Dave Darby found the Yowah Moon Opal at his late father's mine in remote western Queensland.(ABC Western Qld: Danielle Lancaster)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-10/ ... /103548960
Most opal miners only ever dream of their eureka moment. So when Dave Darby sawed through the ironstone shell of his unusually heavy find in Queensland's outback four years ago, he couldn't believe his eyes. The size of an avocado and weighing almost 400 grams, the shimmering flashes of blues and greens were almost blinding against the brown casing that had hidden this rare beauty for who knows how long.
The Yowah Moon Opal is one of the rarest types of precious opals found in Australia.(Supplied: Geoscience Australia)
"I was just in shock, just froze for a while," Mr Darby said of his discovery in October 2020. "All that night I just couldn't stop looking at it."
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'Dreamtime stone'
Mr Darby named his discovery the "Yowah Moon Opal" for its round shape and spectacular beauty, which he compared to a full moon in the clear outback skies. Digging that day on his late father's mine at Brandy Gully, on the outskirts of Yowah, he had good reason to feel hopeful. "As I dug in, more and more 'nuts' came, and most were carrying colour," he said.
Opals are a valuable commodity around the world, but to Mr Darby they mean something more. "It's a very spiritual stone, like a Dreamtime stone and it belongs here in Australia," Mr Darby said. "It's a connection to the Mother Earth here in Yowah."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-10/ ... /103548960