YALWAL

Yalwal was a mining town that grew from the discovery of silver in the area in 1849 and gold in 1852.

Sluicing operations began in 1870 but were disrupted by the great flood of 1871 that resulted in the occupation and development of Nowra township. In 1872 open cut gold mining operations were begun at The Pinnacle after the main reef was discovered.

Gold mining operations continued at Yalwal for about thirty years, with some extremely rich patches of ore-bearing rock being extracted from mines such as The Pinnacle, The Caledonian, The Pioneer, and The Homeward Bound. However, mostly low-grade deposits were encountered in the area, but because the extraction and treatment of the gold-bearing ores from Yalwal was undertaken at a lower cost than in any other part of the State, mining remained a profitable undertaking.

During the 1890s the township had three stores, a cemetery, a bank, a hotel and a School of Arts.

Commercial mining at Yalwal effectively ended during the First World War. Major pieces of equipment and some of the houses were then dismantled and sold off. Bushfires in 1939 destroyed most of the village that remained. Construction of the Danjera Dam, as part of the Shoalhaven water supply, in 1964 finally ended the township’s existence.

Today, there is a picnic area at Danjera Dam, Yalwal. Some mine shafts and other diggings, the graveyard (the oldest grave dated 1854) and a five-head stamping battery can still be seen. (243 words)

Image: Yalwal, 1902