Sapphire, Qld.

Sapphires were discovered in the area about 1870, fairly quickly a town developed, so they called it ‘Sapphire’.
Neighbouring towns are Rubyvale and Emerald. Hmm.. there’s a theme here! Fortunes were made and lost back in the day.

Gem hunting and dreams of striking it rich are still common in the area. A lot of gem hunters supplement their income by taking tourists fossicking.

The Sparrow found these little fellows after a couple of hours of sifting alluvial gravel. Main photo: Sapphires, extra: Zircons.