BOU009 · mining, people + historical timeline
Trace Queensland boulder-opal history through source-labelled dates, approximate periods, named people and field-specific records. The timeline keeps uncertain chronology visible and never converts historical mine evidence into present-day access guidance.
Historical evidence ≠ current access
Mine names, leases, rushes and historical mining methods can explain the past without saying anything about whether a place is open, active, safe or visitable today.
Source-classed chronology
Every event carries source IDs and an evidence class. Filtering is optional; without JavaScript all 14 timeline records remain visible in chronological order.
All 14 source-grounded timeline records are visible.
GIA reports saleable precious opal obtained near Listowel Downs around 1870, while Geoscience Australia states opal was first mined commercially at Listowel Downs in 1875. BOU preserves both formulations rather than inventing one exact “first” date.
Present-day boundary: Historical production chronology only; no present-day access inference.
GIA reports that Toowoomba jeweller Herbert Bond organized mine owners into an opal syndicate in 1879 and took stones to London in an effort to establish a market.
Present-day boundary: Market history; not a mining-access claim.
GIA records the first opal mining lease in Yowah as registered in 1884.
Present-day boundary: A historical lease does not imply any current claim, lease or public access status. Use the BOU004 Yowah field record for current official guidance.
GIA reports the first discovery of opal in the Quilpie area at Bull Creek in 1885, north of the current township.
Present-day boundary: Historical discovery location only; no present-day access or tenure claim.
GIA describes Australian opal as becoming popular in London by the 1890s through the efforts of opal dealer Tullie Wollaston. The Australian Dictionary of Biography independently supports his identity and role as an opal dealer.
Present-day boundary: Market-history context only.
Queensland Government states that the Toompine opal fields have been extensively mined since the 1890s using underground and open-cut methods.
Present-day boundary: The same current government page notes present-day tenure and access conditions; BOU009 does not derive current access from the historical statement.
The Queensland Boulder Opal Association reports mining activity in the Opalton region from 1894 onward. BOU uses this as an association-reported field-history account, not as sole authority for discovery credit.
Present-day boundary: Historical field activity does not imply that old workings, claims or leases are open today; see the BOU004 Opalton field record.
GIA reports opal first discovered at Koroit in 1897, when a syndicate was formed by the manager of Tilbaroo Station, followed by a small opal rush.
Present-day boundary: Historical discovery/industry context only; it does not establish present-day mine or visitor status.
GIA reports that by 1902 Yowah’s population had reached 100.
Present-day boundary: Historical population context only; no current demographic or access claim.
GIA’s 1993 Queensland boulder-opal study describes renewed interest in Queensland deposits during the 1960s and 1970s after a long period of reduced activity.
Present-day boundary: Broad industry trend only; it is not projected onto the operating history of every individual field.
GIA describes the most recent development of the Koroit field as beginning in the 1970s.
Present-day boundary: Historical field-development statement; current operations or access must be checked separately.
GIA’s 1993 study described the Queensland Boulder Opal Association as newly formed, while the association’s own history states it was founded in Winton in 1992 and identifies Vince Evert as founding president.
Present-day boundary: Institutional history; not a claim about any current officeholder or regulatory authority.
The Queensland Boulder Opal Association reports that its committee organized the first Boulder Opal Auction in Winton on 29 May 1993.
Present-day boundary: The exact day is presented as the association’s institutional account, not independently promoted to universal historical certainty.
GIA reports that its team visited Koroit, Yowah and Quilpie in June 2015 to document geology, mining and opal culture.
Present-day boundary: Research-visit history only; the 2015 field conditions do not establish current mine activity or visitor access.
Eight BOU field seeds
Each card admits only field-specific milestones supported by the reviewed sources. Eulo and Kynuna stay in the navigator even though BOU009 does not force an exact dated event onto them.
Winton is the modern institutional/auction setting in this BOU009 chronology; Opalton field history is linked but remains separately scoped.
Bull Creek’s 1885 discovery and the 2015 GIA research visit are admitted. No mine-specific present-day status is inferred.
Lease and population milestones come from GIA historical synthesis; current fossicking conditions stay in the BOU004 field record.
Discovery, modern development period and 2015 research are field-specific. They do not establish current mine activity or access.
The admitted dated history is explicitly association-reported. BOU009 does not use the association account alone to assign “first discoverer” status.
Queensland Government describes extensive mining since the 1890s using underground and open-cut methods. Current access is separate.
Eulo remains an important southern regional reference in BOU, but BOU009 admits no precise dated Eulo milestone from the reviewed history sources.
Kynuna remains a northern-extent reference in the Queensland boulder-opal belt; BOU009 admits no precise dated Kynuna milestone from the reviewed history sources.
People index
BOU009 avoids speculative biographies, invented quotations and contested discovery credit. The people below appear only for sourced public historical or industry roles.
Toowoomba jeweller and early Queensland opal market-builder
GIA identifies Bond as important to Queensland’s early opal industry and reports his 1879 syndicate/London marketing effort. BOU does not assign discovery credit beyond what the source states.
Sources · BOU-SRC-007
Opal dealer and overseas market promoter
GIA connects Wollaston’s efforts with growing London demand by the 1890s; the Australian Dictionary of Biography corroborates his identity and occupation. No invented quotation is used.
Sources · BOU-SRC-007 · BOU009-SRC-002
Founding president reported by the Queensland Boulder Opal Association
QBOA’s institutional history identifies Evert as a founder and president in 1992. GIA independently documents the association as newly formed by late 1992. BOU does not publish private-person detail beyond this public industry role.
Sources · BOU009-SRC-003 · BOU009-SRC-001
Institutions
Institutional history, government geology/current rules and gemological field research are intentionally distinguished from one another.
Industry association / institutional history source
The association’s formation and auction history are presented as institutional accounts, with exact-date claims labelled accordingly.
Sources · BOU009-SRC-001 · BOU009-SRC-003
Government geology, field-history and present-day access authority
Historical/geological material and current visitor rules are kept in separate evidence layers; old workings never imply present-day permission.
Sources · BOU-SRC-001 · BOU-SRC-003 · BOU-SRC-005 · BOU-SRC-006 · BOU-SRC-012 · BOU-SRC-014 · BOU-SRC-015 · BOU-SRC-016
Gemological research and field documentation
GIA research supplies early-industry summaries, field-specific history and the documented June 2015 research visit.
Sources · BOU-SRC-007 · BOU-SRC-008 · BOU009-SRC-001
Research ledger
Research authority and media reuse permission are separate. BOU009 reproduces no external source photograph.
Geoscience Australia · government_education
Page used for factual research; media not copied into ICU.
Gemological Institute of America · gemological_field_research
Text used as evidence; source photographs are not reproduced in ICU.
Gems & Gemology / Gemological Institute of America · gemological_field_report
Text used as research evidence; GIA imagery is not reproduced in ICU.
Gems & Gemology / Gemological Institute of America · gemological_historical_research
Text used for historical evidence; article imagery is not reproduced in ICU.
Australian Dictionary of Biography / Australian National University · institutional_biography
Biographical text used for identity/role corroboration; portrait imagery is not reproduced in ICU.
Queensland Boulder Opal Association · industry_association_institutional_history
Association history used as a source-reported institutional account; page media is not reproduced in ICU.
Queensland Boulder Opal Association · industry_association_field_history
Used only for explicitly source-reported Opalton historical context; page media is not reproduced in ICU.
Queensland Government · government_field_history_and_current_guidance
Text used for Toompine field-history and current-access boundary; page media is not reproduced in ICU.
Current access boundary sources remain BOU-SRC-014, BOU-SRC-015 and BOU-SRC-016 in the BOU004 visitor layer.
Continue through BOU
These routes are already released and evidence-scoped. Tools remain planned.
Historical evidence boundary
Historical chronology can explain people, leases and field development. Current visitor permission remains a separate official-source question, and an old field association does not assign an undocumented specimen to that place.
ICU / CONNECTED DISCOVERY
These are bounded editorial connections; paid placement does not influence them.
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