Former Alum Mine (also known as Bulahdelah Mountain) including Aboriginal scatter site, 2 scarred trees, former Alum Mountain House site, Al

Item details


Name of item:	Former Alum Mine (also known as Bulahdelah Mountain) including Aboriginal scatter site, 2 scarred trees, former Alum Mountain House site, Al
Type of item:	Landscape
Group/Collection:	Parks, Gardens and Trees
Category:	Other - Parks, Gardens & Trees
Primary address:	Meade Street, eastern side of Pacific Highway (Bulahdelah Mountain Park, Bulahdelah, NSW 2423
Local govt. area:	Mid-Coast

Boundary:

Part of Bulahdelah State Forest off Scott Street

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Meade Street, eastern side of Pacific Highway (Bulahdelah Mountain Park	Bulahdelah	Mid-Coast			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The Bulahdelah Mountain has geological significance because of its volcanic origins as the only above ground outcrop of alunite in the world. It has Aboriginal significance as a spiritual place and thus has Aboriginal archaeological significance relation to its past use by Aboriginal people. The Mountain has European historical and archaeological significance because of the alum mining and processing. It has aesthetic significance because of its scenic impact and has natural significance because of rare species of orchids and other plants. Significant to the Alunite works that were carried out on the Alum Mountain. Remnants of the Mining activities can be seen in an around the Alum Mountain Park, recreational area.
	Date significance updated: 20 Aug 14
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	Bulahdelah Advistory Committee
Builder/Maker:	The Community of Bulahdelah
Construction years:	1886-
Physical description:	Also Known as Bulahdelah Mountain including Aboriginal scatter site, 2 scared trees, former Alum Mountain House site, Alum Mountain Park, Twin Dams, including tramway, mullock heap, boiler wall, clay brick crucible and forme home ite of Rachel Henning (remaining persimmon trees) Situated at the base of the Alum Mountain, the former site of the Alunite Processing Plant, has been transformed into a natural park and picnic area. The Park is based on a Historical theme with many display’s of relics from the Alunite Mining era. The more commonly accepted name and the historical name is Alum Mountain. However, modern maps and references are to Bulahdelah Mountain. Bulahdelah Mountain is therefore accepted as the correct geographical name although local usage prefers Alum Mountain.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	The Park is in an excellent condition, and is maintained by State Forest of NSW and the Bulahdelah Friend of Alum Mountain Park. This assessment is concerned primarily with geological significance and the former alum mine.The Navin Officer Report, 2001, summarised the Mountain’s geological-economic importance; -The only commercially exploited alunite deposit, or commercial source of mineral potassium in New South Wales -The only known commercially exploited alunite deposit of its type in Australia (within volcanic rocks, and with an elevated mountain context). -The only Australian alunite deposit commercially exploited in the nineteenth century. -The first to be exploited in Australia, and of the longest commercial duration (1878/1886-1952). -The only major producer of alunite or mineral potassium in Australia up to the late twentieth century. -The only mine in Australia where the commercial manufacture of alum was attempted on-site (1890 - 1892).
	Date condition updated:20 Aug 14
Modifications and dates:	Historic and cultural landscape both Aboriginal and European cultural; natural landscape including geological site, flora species. Bulahdelah Mountain lies to the immediate east of the Bulahdelah township, situated on the Myall River in the Myall syncline valley. Bulahdelah Mountain is approximately 3.0 kilometres in length and rises to 292 metres above sea level from a starting elevation of approximately 30 metres above sea level. It is aligned in a NNW/SSE direction and is part of a complex system of approximately north-south aligned anticlines, synclines and faults extending from near Scone in the Hunter Valley to the coast.The Register of National Database, described the part of Bulahdelah Mountain that is above 180m above sea level as follows (the original assessment of significance was concerned only with the alum mining and considered only the area above 180m, this assessment considers the entire mountain):Bulahdelah Mountain is an outcrop of steeply dipping upper carboniferous volcanic rock, dominantly thick flows of basalt with smaller occurrences of rhyolite and trachybasalt. Interbedded sediments occur, and include thin coal beds which are of some geological interest. The formation, known as Alum Mountain volcanics, is traversed by two steeply dipping joints. Deposits of alunite ore occur in the form of lenses or pipe like masses at the intersections of these joints. Alunite is a source of alum and a possible source of potash and aluminium. The alunite grades to pyrophyllite (a talc like rock) at the margins and then into altered volcanic country rock.The area below 180m above sea level is of lesser gradient carrying mainly eucalypt forest and woodland of varying quality (because of soil type variation, much of which is of low fertility) and which has suffered varying levels of exploitation.The site of an identifiable mine ‘shaft’ near the summit needs to be established.
Further information:	This is a general listing covering the entire Mountain, which for his purpose is the defined Mountain Conservation Area. It addresses geological significance and, because of that, the former alum mine extraction site but other listed items and sites have individual listings except for the inadvertently omitted healing stream, which is mentioned with Bu04.04. The list of remains and sites has expanded during the completion of the study. With the benefit of hind sight it might have been better to make one listing for the former mine and include all items relating to the mine as associated information. This would allow newly discovered remains to be added as updated information under the one listing, rather than requiring formal change to the study by adding new items under new item numbers.


Current use:	Tourist attraction and recreation
Former use:	Former mine: The Alum Mountain Geological Site 1, Bulahdelah NSW. Register of the National Estate Database. File No: 1/09/080/0033.

History

Historical notes:

The Bulahdelah Alum Mountain Advisory Committee helped State Forests of NSW to establish the Alum Mountain Park. The Park provided for recreational and educational needs and has proven very popular with local residents and travellers.

The Alum Mountain Park was officially opened on 11th February, 1984 with the provision of tables, fireplaces, toilets, children’s playground, historical display and tourist information board.

The Alum Mountain Park facilities were further upgraded with funding from the NSW Bicentenary Council in 1988 with improved signs, walking trails and board walk.

The Alum Mountain Park was awarded a Tidy Towns Award in 1986 for provision of such excellent facilities to help preserve our local cultural heritage.

The Alum Mountain itself was entered into a Register of National Estate by the Australian Heritage Commission on 30/05/1995, (being an area of 50 Ha above 180 m above sea level) and is considered significant for its mining history, alunite outcrops, and geology relationships.
The Alum Mountain was first recorded by Lt. John Oxley a crown surveyor, in 1818, and it was named Booladilla.It is a prominent landmark easily seen from the sea and, at the time, marked the most northern boundary for convicts and bonded persons.The Alum Mountain remained Vacant Crown Land until December, 1897, when it was dedicated Crown Land Reserve, No. 27057, for mining purposes and was administrated by the Department of Mines.Five mining leases were issued on the mountain for quarrying, extraction and processing. After 1952 when the mining ceased, the Alum Mountain once again was quite.On 26 September, 1979 it was dedicated as part of Bulahdelah State Forest.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The Alum Mountain Park is important in the course of NSW natural history. The Mountain is significant as an early landmark and survey point. It is significant in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century development of the Bulahdelah area because of the alum mining, which was commenced in 1878 and lasted discontinuously and with varying levels of profitability until 1952.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	The Alum Mountain Park has a strong association with the work of the Australian Alum Company, which is important in NSW’s natural history. The following areas of significance are addressed under the relative Aboriginal items and the site of the former residence of Rachelle Henning.Bulahdelah Mountain has strong association with Aboriginal people of the area for social and spiritual reasons. The Mountain has historical association significance because of its association with Rachel Taylor (nee Henning), Dr Hereford Kesteven and Rev Herman Rupp.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The Alum Mountain Park is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics of creative and technical achievements in NSW. The Alum Mountain is an outstanding scenic feature of the area and offers commanding views of the Myall Valley from its high points.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	The Alum Mountain Park has a strong association with the community and tourists or social, cultural, and spiritual reasons. The Mountain has social significance because of its form, height and geology.The Alum Mountain has social significance to Aboriginal people and to the Bulahdelah area’s residents. The high level of Aboriginal significance is detailed more fully in the summaries of the archaeological reports in Annex A. Bulahdelah Mountain is today symbolic of Bulahdelah - local residents identify with it and value it for historical, scenic and natural qualities. It is important as a recreational area and as a tourist - promotional feature.
SHR Criteria e) [Research potential]	The Alum Mountain Park has the potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of NSW’s cultural and natural history. The Mountain’s has a high potential to yield information of a geological, archaeological and historical nature. The Mountain has technical and research significance in understanding the geological characteristics of the eastern seaboard and adjacent highlands. It has significance in understanding mining and processing practices in relation to alum mining and processing as well as the social-economic characteristics of mining towns and settlements. Research significance in regard to the orchid species (Rhizanthella slateri. and naming in the naming debate concerning Dendrobium kingianum, D. kingianum var pulcherrimum, D. x kesteveni and D. x delicatum is addressed under BU04.01 and Bu04.02.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	The Mountain carries its natural vegetation modified in areas by power lines, alum mining, restricted areas of clearing and some logging. The Pacific Highway bypass will have a greater impact when completed but other than that, the Mountain has not been subject to inappropriate development. The Alum Mountain is a rare geological formation containing a rare source of alunite. Rarity regarding Rhizanthella slateri is addressed under Bu04.01
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The Alum Mountain Park is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of NSW’s cultural and natural environments. Representativeness is a difficult criterion to apply given the breadth of significance and the range of significant items. The Mountain can be considered as representative of the diverse geological-natural landscapes that are a feature of the eastern Australian continent and from that, representativeness may be attributed to the Aboriginal spiritual connection with the landscape and, from a different perspective, to the many mining ventures that underlie much past development.
Integrity/Intactness:	The Alum Mountain Park retains the aspects which make it significant under the criteria above. The Alum Mountain has a high level of integrity because of the relatively modest level of development and encroachment. However, the Pacific Highway bypass, currently under construction, may diminish that level of integrity because it appears that some items have not been taken into consideration
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Great Lakes Local Environmental Plan 2014	I10	04 Apr 14

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
The Alum Mountain Park	2002		Mr. Malcolm P. Carrall	The Great Lakes Council Heritage Committee	Yes

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written	Malcolm P Carrall	1999	A Glimpse into the History of the Alum Mountain
Written	Navin Officer Heritage Consultants,	2001	The Bulahdelah (Alum Mountain) Alunite Mine Site-Complex Report: A Cultural Heritage Assessment with Reference to the Proposed Bulahdelah Pacific Highway Upgrade Route Option E
Written	The Dungog Chronicle	1892	Newspaper

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	1650597

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