We left Longreach early in the morning and started heading east. We were basically following the Tropic of Capricorn towards the coast, but there are some interesting things to see on the way.
We stopped at Barcarldine at the famous 'Tree of Knowledge'. Under the branches of this tree in the 1890's, shearers gathered to protest the poor pay and conditions offered pastoralists. There were many shearers camps in this area from the Great Shearers Strikes, however it is believed that it was here that the genesis for what was to become the Australian Labor Party was formed.
Move forward a hundred years and it is rumoured that in 2006 someone poisoned the tree - and the resultant sculpture around the dead tree trunk (opened in 2008) is stunning. Regardless of your political pursuasion, this is an interesting place.
Tree of Knowledge at Barcarldine
We continued on our way east and made our way to a small community called Sapphire. In the heart of the Queensland Gemfields, this area is famous for its sapphires funnily enough. To be honest we weren't sure what you could fossick here, as down the road is Rubyvale and Emerald is about 50km further east.
We met Ted, the caretaker at our camping area and had a good chat to him about the area. It seems most people who call this place home came for a week or two and have never left. Ted came over 20 years ago and has built his house on a homestead lease.
We decided we had better get in on the action, so booked a fossicking tour with Keith the following morning.
We were taken by Keith to a secret location where we were shown what to look for. Then for the next four hours or so we dug like crazy, and processed our 'wash'.
Washing the gravel in the Wiloughby
Fossicking in this way means you are only allowed to use hand tools. So, pick and shovel it was, with some hand made contraptions allowing us to processes our gravel with the minimum of effort. I use that term lightly - it was bloody hard work, but the rotating drum and spring loaded washing drum called a Wiloughby allowed the washing and sorting team to outpace the digging team... but only just!
For our efforts we were rewarded with a small bag with some sapphires in it. We even had found three that could be cut into very small jewel grade gemstones. We were thrilled!
The following morming we went underground with a tour of the Herritage Mine. This underground mine was a fascinating glimpse into the hardy lifestyle of those who choose to spend their time following the ancient river beds containing the gemstones underground.
Whilst the photos underground didn't work out that well, we enjoyed the tour thoroughly. There is a lot of history in these gemfields, and a lot of characters. One miner spent nearly over fifty years on the fields digging and never sold a sapphire. When he died, it turned out he had one of the most valuable sapphires ever found in a pouch around his chest - and a treasure trove of other sapphires that would have made him incredibly wealthy. It is very much the lifestyle that attracts people here - not something you do to make yourself rich - although that can occasionally happen!
We noted distinct similarities here with Coober Pedy. In fact many of the same types of people seem attracted to this lifestyle, where you can set yourself up with a minimum of capital and become your own master. The main difference is that the climate is a lot nicer here!
Our time here passed surprisingly quickly, and we found ourselves slipping dangerously into the relaxed lifestyle here. We only just stopped ourselves purchasing sieves and a pick - fearing that if we did, we might never leave. It was time to resume our journey hope that our next destination would be just much fun.
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