QUEENSLAND GEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18521, 4 October 1923, Page 11

QUEENSLAND GEMS.

RICH SAPPHIRE FIELD.

CONTROL V BY . GOVERNMENT. v.

ORGANISATION t OF & SALES.

[FROM OXTEf OWN CORRESPONDENT,!] V ; "- • .■ ■ ■■: -[S-i . SYDNEY. Sept. 26.

Queensland is commonly, referred to as; Australia's richest State—-richest, that is to say, in natural .resources; for in dovejoped resources New South Wales must lead '.for many years yetbut it is ;; not generally' known that the wealth thus referred to includes a wonderful variety 'of gems. Queensland, in fact, possesses a greater variety of gems than any other country in j the world, and \ some of chem are of fine quality.xS.v '■•'"■''^.V

:*,■ Sapphires to the value of £60,000 per annum are regularly produced from rich fields at Anakie;: and this could be considerably increased were improved methods of marketing introduced. .This has led the State Government to create for itself a monopoly of sales for the Anakie gems, and it has now appointed a well-known expert, Mr. H. N. Knowles, to visit the European, capitals -to dispose of them. About £15,000 worth of gems have already been sold by the ■ Government. \; It .is understood that approximately £25,000 worth;of sapphires are now in hand In. London for disposal on Government account. Mr. Knowles will, on arrival in London, about the middle of November, at once take up the matter of the disposal of these gems. He will also visit the Con-, tinent, where there is a largo demand for Queensland sapphires. ' ~ '•; Mr. Knowles states that, in addition to London, Paris and Switzerland, there is a surprisingly large demand for gems' in Germany, largo buying on German account taking place in London. He points out that in normal times the output of the Anakie fields is worth close to £60,000 per annum, and the arrangement of satisfactory markets ;' for , this most" valuable output will be of immense importaucd to Queensland. He hopes that, as a: result of his present trip, it will be possible in future to regularly forward parcels of gems for disposal at satisfactory prices. '