Bulahdelah is a town and locality in the

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

Mid North Coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens north of Sydney, and extending as far north as Woolgoolg ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia in the Mid-Coast Council

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

. At the 2016 census, the locality had a population of 1,424. The main population centre, where 69% of the area's population lived in 2006, is the town of Bulahdelah.

Geography

The town is situated north of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

along the eastern and northern banks of the

Myall River Myall River, an open semi-mature brackish freshwater barrier estuary of the Mid-Coast Council system, is located in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Myall River rises out of the southern slopes ...

, approximately east of the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Myall and

Crawford Crawford may refer to: Places Canada * Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia * Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario United Kingdom * Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England * Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a ...

rivers. The eastern sector of the township is built on the foot of the Alum Mountain. Leading into the town from the south is the Bulahdelah Bridge which forms part of the Pacific Highway.

History

The mountain on which the south-eastern sector of the township is built was first named by the Aboriginal people of the area, the Worimi. They called their mountain "Boolah Dillah" (meaning: the Great Rock). In 1818

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps best known for his two exp ...

, a crown surveyor added the word "Mountain" to its original name. The mountain is widely known by its long-term nickname, "the Alum Mountain", but is officially registered as Bulahdelah Mountain. After the discovery of alunite on the mountain, the mountain was mined from 1878 to 1927, and was managed by the Department of Mining from 1897 onwards. A refinery "The Alum Works" was created to facilitate the extraction of

alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , where is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium or a ...

from the mined alunite. Another period of mining was then again from 1934 to 1952. Decreasing profitability meant mining had ceased by 1952 and in 1979 NSW State Forests took over management of the mountain. Bulahdelah Bypass 3

Construction of the timber bridge across the

was completed in 1892 and the bridge was formally opened on 28 July 1892. A 2-lane concrete bridge over Myall River was completed in 1969. In 1970 the Bulahdelah tornado swept through the nearby forests, just north of Bulahdelah in what was Australia's most destructive tornado on record. On 3 May 2006 funding was approved (project approval was granted on 11 October 2007) for the relocation of the Bulahdelah section of Pacific Highway, to through the mid-slopes of Bulahdelah (the Alum) Mountain. Major construction of this highway deviation, known as the Bulahdelah Bypass, commenced in August 2010. The bypass was completed in July 2013.

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 1,424 people in Bulahdelah. 83.8% of people were born in Australia and 91.2% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were Anglican 30.3%, Catholic 23.3% and No Religion 21.9%.

Places of interest

The Alum Mountain

Overlooking the town of Bulahdelah, the Alum Mountain provides views of the area from Cabbage Tree Mountain to the coastline. A lookout is accessible via walking trails and car access extends about two thirds of the way up. Abandoned mining equipment from the mining operations up until 1952 is found in parts of the mountain as are blast caves. A disused mining cart trail directly up the mountain (known by the locals as "the trolley track") is part of the heritage mine-site complex.

Cabbage Tree Mountain

An area of State forest, open to tourists for camping and hiking this bushland set of ranges is visible from the town of Bulahdelah and Alum Mountain.

Tops to Myall Heritage Trail

The

Tops to Myall Heritage Trail The Tops to Myall Heritage Trail is a 220 km walking track in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The track starts on the sub-alpine plateau of the Barrington Tops National Park and gradually descends to the coast through the Mya ...

passes through the area surrounding Bulahdelah.

Logging industry

Logging was a traditional industry of Bulahdelah until 1994 when much of the Forestry Commission land was dedicated to National Parks. It still contributed significantly to the economy of Bulahdelah in the early 2000s.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Towns in the Hunter Region Suburbs of Mid-Coast Council Towns in New South Wales