Green Sapphires – Willows

Dramatic changes in climate and environment millions of years ago resulted in gems of amazing beauty in all colours of the rainbow.

During the Second World War, the ship USS Niagara was torpedoed and sunk. On board was a consignment of the highest quality green sapphires from Willows Gemfields – they went down with the ship. It is rumoured that although the gold bullion on board the Niagara was salvaged, the sapphires were never recovered!

Did you know?

  • Sapphires come in all shades of the rainbow, although they are typically a deep, royal blue. 
  • Sapphires and rubies are made of corundum (aluminium oxide) – the second hardest gemstone after diamonds. The various colours in these corundum stones are caused by additional elements. 
  • The stunning yellow and green-hued sapphires result from a combined addition of ferric and ferrous iron.

Between 70 and 40 million years ago, the Earth’s crust shifted, moving Australia closer to its current position and hot spots of molten rock developed below. Pressure built and eventually volcanic mountains erupted, spewing out lava and ash. Sapphires and zircons that had formed deep in the Earth’s crust were blasted out as crystals in this volcanic ash. From about 2 million years ago, weathering and erosion began to release the sapphires from the volcanic materials that encased them. These hidden treasures now lie waiting to be discovered!

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Willows gemfields… Once a field of abundant green sapphires 

Little is known about the original discovery of sapphires at Willows Gemfields. Early recorded history sets a date of around 1919, however it wasn’t until 1924 that Joshua Cousen was definitely known to be working the area now known as Cousens Hill. 

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Local legend tells of an abundance of gemstones at Willows Gemfields, mostly good quality greens. It is amusing to note that nowadays we are grateful to find a cutter by dinner time, while it is said that in days long gone, one could fill a billy with good stones by smoko.

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From 1938, the area saw a steady rise in sapphire mining, however during the early 1940s the area still carried no particular name and was simply referred to as The Mines. By the end of the 1940s, the locality had acquired its own identity as Willows Gemfields, so named after the nearby postal centre Willows, located on the Central Railway line, 10 kilometres away.

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There have been numerous famous stones found in the area such as the 322-carat Golden Willow, which when cut produced a 91.35 carat stone and was renamed the Golden Queen.

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Today, Willows Gemfields, and nearby Glenalva, attract a growing number of visitors and hand-miners who come in the hope of finding the next Golden Queen.

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5 Fossicking tips 

  1. Essential Tools: You will need a pick and shovel, sieve and a drum of water. A willoughby is a handy optional extra. This spring-loaded device sits in the drum and vigorously shakes the sieve to help concentrate the gems. These tools are available for hire from various operators. 
  2. Specking: Searching for sapphires on the surface of the ground is especially rewarding after rain and requires no tools except for a keen eye. 
  3. Digging: Locate an unoccupied hole and remove overburden or dig to expose virgin ground. Occupied holes will often have a bucket or similar left beside them. 
  4. Processing: Processing requires you to screen out the oversized gravel and separate the fine sand from the wash. The most common method of separation is called the wet sieve or gravity method. As the sieve or willoughby is gently agitated, the wash separates, sending heavier stones to the bottom. 
  5. Identify: Take care not to overlook your treasure! Be sure to sky all potential stones by holding them up to the sun or a light source to reveal the colour. fossicking licences Within the Sapphire Gemfields region, 11 areas are designated for public fossicking and cover thousands of hectares of sapphire-bearing ground. 

Fossicking licences are a legal requirement. They are inexpensive, come with a set of maps and rules, and can be purchased online at qld.gov.au or at various local businesses. Hand tools and mining gear are also available for sale or hire.

Finding sapphires 

Sapphires can be found in all layers of sapphirebearing ground, however most stones will be concentrated in what is known as the wash. The wash is the section of dirt found on, or just above, the floor or bedrock of an ancient underground creek bed. A long time ago, sapphires were transported, via water flow, from the volcano where they were formed. As sapphires are heavier than most materials, they naturally drop to the bottom into the layer of wash, where they settle alongside the larger stones often called ‘billy boulders’.

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Shallow wash rarely exceeds a depth of 500 mm. Workings typically expose about 300 mm of grey, soily wash containing billy boulders, pebbles and cobbles of chert and silicified sandstone.

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This overlies a thin layer of light-grey clayey material, described locally as decomposed volcanic ash. The wash rests on a clay bottom, which overlies basement rocks or bedrock.

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Location

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Download the what3words app to help you follow the Trail.
Here are the ///what3words identifiers for this location and for the three closest stops:

You are here: ///coupler.redeems.humiliated

Where to next?

Welcome to Willows – ///spaced.printed.particularly

Willows Town Map – ///baseballs.fishnets.clued

Characters of the Willows Gemfields – ///fevered.plays.descriptions

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