The Central Queensland Gemfields, situated around the appropriately named towns of Emerald, Rubyvale, Sapphire, Anakie and the Willows Gemfields, is the most productive area in the world for beautiful sapphires. 

The Big Sapphire Gemfields Information Centre at Anakie is run by Neil and Sharyn O'Brien.  Neil insists that the only way to 'divine' sapphires is with a pick and shovel. Big Sapphire caters for school excursions and coach groups to the area, as well as organising fossicking licenses and camping permits.

There is always talk on the fields of someone striking it lucky but none so fortunate, explains Neil, as a local school boy who years ago literally stubbed his toe on a fortune.

"Back in 1979, Smiley Nelson was walking home from school across the some of the fields that had been mined by the big commercial operators and kicked up a huge yellow sapphire weighing 2019 carats. It passed through a number of owners in the intervening years and I recently heard that it sold as a 1,400 carat, cut stone in New York for $1.2 million.

"We have a saying out here, all the little ones go into jewellery and all the big stones go to New York to be sold into private collections."

Apart from the thrill of finding a sapphire that may be large enough to be cut into a jewellery piece for pendant or ring, these fields still have a feeling of frontier atmosphere where folk are keen to assist with advice and suggestions on where to find the 'big one'.

In keeping with the pioneering spirit of the region, there is a somewhat rebellious attitude displayed by the people of the gemfields to government institutions located outside the immediate region.

A case in point is a street in downtown Rubyvale by the unlikely name of Tellem-Buggerem Close. According to long-time residents, the local authority, situated in a distant town, kept on increasing the rates without improving the basic services, so in protest they gave the name to one the tracks which joined two streets. The name struck and the council was eventually forced to give it official status including the shire crest!

Casual visitors far outnumber the permanents and a flourishing tourist industry has grown to cater for the short-stayers. At the Miners Heritage and Bobby Dazzler walk-in mines, visitors are taken underground to see how some of the sapphires are extracted, while at Pat's Gems in Rubyvale, families can sift through buckets of wash sand in the hope of finding a sapphire or two.

New Zealand brothers, Keith and Dave Bezett offer self-drive day fossicker excursions to the productive Glenalva fields. Keith supplies all the equipment and expert advice on how to dig, sieve and wash the stones while Dave is regarded as one of the best cutters on the field and is helpful in producing an elegant piece of jewellery from your find.  

For more information:

Capricorn Tourism and Development Organisation
Tel +61 7 4927 2055

Big Sapphire Gemfields Information Centre
Tel +61 7 4985 4525

Bobby Dazzler Walk-in Mines
Tel +61 7 4985 4170

Miner's Heritage Walk-in Mines
Tel +61 7 4985 4444

Keith & Dave Bezett
Tel +61 7 4985 4675

Pat's Gems
Tel +61 7 4985 4544