Anakie Siding is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

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. It contains the town of Anakie. It is a

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 area. In , the locality of Anakie Siding had a population of 155 people.

Geography

The town is located just to the south of the

Capricorn Highway The Capricorn Highway is located in Central Queensland, Australia, and links the city of Rockhampton with western Queensland. The highway is long, and joins the Landsborough Highway at Barcaldine. Formerly National Route 66, Queensland began ...

, west of

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 town of Anakie is on the Central Western railway line running from

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

west to Longreach. The town is served by the Anakie railway station (). There is a railway siding at Taroborah (). There is a billabong to the south-east of the town (). In the north-west of the locality is The Three Sisters Range which extends north into Sapphire Central (midpoint ). It contains a number of unnamed peaks rising to above sea level.

History

The pastoral runs in the Leichhardt District were surveyed by August 1866, including Anakie Downs, Saint Helens, Emerald Downs, and Glendarriwill. At this time, the estimated Anakie Downs property was owned by R. Treffitt (also given as Triffit), who also owned the nearby Retreat run. On 17 January 1870 the 'superb station property known as the St. Helens, , and Retreat runs on the Nogoa River, Leichhardt District, in the midst of the choicest and most remunerative stations in North Queensland', together with 10000 sheep, was sold by public auction to R. F. Greene for £2750. The property was sold again by February 1880. A railway line west from Emerald Downs was considered for the area by the chief engineer for the Railway Department in 1878, but difficulties encountered with mountain ranges further to the west. This line 'beyond Emerald Downs first passes through the good country known as Downs' was still unresolved by March 1878. A rail siding had been added to the new line by November 1884. Anakie Provisional School was opened 27 July 1885. On 1 January 1909, it became Anakie State School. It had occasional closures due to low student numbers. Anakie Post Office opened on 12 March 1894 (a

receiving office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

had been open since 1885). Taraborah Provisional School opened in 1900. On 1 January 1909, it became Taraborah State School. It closed in 1911. The name is also written as Taroborah State School. By September 1902, the area was becoming known for

mines, the nearest on Retreat Creek, from the Anakie railway station. With

granitic A granitoid is a broad term referring to a diverse group of coarse-grained igneous rocks that are widely distributed across the globe, covering a significant portion of the Earth's exposed surface and constituting a large part of the continental ...

rock masses and adjoining metamorphic rocks including

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

, with

hornblende Hornblende is a complex silicate minerals#Inosilicates, inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common ...

, some

epidote Epidote is a calcium aluminium iron sorosilicate mineral. Description Well developed crystals of epidote, Ca2Al2(Fe3+;Al)(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH), crystallizing in the monoclinic system, are of frequent occurrence: they are commonly prismatic in ha ...

, some

ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

, and

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...

zircon Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of th ...

s were also found. The quality of the blue, red, and yellow sapphires was noted. Anakie was one of three towns within the locality of The Gemfields (the others being

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 Rubyvale) until 17 April 2020, when the Queensland Government decided to replace The Gemfields with three new localities (Anakie Siding, Sapphire Central and Rubyvale) based around each of the three towns respectively. The boundaries of the localities of

and

Gindie Gindie is a rural locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Gindie had a population of 232 people. Geography The settlement of Fernlees is located in southern Gindie (). The Gregory Highway passes through the ...

were also modified to accommodate the introduction of the locality of Anakie Siding with an area of .

Demographics

In , the locality of Anakie Siding had a population of 155 people.

Transport

Greyhound buses run west (and return) from Rockhampton along the

. Emerald (about east) has an airport with regular services to Brisbane and other points.

Queensland Rail Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both Commuter rail, suburban and Regional rail, interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well ...

's Spirit of the Outback train service that runs twice weekly will stop at Anakie on request.

Education

Anakie State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 1 School Lane (). 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). It has a cattle club which attends local agricultural shows to enter the junior

cattle judging Cattle judging is the process of judging a series of cattle and pronouncing a first-, second- and third-place animal based on each animal's individual traits compared to that of the others. Most cattle judging occurs in show rings at agricultural sh ...

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

to the east.

References

External links

* *
A Gemfields homepage
{{authority control Central Highlands Region Localities in Queensland