Day trip to Inverell - Sapphire City

Monday - 25 May 2015

26.05.2015

While it was a cool three degrees in Glen Innes there was the promise of a nice sunny day.

As it was a nice day we decided to drive to nearby Inverell, a distance of 67 km. Inverell, known as Sapphire City, is about twice the size of Glen Innes with a population of about 16,000 compared to 8,700 in glen Innes. Inverell was first settled in 1835, with a town being established in the 1850s, and is the centre of a rich agricultural district. There are also some mining activities with tin, sapphires, zircons and diamonds (mainly industrial) being found. Inverell is known as the ‘Sapphire City’ because of the sapphires that found throughout the local district, contributing to a major part of Australia's sapphire production.