Taralga local and Daily Telegraph cartoonist Warren Brown is giving a talk about the former Chatsbury Slate Quarry, known as ‘Slatevale’ this Saturday, August 18 from 2pm at the Goulburn Soldiers Club. 

The talk is being held by the Goulburn District Historical and Genealogical Society.

Spokesperson from the society Heather West said the Chatsbury Slate Quarry on the Middle Arm Rd, 20 km from Goulburn was an important employer in the 1890’s and early 1900’s in the district. 

“It brought Welsh miners to the area and providing work for many local people in the 1920’s and 1930’s,” Mrs West said. 

“Many huts were built of slate to house the workers and a one-teacher school operated there until the 1950’s.

“A Catholic Church is still near the site, but the tennis court is long-gone.

“Stories abound of the Welsh miners singing as they returned across the paddocks from the Chatsbury Hotel.”

During its heyday, the quarry produced roof tiles that can still be seen covering roofs of substantial buildings in Sydney, Goulburn and Canberra, and even in Melbourne and Brisbane. 

“The quality of slate is extremely high, and assessed as the best available in Australia,” Mrs West said. 

“The advent of cheaper alternatives such as corrugated iron, and concrete and terracotta tiles meant that slate became less popular as a roofing material, and consequently the high costs of producing slate tiles at Slatevale eventually caused the Quarry to close.”

During WWII much of the equipment was salvaged as scrap metal for the war effort.

“During the early days of quarrying at Slatevale the workers needed to divert the Tarlo River from its original course, to prevent the quarry filling up with water,” Mrs West said.

“The diversion is still in place with the steep edges of the river lined with slate to help prevent erosion.  The Tarlo River still flows along this diversion, but the actual quarry has long been filled with good quality water, in some parts to a depth of 24m. 

“In the 1980’s, large pumps were used to remove the water so the new owners could see the extent of the slate deposit left.  When the pumps were switched off, the quarry quickly refilled with water.”

The piles of discarded slate have been marketed in more recent years and feature in the walled entrance to the restaurant on corner of Auburn and Verner St.

The slate has proved very popular for use in landscaping for walls, paths, pavers, fine gravel for driveways.

Chatsbury Slate was also used for the Greek War Memorial on the Remembrance Driveway of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Cockington Green in Canberra used Chatsbury Slate for their bridge and waterfall feature and all the tiny buildings have slate roofs, sourced from Slatevale.

The Chinese Embassy in Canberra imported green slate from China for their Water Gardens, but found they didn’t have enough. 

They discovered there was the correct colour available at Slatevale, and bought some very large pieces to complete the job.

“The Chatsbury Slate Quarry is on a privately-owned property. The current owner is keen to share the history of this piece of Goulburn’s past,” Mrs West said.

“He has a variety of photos from yesteryear and has even met people who travelled back from overseas to visit the Quarry where they used to work.”

The Goulburn District Historical Society’s new trading name is History Goulburn.

The talk is from 2-5pm. For more information contact: historygoulburn.events@gmail.com