Rare opal finds new home in SA

A $900,000 opal considered the finest uncut specimen in the world has found a new home at the South Australian Museum thanks to a private donor and federal government funding.

The Fire of Australia weighs almost one kilogram and features colours which transition from green to yellow to red.

It was mined at Coober Pedy in 1946 by Walter Bartram and has been held by his family ever since, with museum director Brian Oldman saying the quality of the stone makes it extremely rare.

"When our state's inland sea evaporated millions of years ago it provided a unique silica-rich environment for the creation of precious opal," he said.

"It is these exceptional conditions that created the Fire of Australia."

Mr Bartram's son Alan said with the on display at the museum it would now be available for all South Australians to enjoy.