Rubyvale is a rural town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

in the

Central Highlands Region Central Highlands Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. In the , the Central Highlands Region had a population of 27,836 people. History '' Wadja'' (also known as ''Wadjigu'', ''Wadya'', ''Wadjainngo'', ''Mandalgu'', a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. In the , the town of Rubyvale had a population of 518 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, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

and Anakie) until 17 April 2020, when the Queensland Government decided to replace The Gemfields with three new localities (Rubyvale,

Sapphire Central Sapphire Central is a rural locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. The town of Sapphire is within the locality (). Sapphires are mined extensively in the area. Sapphire was one of three towns within the locality of Th ...

and Anakie Siding) based around each of the three towns respectively. The boundaries of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

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 ...

s are mined 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. Rubyvale was one of three towns within the

of The Gemfields (the others being

and Anakie) until 17 April 2020, when the Queensland Government decided to replace The Gemfields with three new localities (Rubyvale,

and Anakie Siding) based around each of the three towns respectively. The boundaries of

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

Demographics

In the , the town of Rubyvale had a population of 510 people. In the , the town of Rubyvale had a population of 640 people. In the , the town of Rubyvale had a population of 518 people.

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 Central Highlands Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. In the , the Central Highlands Region had a population of 27,836 people. History '' Wadja'' (also known as ''Wadjigu'', ''Wadya'', ''Wadjainngo'', ''Mandalgu'', a ...

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 Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Aurigae and abbreviated Alpha Aur or α Aur. Capella is the lis ...

to the north-east.

Climate

The area can get up to during summer, and can reach in winter.

Heritage listings

Rubyvale has a number of

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

sites, including: *

(but nearest town is Rubyvale): Tomahawk Creek Huts

References

External links

*
A Gemfields home page
{{authority control Mining towns in Queensland Towns in Queensland Central Highlands Region Localities in Queensland