ISBN 978-1-925263-54-1
The Bartram family has been mining for opal for over 85 years on almost all of the major Australian opal fields. John Walter ‘Pop’ Bartram was there at the beginning at Andamooka.
Snow and Syd Bartram and Bern Grund were there at the very beginning of mining at the fabulous Eight Mile Field at Coober Pedy.
Snow and Syd Bartram were there at Glengarry from the beginning and had claims in the centre of Millionaires Gully.
Alan, Don and Ray Bartram were there at White Cliffs when mining began again in the early 1980s, and at Purnanga in 1984 which saw a revitalisation of that field.
Members of the family have also assisted in helping to organise the industry, as well as running major exhibitions, both nationally and internationally.
The family maintains a major opal book library and archives which include hundreds of original letters and photographs.
In 2018 the family made the fabulous Fire of Australia opal available to the South Australian Museum for their opal collection.
Family members have trudged through the bush in Model T Ford motor cars, travelled on the original Ghan train, lived underground and dug shafts and drives using picks and shovels.
They know opals.
This is their story.