Marrangaroo is located a few kilometres west of Lithgow. It is accessible from the Great Western Highway, and has no railway station and little bus services. Lithgow Buslines, run buses between Lithgow and Bathurst, which makes limited stops at Marrangaroo on the Great Western Highway. A main feature of Marrangaroo was the Trout Farm which was opposite the Lithgow Correctional Centre. At the 2016 census, Marrangaroo had a population of 909.[1]
The area in the north-east of the Marrangaroo bounded locality is now a part of the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area.[3][4]
Militaryedit
Empty 110 kg (250 lb) bombs
Marrangaroo Army Camp situated at the end of Reserve Road used to be a major ammunition depot from 1941 to the late 1980s. It was served by a three kilometres siding that branched off from the Main Western railway line from March 1942 until May 1988.[5] It is now used for demolitions and various training by all three Australian Defence Force services. During World War II it housed chemical warfare facilities; at the time, one of Australia's best kept secrets. Marrangaroo was the administration headquarters for all of the Royal Australian Air Force Chemical Weapon Stores which were kept in tunnels and sidings at Marrangaroo (old tunnel and siding near correctional centre), Glenbrook Tunnel in the Blue Mountains, Clarence Tunnel (that is now part of the Lithgow Zig Zag) and Picton tunnel in Sydney's south.[6]
During an interview with Plunkett in 2005, chemical warfare armourer, Geoff Burn mentioned he had been involved in the burial of 110-kilogram (250 lb) phosgene bombs near the entrance to the headquarters in 1943. He was subsequently recalled from Cairns in 1944 to identify the site but was unsure as to whether and if the bombs had been extracted. After Burn marked the site on an aerial map a ground search revealed they were still there. The legacy of these weapons remains with several hundred empty chemical munition containers being found buried at Marrangaroo Army Camp from May 2008 to February 2009.[7][8]
A remediation project to remove heavy metal contamination started in November 2008 with a secondary task to remove any more buried chemical munitions. The revelation of Marrangaroo's history sparked significant local media interest.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] The Department of Defence established a website for community consultation and feedback on the decontamination.[16]
Transportedit
Marrangaroo station c. 1950s.
A railway station opened at Marrangaroo on the Main Western line in 1878 and closed in 1974. Little trace of it remains.[17] Also, it has been suggested as the western terminus for the proposed Bells Line Expressway. But this now unlikely to proceed. [18]
During the 1870s, there was an oil shale mine at 'Bathgate', probably named after Bathgate, in Scotland, which was the site of a shale oil industry. 'Bathgate' lay on Dr Mackenzie's property, about a mile from the Main Western railway line at the point where it passed through the original Marrangaroo tunnel.[19][20][21][22] The operation at 'Bathgate' was ultimately unsuccessful, although more oil shale was discovered, about a mile away, in 1888.[23]
During the calendar years 1943 to 1945 inclusive, Lithgow Oil Proprietary Ltd, at Marrangaroo, produced around 2,000,000 gallons of crude shale oil. Under wartime conditions, that company had designed and constructed its own NTU retorts based on information from a Bureau of Mines publication. The crude shale oil was refined at the Glen Davis Shale Oil Works.[24][25] The Marrangaroo oil shale deposit was small but exceptionally rich, assaying 237 US gallons per long ton.[24]
Heritage listingsedit
Marrangaroo has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
^Plunkett, Geoff (2007). Chemical Warfare in Australia(PDF). Bayswater, Victoria: Shannon Books. ISBN9781876439880. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
^Ashworth, Len (7 August 2008). "Base's phantom war reveals its secrets" (PDF). Lithgow Mercury. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
^Ashworth, Len (9 August 2008). "Chemical warfare left its legacy" (PDF). Lithgow Mercury. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
^Ashworth, Len (17 July 2008). "Chemical experiments in the Eighties". Lithgow Mercury. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
^Ashworth, Len (17 July 2008). (PDF). Lithgow Mercury. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
^Ashworth, Len (5 August 2008). "Railway historians join chemical warfare issue" (PDF). Lithgow Mercury. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
^Ashworth, Len (17 July 2008). "Chemical experiments in the Eighties" (PDF). Lithgow Mercury. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
^Ashworth, Len (8 July 2008). "Mustard gas tainted our reputation" (PDF). Lithgow Mercury. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
^Vollmer, Tim (22 September 2008). "Chemical bombs sit metres from Lithgow families for 60 years". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
^Geddes, Jeff (7 February 2009). "Cleansing our military 'sins'" (PDF). Lithgow Mercury. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
^"Marrangaroo Army Depot Environmental Remediation Project". Department of Defence. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
^"Marrangaroo station". NSWrail.net. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
^"Geological map (with sections) showing position of kerosene shale seam at Marangaroo, Kerosene Vale or Bathgate". Trove. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
^"Marrangaroo Tunnel (1st)". nswrail.net. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
^"Fresh Discovery of Shale at Lithgow". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. 21 July 1888. p. 150. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
^ abKraemer, A.J.; Thorne, H.M. (July 1951). Oil Shale Operations in New South Wales, Australia(PDF). United States Department of the Interior. pp. 10, 11, 42. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
Media in Wikimedia Commons under Category: Marrangaroo, New South Wales
December 20, 2023
marrangaroo, south, wales, confused, with, marangaroo, western, australia, barangaroo, south, wales, marrangaroo, village, central, west, south, wales, australia, city, lithgow, name, also, applied, surrounding, area, postal, statistical, purposes, marrangaroo. Not to be confused with Marangaroo Western Australia or Barangaroo New South Wales Marrangaroo is a village in the Central West of New South Wales Australia in the City of Lithgow The name is also applied to the surrounding area for postal and statistical purposes Marrangaroo New South WalesMarrangarooCoordinates33 26 0 S 150 07 0 E 33 43333 S 150 11667 E 33 43333 150 11667Population909 2016 census 1 Postcode s 2790 2 Elevation1 200 m 3 937 ft Location153 km 95 mi WNW of Sydney57 km 35 mi E of Bathurst5 km 3 mi NW of LithgowLGA s City of LithgowState electorate s BathurstFederal division s CalareMean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall19 1 C 66 F 6 3 C 43 F 786 9 mm 31 inLocalities around Marrangaroo Wallerawang LidsdaleMount Lambie Marrangaroo LithgowRydal Bowenfels Lithgow Contents 1 Overview 2 Military 3 Transport 4 Shale oil 5 Heritage listings 6 References 7 External linksOverview editMarrangaroo is located a few kilometres west of Lithgow It is accessible from the Great Western Highway and has no railway station and little bus services Lithgow Buslines run buses between Lithgow and Bathurst which makes limited stops at Marrangaroo on the Great Western Highway A main feature of Marrangaroo was the Trout Farm which was opposite the Lithgow Correctional Centre At the 2016 census Marrangaroo had a population of 909 1 The area in the north east of the Marrangaroo bounded locality is now a part of the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area 3 4 Military edit nbsp Empty 110 kg 250 lb bombsMarrangaroo Army Camp situated at the end of Reserve Road used to be a major ammunition depot from 1941 to the late 1980s It was served by a three kilometres siding that branched off from the Main Western railway line from March 1942 until May 1988 5 It is now used for demolitions and various training by all three Australian Defence Force services During World War II it housed chemical warfare facilities at the time one of Australia s best kept secrets Marrangaroo was the administration headquarters for all of the Royal Australian Air Force Chemical Weapon Stores which were kept in tunnels and sidings at Marrangaroo old tunnel and siding near correctional centre Glenbrook Tunnel in the Blue Mountains Clarence Tunnel that is now part of the Lithgow Zig Zag and Picton tunnel in Sydney s south 6 During an interview with Plunkett in 2005 chemical warfare armourer Geoff Burn mentioned he had been involved in the burial of 110 kilogram 250 lb phosgene bombs near the entrance to the headquarters in 1943 He was subsequently recalled from Cairns in 1944 to identify the site but was unsure as to whether and if the bombs had been extracted After Burn marked the site on an aerial map a ground search revealed they were still there The legacy of these weapons remains with several hundred empty chemical munition containers being found buried at Marrangaroo Army Camp from May 2008 to February 2009 7 8 A remediation project to remove heavy metal contamination started in November 2008 with a secondary task to remove any more buried chemical munitions The revelation of Marrangaroo s history sparked significant local media interest 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 The Department of Defence established a website for community consultation and feedback on the decontamination 16 Transport edit nbsp Marrangaroo station c 1950s A railway station opened at Marrangaroo on the Main Western line in 1878 and closed in 1974 Little trace of it remains 17 Also it has been suggested as the western terminus for the proposed Bells Line Expressway But this now unlikely to proceed 18 Preceding station Former Services Following stationWallerawangtowards Bourke Main Western Line Bowenfelstowards SydneyShale oil editDuring the 1870s there was an oil shale mine at Bathgate probably named after Bathgate in Scotland which was the site of a shale oil industry Bathgate lay on Dr Mackenzie s property about a mile from the Main Western railway line at the point where it passed through the original Marrangaroo tunnel 19 20 21 22 The operation at Bathgate was ultimately unsuccessful although more oil shale was discovered about a mile away in 1888 23 During the calendar years 1943 to 1945 inclusive Lithgow Oil Proprietary Ltd at Marrangaroo produced around 2 000 000 gallons of crude shale oil Under wartime conditions that company had designed and constructed its own NTU retorts based on information from a Bureau of Mines publication The crude shale oil was refined at the Glen Davis Shale Oil Works 24 25 The Marrangaroo oil shale deposit was small but exceptionally rich assaying 237 US gallons per long ton 24 Heritage listings editMarrangaroo has a number of heritage listed sites including Main Western railway Marrangaroo railway viaduct 26 References edit a b Australian Bureau of Statistics 27 June 2017 Marrangaroo 2016 Census QuickStats Retrieved 11 April 2021 nbsp Marrangaroo Postcode Australia Post Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area NSW Environment and Heritage 25 May 2023 Retrieved 24 August 2023 Marrangaroo New South Wales 2790 Australia Google Maps Retrieved 24 August 2023 Marangaroo Railway Digest August 1988 page 312 Plunkett Geoff 2007 Chemical Warfare in Australia PDF Bayswater Victoria Shannon Books ISBN 9781876439880 Retrieved 5 April 2012 Ashworth Len 7 August 2008 Base s phantom war reveals its secrets PDF Lithgow Mercury Retrieved 5 April 2012 Ashworth Len 9 August 2008 Chemical warfare left its legacy PDF Lithgow Mercury Retrieved 5 April 2012 Ashworth Len 17 July 2008 Chemical experiments in the Eighties Lithgow Mercury Archived from the original on 18 July 2012 Retrieved 5 April 2012 Ashworth Len 17 July 2008 Hidden Newnes Forest storage has added to military puzzle PDF Lithgow Mercury Archived from the original PDF on 18 March 2017 Retrieved 5 April 2012 Ashworth Len 5 August 2008 Railway historians join chemical warfare issue PDF Lithgow Mercury Retrieved 5 April 2012 Ashworth Len 17 July 2008 Chemical experiments in the Eighties PDF Lithgow Mercury Retrieved 5 April 2012 Ashworth Len 8 July 2008 Mustard gas tainted our reputation PDF Lithgow Mercury Retrieved 5 April 2012 Vollmer Tim 22 September 2008 Chemical bombs sit metres from Lithgow families for 60 years The Daily Telegraph Australia Retrieved 5 April 2012 Geddes Jeff 7 February 2009 Cleansing our military sins PDF Lithgow Mercury Retrieved 5 April 2012 Marrangaroo Army Depot Environmental Remediation Project Department of Defence 6 August 2009 Retrieved 5 April 2012 Marrangaroo station NSWrail net Retrieved 8 August 2009 Bells Line of Road corridor improvement program Roads amp Maritime 21 December 2017 THE UNDERGROUND PERMANENT WEALTH OP NEW SOUTH WALES Illustrated Sydney News and New South Wales Agriculturalist and Grazier 27 September 1873 p 6 Retrieved 2 November 2022 MOUNT VICTORIA Illustrated Sydney News and New South Wales Agriculturalist and Grazier 22 November 1873 p 21 Retrieved 5 June 2022 Geological map with sections showing position of kerosene shale seam at Marangaroo Kerosene Vale or Bathgate Trove Retrieved 5 June 2022 Marrangaroo Tunnel 1st nswrail net Retrieved 8 June 2022 Fresh Discovery of Shale at Lithgow Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser 21 July 1888 p 150 Retrieved 30 January 2023 a b Kraemer A J Thorne H M July 1951 Oil Shale Operations in New South Wales Australia PDF United States Department of the Interior pp 10 11 42 Retrieved 2 December 2012 Lithgow Shale Oil Plant Closed Down Newcastle Morning Herald amp Miners Advocate 17 November 1945 p 3 Retrieved 1 July 2020 Marrangaroo railway viaduct New South Wales State Heritage Register Department of Planning amp Environment H01046 Retrieved 18 May 2018 nbsp Text is licensed by State of New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment under CC BY 4 0 licence External links editMedia in Wikimedia Commons under Category Marrangaroo New South Wales Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Marrangaroo New South Wales amp 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