Quarry
The Quarry was established on Portion 159 of 40 acres, 2km south east of the village, however the operation also encompassed another dozen adjoining portions and was known as Belfields. Portion 159 was originally purchased by Sarah Barham (nee Crawford) the wife of Henry. Henry was the son of James who had purchased Portion 12 on which most of the village of Tomerong is situated. Henry did, or would, own much of the adjacent land (Portion 60 of 50 acres, Pn 63 of 100a, and Pn 101 of 50a) totalling together, 240 acres. Eventually all 240 acres would go to their eldest son James Henry Barham who made his home at Berry. Members of the Barham (and some Masters) family lived at Belfields from at least 1889 to 1943 but probably much earlier.
All of this land was sold to Harold Thomas Parnell in 1941-2. Harold was the brother of Albert Parnell and they were the grandsons of the colourful Tomerong Publican John James PARNELL. Keith Parnell recalled, in 1999, that on the flat at Belfields they grew a lot of beautiful pumpkin, corn and water melons; the flats there are very rich. He used to have to milk about 30 cows before he went to school. In 1949, the 240 acres were purchased by the Webb, and then the Rolfe families (1955) before being purchased by John Marshall Herbert in 1974. John had sold his share in the Davis & Herbert Mill and commenced a shale quarry and earthmoving business about 1975. (Note- Most of the early documentation we have refers to the location as Belfield, not Bellfield or Bellefield.)
The quarry consisted of siltstone sedimentary rock that was broken up by blasting and extracted using heavy earthmoving equipment, before being processed through a crusher. Initially the quarrying was a relatively small operation with contract blasters and crushers used for the first blast. The trucking and earthmoving business, when operating at its peak sustained nine employees. Cattle were also run on the ‘Belfields’ property. The crushing plant was upgraded in 1985.
An Environmental Impact Statement in 1990 sought to continue the operation and increase the output of the Quarry for another 13 years, producing crushed shale for use in roadworks. Sand and soil had also been obtained from the alluvial flats of Tomerong Creek. Greg Todd, a native of Sydney, purchased the quarry in November 1994 after it had gone into liquidation after John Herbert had sold it. The quarry was mainly supplying council and new subdivisions with assorted gravel (20, 40 and 75mm roadbase) for constructing roads and employed seven people; four on the pit-face, two in the office and one on the 300 acres that have cattle running on them. The quarry and land surrounding it was sold in 1997. The Tomerong Quarry hit the state headlines in August 2009 when an application was submitted to Council to use the Quarry as a waste dump. The community rallied, forming ShUT and successfully had the development rejected on 21 October 2010. [1]
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Notes and References
- ↑ Blair, Margaret (2000). From Bullocks to Bypass : a local history of the NSW south coast village of Tomerong. M. Blair, Tomerong, N.S.W. Lands Department Title Deed Research TP5893. SCR 3 Jul 1985 TP4456+. Quarry EIS 1990 TP6028. Bay & Basin Times 1995 TP4460+. SCR 3 May 1995 TP1949. Keith Parnell 14 Jun 1999 TP3035. John Herbert 3 Jul 2000 TP3734+.
Images
- Quarry TP3585-88
- ShUT Album First image in album.
- Location TP5940
- Advertisment TP4661
- Quarry EIS 1990 TP6028
Links
- Tomerong Local History Web Page- tomeronghistory.com
- Tomerong Past Facebook Album- Tomerong Past Facebook This site may provide more information relative to this institution, business or location. Check the appropriate album; e.g. Other, ShUT, Clyde Shire etcetera.
- Tomerong History- From Bullocks to Bypass
