On the exact same day she relinquished Australia Post after years of providing mail, Jocelyn Flint made an unique exploration while checking out a remote island off Tasmania’s northeast. While strolling in the direction of among the sensational coastlines on Flinders Island, she detected something in the sand that left her “absolutely shocked”.
On a course causing Killiecrankie coastline she located a clear, rectangular-shaped rock concerning the size of her fingertip. The following day, she located a diamond-shaped treasure that actually made her thrilled.
“I’ve always heard about the Killiecrankie diamonds,” Jocelyn informed Yahoo News.
“I found all this smokey quartz and then next thing there it was. Honestly I thought it was a bit of broken glass, absolutely shocked.”
The coastline is well known for its concealed treasures, with visitors attempting their good luck to discover one with screens and shovels. Killiecrankie rubies obtained their name from their similarity to harsh rubies, yet the rocks are in fact topaz.
‘Buried prize’ on Flinders Island
The treasures were initial gathered by tin miners in the 1800s and was just one of the earliest treasures or minerals exported from Australia, according to the University of Tasmania.
A widely known tale amongst citizens is that a person of the miners hidden a number of kerosene tins of Killiecrankie rubies near the tin mine, nonetheless they have actually never ever been located.
One of the greatest locates, nonetheless, comes from Margaret Wheatley, that informed Yahoo the 585g rock deserves around $3,400.
Margaret, 71, and her hubby Alan hire fossicking equipment and offer recommendations to visitors concerning where to browse. She additionally transforms the rocks right into jewelry, and markets them from her home.
“The bigger ones are harder to find, but you still find a few that are reasonable size,” she said.
“You can still find them, they are heavy stones and under the sand so you do actually have to do some work. I tell people the harder they work the luckier they get!”
Alan has been selling the stones since he was 12 years old — he’s now 73. Margaret joined the business when the pair got married 51 years ago and started creating jewellery.
She believes it’s unusual to find a beach in Australia filled with topaz, noting they are usually found in gem fields inland.
“This is probably the best area with beaches, but you can find them in places like Mount Surprise in Queensland or Oban in NSW, they are in a number of places. Just not so close to the water,” she said.
“If you’re going to go looking it’s best to go at low tide because you can get further down the beach, and because they are heavy stones they go to the lowest point.”
While Jocelyn’s find might not be worth much, it’s the memory of the trip and the thrill of the find that she is holding on to.
“I don’t think I’ll turn into a diamond hunter,” she laughed.
“I’ve worked all these years and delivered mail everyday around the countryside on the northwest of Tassie. It’ll be nice to just explore now and enjoy life.”
< figcaption course=” caption-collapse How caas-jump-link-heading (* )how-to-get-to-flinders-island” >Flinders Island
Flinders Island to reach (* )comes by either watercraft or aircraft, with brief trips leaving from Launceston (35 mins), Hobart (1 hour) or Melbourne (1 hour) with Sharp Airlines.
If you choose to be on the sea, there is a weekly barge departing from Bridport, Tasmania which takes about eight hours.
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