A REAL GEM… Dennis Noble at the YP Gem and Minerals Club premises in Moonta.
CORNISH miners were known as the best hard rock miners in the world -- and now a former Copper Coast local has paid tribute to their skills and resilience with a carving created from a single piece of solid jade.
It is one of many intricate sculptures created by Dennis Noble, a member of the Yorke Peninsula Gem and Mineral Club, and will be on display at the club's premises in Moonta during this year's Kernewek Lowender Copper Coast Cornish Festival.
The original piece of jade weighed about half a kilogram and Mr Noble had it sent to him from New Zealand about 40 years ago, wrapped in brown paper and string.
"It was triangular shaped and I tried to think of what animal I could make from it," he said.
"I had already made some Cornish miners out of casting copper, using the lost wax method."
As a gem and minerals enthusiast since the age of 10, Mr Noble has visited many mine sites in Australia and has great admiration for the miners from the years before mechanisation and stringent safety standards.
"A lot of people died in the mines, it was pretty hard going," he said.
Many years ago, Mr Noble talked to the late Fred Poulson, then aged 92, who had been involved in mining in the Copper Coast area at the turn of the century.
"He was really tough - you had to be in the mines," Mr Noble said.
"He had all these draft horses and he would also plough paddocks before and after his shifts."
Mr Noble and his family lived in Kadina until they moved to Adelaide 30 years ago but he is still a regular participant in the club's monthly workshops.
Club treasurer Denise Rowe said the club has been going for almost 50 years and the workshops allow the 35 members to work on their gem and mineral collections using the club's tools and equipment.
The club will hold an open day from 10am to 3.30pm at its premises on Military Road, Moonta, adjacent to Moonta Memorial Park Bowling Club on Friday, May 19.
It will feature a large display of gems, minerals and carvings and a fossicking box for children.
For more information, phone 0407 614 196.
