The Gemfields is a former locality 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 Gemfields had a population of 1,449 people. On 17 April 2020, the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

re-drew the boundaries of localities within the Central Highlands Region by removing the locality of The Gemfields in order to create three new localities of Rubyvale, Sapphire Central and Anakie Siding (around the towns of Rubyvale,

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 respectively).

Geography

The locality contained three small towns: Anakie, Rubyvale, and Sapphire. The nearest major town was

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 ...

. The Western railway line passed through the locality from east (

) to west (

Willows Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

). There was a railway station at Anakie () and a railway siding at Taroborah (). As the name suggested, the main industry in The Gemfields was

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 ...

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

, supported by

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

History

Anakie Provisional School opened on 27 July 1885. It became Anakie State School on 1 January 1909. Due to low attendances it opened and closed at times, but continues to operate to the present day. Taraborah Provisional School (also written as Taroborah) opened in 1900. On 1 July 1909 it became Taraborah State School. It closed on 1911. On 17 April 2020, the

re-drew the boundaries of localities within the

by discontinuing the locality of The Gemfields in order to create three new localities of Rubyvale, Sapphire Central and Anakie Siding (around the towns of Rubyvale,

, and Anakie respectively).:

Demographics

In the , The Gemfields had a population of 1,630. In the , The Gemfields had a population of 1,449 people.

Amenities

The Central Highlands Regional Council operated a public library at 7 Burridge Road, Rubyvale.

Education

Anakie State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Cook Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 83 students with 7 teachers (6 full-time equivalent) and 7 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 77 students with 7 teachers (6 full-time equivalent) and 9 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent). There were no secondary schools in The Gemfields. The nearest government secondary school was Emerald State High School in Emerald to the east.

Events

GemFest was an annual

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

in the region, attracting large numbers of visitors.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gemfields, The Geology of Queensland Central Highlands Region Former localities in Queensland