Hi everyone, I hope you and yours are doing well.
One of the joys of travels is coming across something totally unexpected but so historically interesting it alights your imagination. The bottle tree at the Anakie railway station in Queensland was one of these. And as you read you might realise why I have decided to post this for my 25th April Anzac Day post this year.
On our Queensland trip in 2023, we went on a day trip from Emerald to
the Sapphire Gemfields, and took a side trip into the tiny town of Anakie,
after reading about it in our guide book. (not to be confused with the town of Anakie in Victoria)
Located just off the Capricorn Highway east of Emerald, Anakie is the
oldest town on the Sapphire Gemfields. Anakie’s European history dates back to
1884 when the railway line was being extended into western Queensland. In 1885
the town was declared and a school was opened with sixteen students.
The railway station was built in 1884 and a six metre dam constructed to
service the trains’ steam engines. Dug by hand with pick and shovel, and the
dirt carried away by horse drawn drays, today the dam is used for recreation
and bird-watching. In the photo above can you see the bottle tree just beyond the left hand side roof line of the railway station?
Next to the neatly kept cream weatherboard railway station is a Queensland bottle tree (Brachychiton rupestris) believed to have been planted around 1880. Brachychiton rupestris is a tree in the family Malvaceae, endemic to the Australian state of Queensland.
What is interesting about the tree are the initials carved into its trunk. Anakie was a departure point for local men going to World War 1. While waiting to catch the train, soldiers carved their initials and those of their sweethearts into the tree. The tradition continued in World War 2. The tree has grown so tall over the intervening years you need to look up high to see the initials. Standing under the tree I could imagine the throng of young local men, farmers and miners, at the station eager to depart on their big adventure – slapping each other on the back, hugging girlfriends and mothers, the buzz of activity.
The tree remains as a living commemoration to these young men, many of whom never returned. The Anakie War Memorial tells the story.
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| Anakie War Memorial - photo from Monument Australia website |
Archibald John Richardson is believed to be the first to discover sapphires at Retreat Creek in the 1873. The Anakie sapphire fields were proclaimed a mining area in 1902. Export of blue sapphires to Europe began around 1905, however markets to Germany and Russia were shattered due to the onset of WW1 and the 1917 Russian Revolution. Exports to England and France continued but during the Depression the Sapphire Gemfields went into decline. Today the gemfields encompass an area of 900 square kilometres and is popular with tourists and fossickers.
There are several designated fossicking areas, including Glenalva and
Willows gemfields. You will need a fossicking license.
There is plenty to explore around the Sapphire Gemfields – fossicking,
underground mine tours, gem shops, interpretive trails and bushwalking.
In Roma the Heroes Avenue of 93 Queensland bottle
trees remembers the men of Roma who died in WWI.
Where is Anakie?
The Sapphire Gemfield towns of Sapphire and Rubyvale are 11km and 18km
to the north.
The Spirit of the Outback train will stop at Anakie if pre-booked.
This article was published in Curious Australis, On The Road magazine, Autumn 2024.
For more information:
Monument Australia-Anakie-War-Memorial
Sapphire Gemfields visitor information
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