Brian Ayling's Home Page
Brian Ayling's Home Page
From 1883 to about 1913, Kerosene shale or torbanite was mined in the
vicinity of Airly, a small village near Capertee about 120 miles from Sydney.
Transport of shale to the nearby railway was initially handled by a system
of roads and horse tramways, but with increased production and the establishment
of an oil works at Torbane, some spectacular cable haulage inclines were
employed to cross Airly Mountain.
The Airly mines closed after shale production was concentrated in Newnes,
and today just a few remarkable relics remain, in fairly secluded bushland.
All photographs on this page were taken in the vicinity of Airly
in late 2006 and early 2007.
Here is a map of Airly area, reproduced from The Shale Railways of NSW (refer to Acknowledgements at the foot of this page).
Self-acting incline
Shale was carted from the Airly mines by horse-drawn tram to this point at
Airly Gap, where a self acting incline was used to lower laden skips to a
dray loading staith, for transfer by road to Capertee railway station.
Today a few old timbers and broken cable mark the site of the incline bankhead.
Tramway skip
Body of a skip used for carting shale on the tramway system lays overturned
along the route of the self-acting incline.
Remains of several other skips can be found in this area.
Cable drum and handbrake
This overgrown apparatus comprises a cable pulley and screw handbrake,
firmly anchored to a timber post and tram rails. Perhaps it was used at the
bankhead of the Airly self-acting incline, in which case it seems to have
been relocated a short distance, some decades ago.
Airly village
Remains of a plough and other farm machinery lie scattered around the area
that was once Airly village.
Miners' cottages
These small stone dwellings can be found adjacent to the route of a horse tramway
that served shale mines along the eastern slopes of Airly Mountain.
Hidden home
Careful exploration of sheltered spots either side of the tramway formation
reveals numerous hidden gems like this small ruin,
neatly concealed beneath an overhanging rock.
Then and Now
An undated Gifford Eardley sketch from The Shale Railways of NSW (left),
and current day photo of the same ruin (right).
Abandoned shale mines
From about 1896 the New South Wales Shale Oil Company developed mines in the
Genowlan Creek area, along talus slopes to the north of Airly.
Shale won here was conveyed by cable haulage across Airly Mountain
to the company's new oil retorts at Torbane.
Today several mine entrances are still evident,
as are other relics such as this chimney.
Winding engine
This primitive boiler supplied steam to the Genowlan-Torbane cable haulage
winding engine. There is no firebox as such; it appears that heating gases
were ducted around the vessel by a single chimney flue formed by the brick base.
Torbane cable haulage
Beyond the winding engine site, path of the original cable haulage tramway
to Torbane can readily be traced across the eastern side of Airly Mountain,
where this culvert remains. As built the incline proved troublesome,
and was later deviated to pass through a tunnel beneath the mountain top.
Oil works site
Reward for a climb to the crest of Airly Mountain
is this spectacular view overlooking the Torbane oil works site.
Farm house is the original works manager's residence, and the access road
approaching from right uses an abandoned standard gauge railway formation.
Unknown cableway
Not far from the winding engine, a group of cables runs southwards
up a very steep slope towards the crest of Mount Airly.
This might be the remains of a ropeway that was used for bringing
materials down from the mountain top.
Although uncertain, the presence of two heavy and two lighter cables
suggests that this could have been a self-acting aerial ropeway.
A difficult climb to the upper reaches of the cableway revealed breathtaking
views to the north-east over Genowlan Creek, the Capertee Valley, and beyond.
Mountain top mystery
Investigation of the top station of this cable-way revealed remains of a pulley
system, with sundry bolts and tools scattered about. Beyond here roads or
perhaps tramways appear to have served mines atop Mount Airly, evidenced by
low rock embankments and at least one unprotected mine shaft (right).
I have thus far been unable to find any information about these workings!
Acknowledgements
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