Rubyvale is a rural town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivi ...

in the

Central Highlands Region Central Highlands Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. History '' Wadja'' (also known as ''Wadjigu'', ''Wadya'', ''Wadjainngo'', ''Mandalgu'', and ''Wadjigun)'' is an Australian Aboriginal language in Central Queensla ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. In the , the town of Rubyvale had a population of 640 people. Rubyvale was one of three towns within the

of The Gemfields (the others being

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sap ...

and Anakie) until 17 April 2020, when the Queensland Government decided to replace The Gemfields with three new localities (Rubyvale, Sapphire Central and Anakie Siding) based around each of the three towns respectively. The boundaries of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

were also modified to accommodate the introduction of the locality of Rubyvale with an area of .

Geography

The town is located near the south-east boundary of the locality. The town is approximately west of

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

s are

mined Mined may refer to: * Mined (text editor), a terminal-based text editor * Mining, the extraction of valuable geological materials from the Earth See also * Mind (disambiguation) * Mine (disambiguation) Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer ...

extensively in the area.

History

The name ''Rubyvale'' derives from a ruby weighing found near the town by miner William Dunn in the early 1900s. Dunn was very proud of the ruby and did not sell it but showed it to people he trusted; after his death the ruby could not be found. Rubyvale Provisional School opened on 19 October 1908. On 1 January 1909 it became Rubyvale State School. It closed in 1963. At the , Rubyvale had a population of 510. In the , Rubyvale had a population of 640 people. Rubyvale was one of three towns within the

of The Gemfields (the others being

were also modified to accommodate the introduction of the locality of Rubyvale with an area of .

Amenities

Rubyvale has a convenience store/news agents, post office, hotel and take-away bottle shop, as well as a variety of accommodation and fossicking areas. Some popular places to go fossicking are the Bob n John Mine, Bobby Dazzler and Pats Gems. The Central Highlands Regional Council operates a public library at 7 Burridge Road ().

Education

There are no schools in Rubyvale. The nearest primary school is Anakie State School in Anakie to the south. The nearest secondary schools are Emerald State High School in

to the east and Capella State High School in

Capella Capella is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Auriga. It has the Bayer designation α Aurigae, which is Latinised to Alpha Aurigae and abbreviated Alpha Aur or α Aur. Capella is the sixth-brightest star ...

to the north-east.

Climate

The area can get up to 40 °C during summer, and can reach 0 °C in winter.

Heritage listings

Rubyvale has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ...

sites, including: *

(but nearest town is Rubyvale):

Tomahawk Creek Huts Tomahawk Creek Huts is a heritage-listed group of huts at Argyll near Rubyvale, Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 16 October 2008. History Tomahawk Creek Fossicking Area ...

References

External links

*
Map and facilities listA Gemfields home page
{{authority control Mining towns in Queensland Towns in Queensland Central Highlands Region Localities in Queensland