NSW Governor Marie Bashir officially opened the showroom and office of the Australian Opal Centre in Lightning Ridge last month.
The Centre is a national facility being developed to house a public collection of Australian precious opal and rare opalised fossils in an innovative, energy-efficient underground building designed by Australian architects Glenn Murcutt and Wendy Lewin.
LROFC Inc, the proponents of the Centre, will seek Federal Government funding for the $22 million building under the Strategic Projects component of the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program.
Australian Opal Centre project manager Jenni Brammel said the governor’s launch of the Centre was “a tremendous honour”.
“It’s an indication of the level of interest in the Australian Opal Centre and awareness of its national significance,” she said. “It’s a timely project and much needed.
“The Australian Opal Centre will make a lasting economic contribution to outback regions of three Australian states (NSW, South Australia and Queensland) and it will be a brilliant product to promote in the global tourism market.”