Mackay club to crystallise your gemstone interest
Clubhouse fitted out with all the tools to cut, grind, tumble, polish and facet your own gems and fossils
Mackay
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MORE people are turning to the natural beauty of crystals and stones to enhance the auras of their homes and bodies.
A hidden gem exists in Mackay with a clubhouse that lets you cut, grind, tumble, polish, facet and make your own jewellery out of stones, crystals and fossils?
The Mackay Gem and Craft Society is its own hidden gem open to new members interested in learning the lapidary, silversmithing, silvercasting, and wire-wrapping hobbies.
They have all the equipment on hand including flat laps, saws, grinding machines, tumblers and polishing machines.
And never fear if none of that sounds familiar as the members are happy to demonstrate for those genuinely interested in learning.
That includes how to cut open stones to reveal the secrets within.
"You don't know what's in 'em until you cut 'em," president Jim Maher said.
"A lot of them came from people whose partners had passed on.
"They say, 'I've got a shed full of rocks, do you want them?'"
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Mr Maher said his favourite findings were the agates whereas secretary Barry Townsend said he enjoyed discovering sapphires.
The only problem in finding the stones was "there's too much soil around them", Mr Townsend said with a laugh.
He said the best stones for jewellery making were the labradorite, zircons, sapphires and topaz.
"Others, you can tumble or make into cachabons," he said.
The club also occasionally heads out on field trips to find more stones to crack open.
Mr Townsend said membership is available for anyone 12 years or older as long as they wore closed-in shoes.
The club offers stones and crystals for members to purchase and use in the workshop.
Joining fees are $25 per person or $50 per family plus a yearly membership fee of $25 per person or $50 per family to cover insurance and equipment.
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To use the workshop, there is a $4 fee per session.
The club is located at 3 Leisure Crt, South Mackay and is open 6.30pm to 9pm Mondays, 9am to noon and 6.30pm to 9.30pm Wednesdays and 9am to noon and 1pm to 4pm on Saturdays.
For more information, phone 4957 8824.
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