frazers creek sapphires

I had just turned 7. My dad had passed away 2 years previous. My dad's friend was a pommie looking for a place to move to, so he moved in with us. He bought a brand new 1963 Nissan Cedric Ststion wagon. It was packed to the rafters, and we travelled up to this place. We stopped off at a shop in Nullamanna to get ice creams, then headed out and set up camp at Sapphire. He was digging for sapphires, and we swam in the creek, with goggles and flippers. He dug a hole about 5' deep, but left it to go for a cuppa. On our return, a man was in the hole digging, and told him he should have left his tools in there. This man dug 6" down and lifted out a sapphire, valued then at £2,000. We were not happy. This place immediately springs to mind every time I spray aeroguard, as it was the first time I smelt it. Now this is 50 years ago, so I can't critique what the place is like today. Unfortunately the site forces me to insert a date.

To all i can say this is a great place for kids an mums an dads you can stay in a cabin an have an out door spa in the arvos afther going out an collecting sapphires my son today found some very good size stones stone were bigger than a 5 cent coin in all we collected over 45 sapphires so we all had fun this place is a must ive been to em all in Inverell an illabong Blue is the best drive alone swanbrook rd past inverell hospital fallow the rd for 17 klms an ull hit a dirt rd the look out for Ned Kelly on your left just 200m on the dirt rd you are there ask for Kieth this bloke can help in all ways possible .

Re-opened as Billabong Blue this is the best place to fossick for sapphires in the Inverell area. Just a bit further down the road from 7 Oaks is this amazing place.Unlike 7 Oaks one can easily drive to the fossick area. Continue down kings plain raod until you hit gravel and continue for about 500m and its on the left (7 Oaks might be just off the tarmac but you have to bush trek with vehicles a few arduous and hairy km down a really bad road on the property.Amazingly close to 7 Oaks but it is also different as one has to dry sieve and not have to soak clay in buckets. This site also has better coloured sapphires (clear, yellow, green, blue and partis). I have also found the yield to be better with almost every sieve having some form of sapphire in it. Don't get me wrong, 7 Oaks is still amazing but this place I have always loved. It was unfortunate that it was closed for 2 years a tad ago.The site has camping and has recently been upgraded with toilets and a small kiosk. Chairs and tables are there in case you need to have a rest.For $20 you can stay all day or I believe camping is $35. The site does have a commercial sapphire mining business active during the day but you are a safe distance away. The owners will show you the basics to get you started but as the site is a live mine they may take a few min to get to you so please have patience or observe the other people.The site attracts an older clientele and I have found the prized etiquette of not digging in other peoples holes is not enforced. 7 Oaks does enforce this so if you like to find a prime spot in the pile get ready for everyone else to pounce on your diggings. Its a shame that this is not taught to people. If you take up a hobby please learn the rules and the etiquettes.Bring a hat and sunscreen and make sure you rest.

I went here in 2012 and it was better than everywhere else when it comes to fossicking parks. The pile of wash is dry and not muddy unlike Seven Oaks down the raod. You dry sieve first and then wash which is better than trying to find sapphires in clay.In 2013 I returned and the park was closed to the pubic. I believe one owner thought the other one was ripping him off so it went legal. I wish they would have kept the place open to the pubic however.The first time I went the property had just opened to the public for the first time and I stumbled upon it as 7 Oaks was closed that day.I hope this place reopens.Getting there means driving past 7 Oaks and then when the raod becomes gravel its another kilometer roughly on the left...it is easy to miss.If you do get a chance to fossick here you will be rewarded with some amazing blue and yellow/parti gems. The best location by far when it comes to quality gems and ease of fossicking....when its open.

we liked this place so much we came back twice and stayed all day. Bring your own water and food. We had a picnic lunch and then back to the fossicking. The excitement for our kids was seeing the big brown snake (who was shot as he was too close to the fossickers)

You know those things that you do because the kids want to – but in the end it is so much fun that you wonder why you haven’t done it before?… Well going sapphire fossicking was one of them.Frazers Creek Sapphires is about 20km out of Inverell. It is family run, and at the time we attended you literally drive through the house yard to get to the area where you look for the precious stones.For those that haven’t ever looked for sapphires before (like us), don’t worry. The staff showed us exactly what to do and all the equipment was provided. We weren’t made to feel like the total noobs that we were, even amongst the other people who we spoke to – some of whom were very experienced at this game.It is probably good to explain that the fossicking involves getting sapphire bearing soil that has been bought from somewhere else on the property and sorting through it. You aren’t just pointed toward a creek and sent on your way. There is a pile of sapphire bearing dirt that you get some from to try and find the precious stones.What amazed me was the number of stones that we did find. Some of which were quite big (6-8mm) and heaps of small stones (2-3mm). I don’t know if they have any real value but they are precious to us.Our 3 (8/10/12) kids had a great time and found heaps of stones. Filling small several small jars each. Even at this age the kids quickly got the grasp of what to do.As far as the operation at Frazers Creek, as I have said, it is a family operation that is just starting. The facilities are ‘raw’. Without too many bells and whistles. There aren’t shelters to protect your from the sun however trees to provide some shade. You need to take everything that you want with you, perhaps a picnic if you plan being there all day – and drinks. Everything that we needed was provided, sieves, shovels etc and even jars to put the sapphires into. It cost $50 for the whole family for the activity. We only spent half a day there, wished we had headed out there earlier in the day.One word of warning, make sure that you wear old clothes, you will end up dirty.As I said I have never been sapphire fossicking before. I haven’t tried other fossicking operations to compare it to. But I did have a great time at Frazers as did the whole family. We don’t mind the rough aspect of the operation, indeed it adds to the appeal. I highly recommend this as a family activity when in Inverell.