Rusty Gems

A Photo Collection of “Up & Over” Mobile Wash Plants around Rubyvale and The Gemfields

Arriving in The Gemfields of Central Queensland feels like the opening scene of a dystopian novel. Eccentric resident characters, shaped by an unforgiving arid wasteland, burrow underground to unearth hidden gems. A manhole opens to parched land and nestled amongst the sandpiles, lies an old, rusty, mid 50’s Bedford truck, seemingly abandoned, with four flat tyres and smashed-out windows. The back tray modified with a makeshift piece of machinery, often still in use, heaving buckets of gravel and soil dug from old creek beds beneath, sputtering sand through a process of pumps and cylinders.

There is no official name for these unofficial contraptions but the locals refer to them as “up & over trucks”, “mobile wash plants” or “mobile mining rigs”. They first appeared during the sapphire mining boom that began in the early 1970s. An invention that allowed processing equipment to be shifted around on a claim site, commonly used for one-man operations. It has been said that the combination of truck and processing gear was first used to mine sapphires at Inverell NSW, and the up and over hoists from the opal fields in Lightning Ridge NSW and Coober Pedy SA.

To me, these iconic weather-beaten articles of virtu embody the essence of The Gemfields. Brought into existence by enterprising resourcefulness, each construction is unique, often an assemblage of repurposed castoffs. Although they played a leading role in the Australian fossicking story, their historical significance is unrecorded. As a photographer, I am drawn to the visually captivating authenticity of their presence, and in my depictions, they take centre stage.

Occasionally in the Spring of 2021, the evening sky would be emblazoned with electrical storms that taunted every resident with the promise of rain, only to deliver a spectacular sky for my outback theatre set and then disappear. I would ride out to remote claims, often with a mate on an electric bike proficient in navigating the dirt roads, and arrive in time to share a XXXX at sunset with the fossickers to share stories. When twilight came, together we would paint the scene with light using the bike’s LEDs, head torches, car headlights, halogen work lights, phone flashlights, fluoros, and security lights, all captured in a 30-second exposure.

On view at Rubyvale Town Hall, The Gemfields Queensland
August 2023

The story behind my "Rusty Gems"

Amid the pandemic chaos, my regular work vanished. So I swapped the cityscape for the dusty trails of the Gemfields. Camera in hand, I headed towards the small sapphire fossicking town where my father was a publican at the New Royal in Rubyvale, Central Queensland. I focused my lens on sapphires by day and rusty trucks by night.

But forget glamour – it's a rugged, authentic adventure among rough locals, arid landscapes, and distant supermarkets. There were no pristine studios or perfectly styled subjects here. Instead, it was a dance with lightning storms and a symphony of sand and grit. I rounded up the locals and embarked on a quest to capture the essence of these rugged landscapes.

Behind the scenes

A trusty LED bike light on the left, along with artful strokes of a hand torch. That's how the magic unfolds!