. There are lawyers and doctors who have opted out of the rat race, and dreamers and drifters searching for an alternative lifestyle. It doesn’t matter how you look, what you wear or how you live. Everyone leads a simple life. Some are third and fourth-generation miners who spend their days looking for precious black opal in the sedimentary rock, which was laid down 110 million years ago. There are enough characters in Lightning Ridge to fill a book. German-born Sebastian Deisenberger, 48, and his wife, Hanna, 46, left the big smoke and professional careers fourteen years ago to come
to Australia and chase the opal. Their big plan was for a two-year journey, but after discovering a genuine passion, they decided to stay. Fourth-generation miner Anthony Melonas and his business partner Victor Johnson, both 36 and single, are known as the ‘Designer Miners’ because of their tendency to wear gloves and expensive aftershave. Then there is Malcolm “Nudie” Holland, a free-spirited 73 year-old who, apart from safety helmet and boots, prefers to do his mining in the buff. A proud, vivacious man, he believes clothes are a hazard: “I’d rather be naked and live the life that I want.” Neil Schellnegger, 43, is a true-blue Australian character who moved to the area with his parents when he was a nipper. He lives with his son Luke just outside town in a typical mining home of corrugated iron with tank water, a log fire and paneless windows. They work most days, but haven’t had much luck over the past couple of years. They love the lifestyle and the tranquillity. Only 10 per cent of people in the black-opal mining business can make a living, and only 1 or 2 per cent make a good living. The majority of miners take on second jobs to subsidise their>
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