Shale mining ghost towns and their industries come alive in the following two publications.
Joadja Creek in the Southern Highlands of NSW
Australian Kerosene Oil and Mineral Company (AKO Company) 1870s - 1911
Glen Davis in the Blue Mountains of NSW
National Oil Pty. Ltd (NOP) 1938 - 1952
There is always something fascinating about a ghost town and the reason that people left behind only relics of their industry. When walking amongst the fallen chimneys, derelict ruins, one questions who lived there, what were their lives like and what were their hopes and dreams.
While some people despair at the scars left on our beautiful landscape after man has deserted his handwork, others look at the same ruins and wonder how they came about and try to relive the past. The history of the shale mining ghosts towns of Joadja Creek and Glen Davis are kept alive because of the interest in the remnants that still survive of these ghost towns and their industries.
Joadja Creek and Glen Davis were two of Australia’s most successful oil shale operations. Mining at Joadja Creek commenced in the 1870s and continued until the 1890s. The operations at Glen Davis commenced in 1938 and closed in 1952.
Interviews and research through the years have yielded fascinating stories of both these now privately owned ghost towns. Whilst some people say it was the happiest years of their lives living and working in these towns, others disagree. Whatever their feelings they have been recorded to help people understand the birth, existence and demise of both the Joadja Creek and Glen Davis shale mining sites which hold a very controversial place in Australian history.
