Kandos, New South Wales

Kandos
New South Wales
Kandos
Coordinates 32°51′33″S 149°58′25″E / 32.859134°S 149.973680°E / -32.859134; 149.973680Coordinates: 32°51′33″S 149°58′25″E / 32.859134°S 149.973680°E / -32.859134; 149.973680
Population 1,261 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s) 2848
Location
LGA(s) Mid-Western Regional Council
State electorate(s) Bathurst
Federal Division(s) Hunter

Kandos is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in the Central West region. It is located on the Bylong Valley Way. At the 2016 census, Kandos had a population of over 1,200 people.[1]

History and economy

The town was established in 1913 to take advantage of local supplies of limestone. The New South Wales Cement Lime and Coal Company lifted the limestone from quarries by an enormous aerial ropeway.[2]

The town was originally named Candos, an acronym of the Board of NSW Cement, Lime and Coal Co Ltd.[3] In 1915, the name Candos was considered too similar to Chandos in South Australia, and the name was changed to Kandos, the name was registered with the NSW Registrar General.[4]

For many years Kandos' main non-agricultural industry was the production of cement. However, the cement manufacturing facility and associated limestone quarry (both operated by Cement Australia) were closed in September 2011.[5] This was expected to result in the loss of 98 jobs.[6]

Another major industry in the region was coal-mining. Centennial Coal operated the Charbon coal mine until its closure. The underground mine closed in March 2014,[7] while open cut mining continued until 2015.[8]

The town contains the northern-most Field Support Centre of Endeavour Energy.[9]

Transport

Kandos is located on the Wallerawang to Gwabegar railway line. The line was extended from Capertee to Rylstone (7 km to the north of Kandos) on 9 January 1884.[10] Kandos station was opened in 1915 as Candos before being renamed Kandos the same year.[4]

Train at the now-closed Kandos railway station

On 25 May 2007, the rail owner Rail Infrastructure Corporation announced that the Kandos to Gulgong line would be suspended from use.[11]

Cement haulage ceased following closure of the cement works in 2012, while coal haulage ceased following closure of Charbon colliery in 2015.

Passenger rail to Mudgee closed in 1985.[12]

The line has been reopened temporarily for charter passenger tours.[13]

Since 1985, coach services from Kandos south to Lithgow and north to Mudgee have provided the only passenger connection to Kandos. The operator was CountryLink until 30 June 2013, which was rebranded as NSW TrainLink from 1 July 2013.

On 24 October 2017 the NSW State Government announced that $1.1 million would be provided to reinstate the 8km rail link between Kandos and Rylstone, thus enabling the Kandos Museum and Lithgow State Mines Railway to run occasional tourist trains along the resulting ‘Kandos-Rylstone Rail Heritage Precinct’. Refurbishment work, which includes replacing 3,500 old timber sleepers with steel sleepers, is expected to commence in April 2018 and continue for six months.[14]

On 29th September 2018, the Kandos-Rylstone Rail Heritage Precinct was officially opened by the local State member of parliament Paul Toole with officials from Kandos Museum, Lithgow State Mine Railway and Transport Heritage NSW in attendance. The NSW Rail Transport Museum ran a special train from Lithgow hauled by Beyer-Garratt locomotive 6029 with 300 passengers on board. [15] [16]

Churches

  • St Lawrences Anglican Church[17]
  • St Dominics Catholic Church[18]
  • Kandos Uniting[19]

Kandos Museum

Housed in the former Methodist church building, the Kandos Museum [20] is a community-run permanent home for objects, stories and photographs that preserve the area’s social and industrial history. Prominent in the collection are items relating to the Kandos cement works (which closed in 2011[21]) and its associated coal mining and limestone quarrying operations.

Harley Davidson Museum

A not-for-profit motorcycle museum specializing in the history of Harley Davidson motorcycles. On display are bikes and memorabilia from 1910 through to the 1970s.

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Kandos (Urban Centre)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 4 January 2018. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ↑ "Kandos". Mudgee Region Tourism. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Kandos and Rylstone History p1". Mudgee District History. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Kandos and Rylstone History p2". Mudgee District History. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Kandos Cement Plant | | MiningLink - The largest & most visited mining website in Australia". mininglink.com.au. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "Cement Australia blames taxes for Kandos factory closure". Manufacturers' Monthly. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  7. ↑ SNYDER, DARREN (2014-02-18). "Hope for Charbon workers: Centennial Coal announces plan to re-open Airly mine". Mudgee Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Airly to reopen while Charbon draws to a close". Centennial Coal. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Endeavour Energy - Our Network Area". Endeavour Energy. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Gwabegar line". NSWrail.net. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "Gulgong-Kandos rail line to be suspended from use". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Railways, Capertee, Gulgong, Mudgee". Mudgee District History. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Use of the Charbon Jct to Kandos line". Mudgee Guardian. 19 August 2015.
    "Take a ride on the Kandos Express". John Holland Rail. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  14. ↑ Elliott, Honor (24 October 2017). "All-aboard the region's new $1.1m rail line". Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  15. ↑ "Steam trains make an impressive entrance in Kandos". 30 September 2018.
  16. ↑ "Kandos-Rylstone Heritage Railway on track for official opening". 26 September 2018.
  17. ↑ "Anglican Diocese of Bathurst:Kandos-Rylstone". Anglican Diocese of Bathurst. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  18. ↑ "St. Dominic's Parish - Kandos". Catholic Diocese of Bathurst. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  19. ↑ "Kandos Uniting Church". Macquarie Darling Presbytery. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  20. ↑ "Kandos Bicentennial Industrial Museum". Kandos Bicentennial Industrial Museum. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "Kandos Cement Plant". MiningLink. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  • "Kandos - SMH Travel". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004.
  • "Cement Australia". Cement Australia. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009.
  • "Kandos". visitnsw.com.
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