Sapphire Central is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the

Central Highlands Region Central Highlands Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. History '' Wadja'' (also known as ''Wadjigu'', ''Wadya'', ''Wadjainngo'', ''Mandalgu'', and ''Wadjigun)'' is an Australian Aboriginal language in Central Queensland ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. The town of Sapphire is within the locality ().

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, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...

s are mined extensively in the area. At the , the locality had a population of 1214 people. Sapphire was one of three towns within the locality of

The Gemfields The Gemfields is a former locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , The Gemfields had a population of 1,449 people. On 17 April 2020, the Queensland Government re-drew the boundaries of localities within the C ...

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

Anakie Siding Anakie Siding is a rural locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. The town of Anakie is within the locality (). It is a sapphire mining area. In , the locality of Anakie Siding had a population of 155 people. Geograp ...

and Rubyvale) based around each of the three towns respectively. The boundaries of the locality of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

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

Geography

Mount Bullock is in the north-west of the locality and west of the town (). It is above sea level. In the south-west of the locality is The Three Sisters Range (midpoint ) which extends south into

. It contains a number of unnamed peaks rising to above sea level. Apart from the west of the locality, most of Sapphire Central is relatively flat at above sea level.

History

Sapphire Provisional School opened in 1904. On 1 January 1909 it became Sapphire State School. It closed in 1939. At the , the town of Sapphire had a population of 550. At the , the town of Sapphire had a population of 572 people. At the , the locality of Sapphire Central had a population of 1,214 people. Sapphire was one of three towns within the locality of

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

and Rubyvale) based around each of the three towns respectively. The boundaries of the locality of

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

Education

There are no schools in Sapphire Central. The nearest primary school is in Anakie. The nearest secondary school is Emerald State High School in

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, p ...

References

External links

* * — shows the town of Sapphire
Map and facilities listA Gemfields home pagegemfest
{{authority control Mining towns in Queensland Towns in Queensland Central Highlands Region Localities in Queensland