Romancing the stones : from Capricornia to Waltzing Matilda

""From Capricornia to Waltzing Matilda" will capture some stories of communities on sapphire and opal miners with their families. 'Romancing the stones' is located on the Tropic of Capricorn in Central and Western Queensland. Millions of years ago the opal fields from Yowah to Winton were part of an inland sea and home to terrestrial dinosaurs whose fossils were only discovered in 1963 and lately discoveries have been near Winton. Boulder opal was first discovered by Paddy O'Reilly at ‘Listowel Downs’, Blackall, in 1869. Sapphires were first discovered at the Gemfields near Emerald in 1890. These significant places are still 'frontier country' and an important part of this region's cultural heritage."--p. 1.