corundum, Australia.12, quality.10, gems

V.G.C. Norwood describes personal investigations of sapphire, opal and agate resources in Queensland during a prolonged drought, combining a prospecting travel narrative with observations on recovery methods, working conditions and commercial possibilities. Travelling alone from Victoria in a motor caravan on a planned journey of approximately 8,000 miles, he initially visits Anakie and The Willows before proceeding towards the opal districts around Winton, Opalton and Horse Creek. Commercial interest in agate is illustrated by a cutting and polishing factory at Cairns, which manufactures jewellery and industrial components; the author reports obtaining mineral rights near Cairns and a guaranteed purchase price for agate delivered to the factory. The main discussion concerns sapphire mining at Anakie, where he describes selecting promising ridges and former creek beds, clearing rocks and timber, removing overburden and excavating the gravel wash. Gravel is processed without water in a steel-mesh sieve suspended from a wooden tripod, shaken vigorously to remove fine material, then examined by hand after larger stones and clay lumps have been removed. Zircon, garnet and amethyst are also sought in the residue. Norwood emphasizes the physical demands of this work, the difficulty of recognizing sapphires in dry concentrates, and the practical constraints imposed by heat, scarce water, isolation and hazardous wildlife. He reports finding more than sixty fine sapphires at Anakie in two weeks, including four blue stones exceeding five carats each, alongside abundant green and yellow material, much of it flawed and considered more suitable for industrial use. Large Queensland sapphires, including star stones and specimens carved with portraits of American presidents, illustrate the district’s historical productivity. Despite continued production from privately owned mines and opportunities for independent prospectors, the author regards recovery methods as antiquated. He proposes using bulldozers to expose extensive areas of wash and mechanical shakers to reduce manual processing, while retaining dry recovery because of water shortages. The concluding discussion introduces opal prospecting and the diversity of opal appearances and occurrences, including material in ironstone boulders, fossils and shells. Contrasting Queensland deposits with better-known New South Wales fields, Norwood expresses confidence that substantial areas remain insufficiently explored. The account presents renewed prospecting and selective mechanization as potential means of extending production from established and undiscovered Australian gemfields.