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- Title
‘The Rush that Ended’: The Quest for Rubies in Central Australia.
- Authors
ENEVER, JIM
- Abstract
In August 1886, explorer David Lindsay discovered what he thought might be gem quality rubies in the East MacDonnell Ranges. Lindsay’s exploration party formed a syndicate in Adelaide to pursue the discovery. A large cache of stones was brought back to Adelaide, which when examined by experts was proclaimed to contain a proportion of ‘true Oriental rubies’. This sparked a rush between September 1887 and May 1888. A debate ensued in Australia and the UK about whether the stones were valuable rubies or ‘worthless’ garnets. It was eventually agreed that the stones should be popularly classified as ‘Australian rubies’, a completely new gem species. After the prospect of British capital entering the arena had kept the uncertainty about the nature of the stones alive, it became generally accepted by mid-1888 that the stones were in fact garnets. This realization sparked an exodus from the field and by the end of 1888 the ruby field was completely deserted. The ruby companies progressively slid into liquidation during the first years of the 1890s. As fast as the rush had begun, the rush had ended.
- Subjects
LINDSAY, David; RUBIES; RUBY mines &; mining
- Publication
Journal of Australasian Mining History, 2015, Vol 13, p42
- ISSN
1448-4471
- Publication type
Article