Janice Aitkens wrote: > Hello Everyone > Could someone tell me what a Shale Miner is ..... In the days before petrol motor cars and the international mineral oil industry the common cooking and lighting products kerosene, candle wax and "vaseline" were made from baked shale. A soft laminar stone, I think of it as baby coal. But much older than peat. Edinburgh was the source of large scale mfr of shale products and some to the town horizon is now the artificial hills of waste dumped in the process. Joadja NSW now a ghost town, was populated with hundreds of immigrant miners from MLN, whose managers brought the science of mining and refining the stuff. They built a railway and a tramway to move it, plus the retorts, storage tanks, pipelines, offices, laboratory, chapel, school etc for the village. A nuisance waste product was petrol ie motor spirit. Motor cars not yet invented, the petrol tanks would be drained into the river on New Years Eve and set alight to illuminate the celebrations. The nearest town is Mittagong NSW and bus tours are sometimes offered. I've been twice. Cheers, ALISTAIR M. CAMERON A.A.G.R.A. Professional Genealogist http://quozl.netrek.org/cameron-research/ PO Box 215 BUNDANOON NSW 2578 AUSTRALIA