The Gemfields
Encyclopedia
The Gemfields is a district in Central Queensland
in Australia
, near the town of Emerald
. As the name suggests, the main industry in the Gemfields is sapphire
mining
, supported by tourism
.
The region contains four small towns: Anakie
, Rubyvale
, Sapphire
, and The Willows.
GemFest is an annual festival
in the region, attracting large numbers of visitors.
Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, near the town of Emerald
Emerald, Queensland
Emerald is a town located in the Central Highlands district of Central Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Emerald had a population of 10,999. The town is the business centre for the Central Highlands Regional Council....
. As the name suggests, the main industry in the Gemfields is sapphire
Sapphire
Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, supported by tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
The region contains four small towns: Anakie
Anakie, Queensland
Anakie is a town in Queensland, Australia. The town is located just to the south of the Capricorn Highway, 44 km west of Emerald, and is situated in a region called the Gemfields where sapphires are mined.-External links:* **...
, Rubyvale
Rubyvale, Queensland
Rubyvale is a town in the Australian state of Queensland, approximately west of Emerald. Situated in a region called the Gemfields, sapphires are mined extensively in the area...
, Sapphire
Sapphire, Queensland
Sapphire is a town in Queensland, Australia. Situated in a region called the Gemfields, sapphires are mined extensively in the area. At the 2006 census, Sapphire had a population of 550.-External links:* ***...
, and The Willows.
GemFest is an annual festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
in the region, attracting large numbers of visitors.
External links
- http://www.sapphire.net.au/