I was buying furniture in a second hand shop a few weeks ago and I came across two of these figurines. One is of a miner and his dog, the other is of a slightly squinty looking kangaroo. 
 
It was not the figurine I was attracted to, but the boulder opal which surrounds the base of it. The miner and his dog have three square looking pieces of boulder opal which have been glued to the base. I think they could be removed and worked though. No boulder opal should go to waste like this.
 
A shiny plaque on the underside of the base says Greetings from Australia, Queenlsand Boulder Opal.
 
I am not sure if the figurine is bronze or brass but I do know real opal when I see it. There is blue, purple, green, and common opal on this particular figurine. There are more (and larger) chunks on the kangaroo statue.
 
These were bought for £24.99 each. I would like to sell them for £34.99 to make it worth my while. If they don't sell I will eventually break them down into their component parts and sell the opal, instead.
 
These would make amazing surprise gifts for the opal lover in your life. I had them on eBay for a while with dozens of watchers and no bidders. So here they are instead.