Indigenous Australians, also known as Aboriginal people, have inhabited Australia since ancient times, with rich dreamtime stories depicting the creation of the land. Central to these tales is the Rainbow Serpent, a colossal snake believed to have carved the country’s rivers. The blessed waters by this serpent, sourced from the Great Artesian Basin, played a crucial role in opal formation. Opal stories intertwine with Aboriginal lore, with opals discovered in tribal communities like Andamooka, Wallangulla (Lightning Ridge), and Central Queensland. These tales narrate the genesis of opals in Australia.
Andamooka:
In Andamooka, South Australia, opal originated from a mythological tale of ancestral beings descending to Earth via a rainbow. Rocks and pebbles formed where the rainbow touched the land, giving birth to opals in the Dreamtime.
Tribes gathered as the Dreamtime creator imparted laws governing the land and its people. Opal outcrops held sacred significance, reserved for ceremonial use in anticipation of the rainbow’s return.
Wallangulla (Lightning Ridge):
For the Yuwaalaraay people from around the Wallangulla (Lightning Ridge) area of NSW, their dreaming involves a crocodile named Gurria.
The supreme spirit Bhiamie and his two wives Birring Ooloo, mother nature, and Cunnum-Biellie, law maker/teacher, went for a swim in a spring while travelling through the outback but were unaware Gurria followed them as he coveted their spirits.
Gurria swallowed both women and swam down the Narran River but Bhiamie tracked Gurria to a lake, speared him at Weetalibah water crossing, and as Gurria lay dying, rolled over and his squirming created two holes one by his tail (Coocoran Lake) and one by his nose (Angledool Lake).
As Gurria lay dying, it rained and a rainbow appeared. The colors of the rainbow were trapped in the crocodile’s scales, and with it, opal was formed in the ground. Bhiamie freed his wives from Gurria and with the help of Ghee-jar, a little black ant, brought them back to life.
Central Queensland
In Central Queensland, a legend recounts the ‘weeping opal’ tale, originating from a time when a colossal opal reigned over the land. In the dawn of time, two warring tribes exhausted their weapons, resorting to hurling boulders at each other.
One warrior threw a boulder so hard that flow skyward and got stuck in the sky. The boulder started to expand until it burst and revealed the colors of a huge opal. As the opal sprit saw the ravages of the war between the two tribes, tears streamed down as a rainstorm. When the sun shone to reveal the colors of the tears, the survivors of the war saw their first rainbow.
In opal stories passed down through generations of Aborigines, the appearance of a rainbow signifies a transgression against tribal laws, as the gem’s tears fall in sorrow.