Diamond Hill

Diamond Hill is a locality in the Kurrajong Hills of New South Wales. The hill is a geological formation which comprises the remnants of a volcano which existed during the Mesozoic Era over 200 million years ago. Over time the cone and crater of the volcano has eroded away leaving a plug of basalt rock. A local resident claimed to have found a diamond in the area, hence the name Diamond Hill.

During the 1960s and 70s several companies including Farley and Lewers and Pioneer Concrete applied for licences to quarry the extensive deposits of high grade basalt at Diamond Hill for use in the construction industry. In November 1977 another company, Kurrajong Aggregates Pty Ltd submitted their application to Colo Shire Council. This was rejected by the local government body but the company sought approval from the NSW Government to go ahead with the development.

Local residents formed an action group called the Kurrajong Hills Committee to fight the proposal and in December 1978 delivered a petition in opposition to the quarry to the then premier of NSW, Neville Wran. Paul Landa, NSW Minister for Planning and Environment called upon the State Pollution Control Commission to conduct a public enquiry into the proposal. The terms of reference included making recommendations concerning the future land use of the Diamond Hill area. The report titled ‘Diamond Hill Inquiry: Report and findings of the environmental inquiry into a proposed extractive industry at Diamond Hill, Kurrajong was published on the 23 February 1979.

The recommendation by the commission that the development be refused put an end to the threat of environmentally damaging extractive industry in the area. This report together with correspondence, submissions, photographs, maps and plans is held by State Archives and Records, Western Sydney Records Centre, 161 O’Connell Street, Kingswood, NSW https://www.records.nsw.gov.au

Read more about the geology of Diamond Hill

Read more about the proposal to mine Diamond Hill.

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