Joadja - Shale Oil Ghost Town

Nestled deep in the valley in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales lies the once thriving but now largely forgotten ghost town of Joadja.

During the years 1870 to 1911 this magnificent place was home to as many as 1200 people.

 Joadja was originally developed as a secondary industrial town (as opposed to primary industrial such as wool and gold), by the Australian Kerosene Oil and Mineral Company.

The township lived off the back of the large coal and shale deposits in the surrounding area, manufacturing candles, kerosene and even growing and distributing fruit to the markets in Sydney.

It was manned largely by Scottish immigrant labour, the majority of men seconded from Scotland were already experienced in shale oil extraction and their wages at 3 pounds per week were double what they were being paid back home.

Most of the equipment was also brought in from Scotland and the company even paid the workers passage to Australia, though it was deducted from their wages at about 5 shilling per week.

By the early 1900's American Oil companies began to infiltrate the Australian market with cheaper alternatives, helped along by the Government that removed import duties on kerosene and, by 1911 Joadja was shut down, succumbing to the ever increasing competition of imported goods.

In a hundred years, not much has changed...

Joadja is, to visit, an amazing place, it's now privately owned, however we were fortunate to be able to spend a day investigating the abandoned settlement thanks to the kindness and generosity of Val & Elisa who live onsite in the original Orchard Managers cottage built c1878.

The site itself is quite large, covering many acres of land, fortunately we were able to drive around the town using a map of bush tracks that Val kindly provided to us.

It is one of the most well preserved historic sites I've seen, in such original condition, you can almost feel yourself in the time, and some say, if you linger long enough in the ruins of the houses you may well feel another presence from that time.

Looking down from the Orchard Managers cottage at the head of the property you gaze over 60 acres of orchard ; pears, apples, cherries and blackberry still grow amongst the flats.

 Orchard Managers Cottage

Just off to the east is the School of Arts building c1886, from where you can see the ruins of  the railway bridge that spanned the creek. A narrow gauge railroad was constructed here by the company, all the way to Mittagong, some 35kms away to solve some of the transport problems of negotiating the steep trip into and out of the valley.

Once you cross the creek, further to the east is the main street of the town, originally called Brick Row, after the many brick houses built along it to accommodate the working managers. Each house had two rooms out the front with a washroom and privy toilet out the back at a 'respectable distance'.

 House on Brick Row

The name of the street was changed to Carrington Row after the then Governor of NSW, Lord Carrington took a 'leisurely stroll' on one of his many visits to Joadja.

Further again to the east following the creek, you come across a large clearing, called nursery flats, an area that was used for family picnics and kids playground.

Back tracking along Carrington Row and up to the north is the old Pub, boarding house and stables, if you keep going north at this point you will eventually join the road to Wombeyan Caves.

Significantly, the Pub was built right in the middle of the town, with easy access by the managers residing on Carrington 'Brick' Row in the east, and the workers who lived on Stringy Bark Row in the far west of the town.

Stringy Bark Row was so named because the houses were made of slab bark rather than the flashy bricks allowed the managers.

Again, in a hundred years, not much has changed in our society.

To the northwest are the old Retorts, now on the World Heritage List, these masterpieces of design lay in two rows about 100 yards long, and were used to fire the shale to 400 degrees, releasing oil saturated vapours that were then piped to a water cooled condenser unit. The raw shale oil was then piped down to the refinery area and distilled into kerosene.

 Old Retorts

The smell of kerosene at the Retorts is still in the air even after a hundred years of abandonment. It is a ghostly reminder of a time gone by as you walk among the ruins.

The Refinery area is just to the south of the Retorts and immediately to the east of the workers houses on Stringy Bark Row.

Standing on the refinery area today you can just imagine the conditions in the nearby houses, the whole area is black with ash, coal dust and burnt coal. Nothing like the nice oak, elm and sycamore trees lining Carrington Row.

From the Refinery you can cross the creek at the western most end, which brings you back around the western boundary of the vast orchard, and to the Mine Managers residence.

It was here Lord Carrington stayed and, standing on the front steps remarked to the Mine Manager on the beauty of the orchard and the 'splendid views to the valley below'.

Just to the south of the Mine Managers residence is the bottom of  "The Incline".

It's a steep hill where the original railway track into the town was built to haul goods up the mountain for transport to Sydney and to bring travellers in to town.

 With a grade of 1 in 2 and 600feet in length, it's said many a traveller had repented his sins on the trip down the hill in the carriage.

Standing at the bottom and looking up, you can see why.

 The Incline

Before the Incline railway was built the only way into town was by pack horse and cart down the mountainside near where the road to Mittagong is today.

You could also walk in via the old Chinaman's Track, a steep path near The Incline, suitable only for foot traffic.

It's said the Chinese travellers would pass this way with their baskets on poles to sell their goods to the towns people.

At the time, Town and Country Journal described it as follows :

"Chinaman's track is only for foot travel and has a turnstile to stop animals from passing.  The road zig zags  in every direction down the mountain and at each point the artist or poet would find a charming picture and food for his poetic imagination".

Just outside the main township is the School, built in 1883, which accommodated over 100 children. As it was some distance from the town (about a mile) children had to cross the often fast flowing creek reach it.

There were only a few ways to cross the creek, the railway bridge, creek bed stepping stones or fallen trees. Children were not able to use the railway bridge as the sleepers were over a foot apart, leaving no option but to chance the slippery stones or unstable trees.

The NSW Government eventually provided funding for a footbridge, but it was still not close enough to the school and children continued to risk their lives crossing the swollen creek.

At least two children were killed when the creek was flooded and they slipped off the logs.

Further out along the road to Mittagong is the cemetery, which is also on private property, however the public have 'right of passage'. Unfortunately it is quite difficult to find, not really viewable from the road, and given my penchant for such things (not), we didn't stop there.

However from the records I have read, it seems Joadja was spared the tyranny of disease that so riddled other communities such as nearby Berrima and Bowral.

It's isolation is reported to have protected the community form outbreaks of cholera, diphtheria, typhoid and influenza that affected other settlements.

Nevertheless the standard of medical care in the settlement was less than desirable, with the general view of the people being to "get better or pass on"...

We finished our tour of Joadja back where we started, at the old Orchard Managers residence, and I took the opportunity to snap a shot of Val and Elisa sitting on the front porch in the same manner as the original owners 100 years earlier.

 Val & Elisa

People say the town is haunted now, a ghost town, relics of the past untouched for a century.

It may be true ... though for us, it was hauntingly beautiful. We'll be back there again.

Joadja Contacts :

Val and Elisa conduct tours of the town by appointment only .

Contact - (02) 48785129.

Thanks also to Leonie Knapman and her wonderful book, "Joadja Creek" without which much of my understanding of this fascinating place would be but nought !