Galong, New South Wales

The major industry in the town is the limestone open-cut mine. The Galong deposit was first mined in 1885 with significant mining activity in the 1920s producing burnt lime or quicklime, which is used in the production of cement. The mine re-opened in the 1960s and again in 1994. In 2001, the lease was altered to extend the mineable area of land from {{convert|16|to|160|ha|acre}}; resources of 20 million tonnes of limestone have been defined within the proposed limit of mining. In 2003, the mine was acquired by Boral. It now produces lime for agricultural lime used for farming canola and grains; agricultural lime is used for remediating soil acidity, a major problem threatening the productivity and sustainability of agriculture in many parts of the state. It produces approximately 300,000 tons per year, about one quarter of the requirements for the state of New South Wales. Apart from agricultural purposes, a major consumer of lime from Galong is the Port Kembla steel works. A kiln was built at the mine in 2003/04 to allow the production of quicklime for use in cement. The mine employs about 19 people.{{cite web |title=Limestone lease extended |publisher=ferret.com.au |url=http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/39/0c009839.asp |access-date=6 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312230012/http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/39/0c009839.asp |archive-date=12 March 2007 |df= }}{{cite web|title=Galong limestone mining |work=Hansard |publisher=New South Wales Legislative Assembly |date=16 March 2004 |url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/PARLMENT/hansArt.nsf/5f584b237987507aca256d09008051f3/ae6bee6b8f0e3a0eca256e66000f3c4d!OpenDocument |access-date=6 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311084504/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/PARLMENT/hansArt.nsf/5f584b237987507aca256d09008051f3/ae6bee6b8f0e3a0eca256e66000f3c4d!OpenDocument |archive-date=11 March 2007 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Berrima cement and Galong lime upgrades officially opened |publisher=Boral |date=March 2005 |url=http://boral.com/Images/common/pdfs/BITN/BrNs_0305.pdf?site=boral |access-date=6 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070904034807/http://www.boral.com/Images/common/pdfs/BITN/BrNs_0305.pdf?site=boral |archive-date=4 September 2007}}

Squatter and former Irish convict 'Ned' Ryan took up land in the area around 1830 and built Galong House.[http://www.shamrockinthebush.org.au/history.htm Shamrock in the Bush: History]; M. Barrett, King of Galong Castle: The story of Ned Ryan, 1786-1871 (3rd ed, Engineers Media, Crows Nest, 2008).

Galong Post Office opened on 15 April 1888.{{Cite web | last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | publisher = Premier Postal Auctions | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=NSW&country= | accessdate = 26 May 2011}}

St Clement's monastery was opened by the Redemptorists order of priests in 1918 and major additions opened in 1954.[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/120175181 International significance seen in Galong Redemptorist College], Boorowa News 24 September 1954. It educated some 2000 men before it closed in 1975.{{cite web | title = St Clement's Retreat and Conference Centre | work = | publisher = Redemptorists | date = | url = http://www.cssr.org.au/galong/dsp-default.cfm?loadref=486 | accessdate = 6 February 2017}} One student was commentator Greg Sheridan.P. Craven, [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/greg-sheridans-memoir-recalls-abbott-carr-early-days/news-story/092cdc38ecace8f7af756a33daedc0db Greg Sheridan's memoir recalls Abbott, Carr early days], The Australian 1 August 2015. It is now a retreat centre run by the Redemptorists and the Sisters of St Joseph, Goulburn.{{cite web | title = St Clement's Retreat Centre | work = | publisher = St Clement's | date = | url = http://www.stclement.com.au/index.htm | accessdate = 6 November 2006}}

The population of Galong increased from 122 in the 2006 census{{Cite web |title=2006 Galong, Census All persons QuickStats |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2006/SSC17231 |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics}} to 224 in the 2016 census{{cite web |title=2016 Census QuickStats |url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC11580?opendocument |website=www.abs.gov.au |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |accessdate=June 30, 2017}} and 235 in 2021.{{Cite web |title=2021 Galong, Census All persons QuickStats |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/SAL11584 |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics}}

Galong Uniting Church{{Cite web|url=https://riverina.unitingchurch.org.au/congregations/harden-binalong-galong-linked-congregations/|title=Harden, Binalong & Galong Linked Congregations – Riverina Presbytery|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-05-19}} is a prominent building dating to 1922. It was designed by the architects Tate & Young. Previously it was a Methodist church until 1977 when it became a Uniting Church.

Many recollections of the town are available in the [http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1930672 Galong Oral History Project]

The town is well known for its cemetery,M. Barrett, 'The Very Dawn of Settlement': as surveyed from Galong Cemetery (M. Barrett, Kogarah, 2006). which has among other monuments, some angels erected by Frank Rusconi, the monumental mason from Gundagai.

File:Galong Cemetery Rusconi Angel for child.jpg|Child's grave

File:Galong Cemetery Rusconi's Ryan Monuments.jpg|Ryan family white marble monuments

File:Abandoned railway.jpg cutting in Galong]] Galong has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Main Southern railway: Galong railway station{{cite NSW SHR|5012011|Galong Railway Station and yard group|hr=01146|accessdate=18 May 2018}}

• Galong railway station

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Category:Mining towns in New South Wales

Category:Hilltops Council

Category:Lime kilns in Australia