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The transformations that have taken place in Lightning Ridge over the past thirty-two years have been incredible. When I first came to the Ridge in 1970 as Deputy Registrar of the Department of Mines there were about three hundred registered claims and all these had to be dealt with by one person, a policeman named Mick McEvoy who was also appointed as the Warden’s Clerk as well as performing other duties.
Mick was a good cop. If there was a problem in the fields he would sort it out on the spot and there were very few occasions when matters had to go before the Warden’s Court.
The number of registered claims is now over six thousand according to my information.
The old 1906 Mining Act was repealed after 1970 and replaced by the 1973 Act which initially caused many uproars amongst the miners due mainly to misunderstandings on their part. In an attempt to solve these problems the then Minister for Mines, the Hon Wal Fyfe decided to form an Advisory Committee and asked me to be the chairman.
I agreed to do so subject to a few conditions one of which was that I wanted Mrs Robina Boardman to be a committee member. This enabled Robina, as proprietor of the Lightning Flash to inform readers of committee decisions and resolved most of the misunderstandings in the area.
The mining industry has been very fortunate over the past thirty-odd years by the appointment of successive government ministers including Wal Fyfe, Ron Mulock, Neville Wran, Ken Gale and Bob Martin. All these ministers were very capable and dedicated to their duties and each took a personal interest in activities at the Ridge and visited the area.
My role as chairman of the Advisory Committee was made easier by the support I received at ministerial level and I remained as chairman for about 14 years until I retired in 1987.
I am amazed to read your article of August 21 indicating that the current Mining Board operates as a closed shop.
When the general public is not told what is going on in such cases people draw their own conclusions, usually negative, and this form of administration achieves nothing positive.
Jim Lawrie
Editor’s Note: If the Mining Board does not respect the view of the community, some of its own members and the Black Opal Advocate, that they should operate an “open shop” perhaps the view of Jim Lawrie with his vast experience (and for the reasons he outlines) is certainly
worthy of consideration. He praises previous Ministers for the interest they have displayed in Lightning Ridge by visiting the area.
When can we expect a visit from the present Minister for Mineral Resources, Mr Eddie Obeid?
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