Sapphire Central, Queensland

Sapphire Central is a rural locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. The town of Sapphire is within the locality (-23.46111°N, 147.7208°W). Sapphires are mined extensively in the area.

Sapphire was one of three towns within the locality of The Gemfields (the others being Anakie and Rubyvale) until 17 April 2020, when the Queensland Government decided to replace The Gemfields with three new localities (Sapphire Central, Anakie Siding and Rubyvale) based around each of the three towns respectively. The boundaries of the locality of Argyll were also modified to accommodate the introduction of the locality of Sapphire Central with an area of 140.8 km2.

In the, Sapphire Central had a population of 1,214 people.

Geography
Mount Bullock is in the north-west of the locality and west of the town (-23.4694°N, 147.6944°W). It is 335 m above sea level.

In the south-west of the locality is The Three Sisters Range (midpoint -23.5124°N, 147.6542°W) which extends south into Anakie Siding. It contains a number of unnamed peaks rising to 370 m above sea level.

Apart from the west of the locality, most of Sapphire Central is relatively flat at 230 m above sea level.

History
Sapphire Provisional School opened in 1904. On 1 January 1909 it became Sapphire State School. It closed in 1939.

Sapphire was one of three towns within the locality of The Gemfields (the others being Anakie and Rubyvale) until 17 April 2020, when the Queensland Government decided to replace The Gemfields with three new localities (Sapphire Central, Anakie Siding and Rubyvale) based around each of the three towns respectively. The boundaries of the locality of Argyll were also modified to accommodate the introduction of the locality of Sapphire Central with an area of 140.8 km2.

Demographics
In the, the town of Sapphire had a population of 550.

In the, the town of Sapphire had a population of 572 people.

In the, the locality of Sapphire Central had a population of 1,214 people.

Education
There are no schools in Sapphire Central. The nearest primary school is in Anakie. The nearest secondary school is Emerald State High School in Emerald.