LIMESTONE CAVES OF NSW

  ASHFORD CA VES From the Ashford Tourism website The Ashford limestone caves are located about 20km north-west of the town of Ashford, between Inverell and the Queensland border. What was once a crown reserve (set apart in 1915) is now part of the  Kwiambal National Park (pronounced Kiamble), best known for the spectacular  MacIntyre Falls , near which is a delightful camping area at Lemon Tree Flat. Picnic and toilet facilities are also provided at the caves. These caves are not in the same league as the well-known show caves at Jenolan, Wombeyan and Yarrangobilly, in fact there are very few speleothems  (decorations) to be found. What you will find is bats, guano (bat droppings) and a sense  of adventure as you explore the unknown (to you) cave system. If you would like to read a fascinating account of “ An Excursion to the Severn River and the Wallangra Caves ” dating from 1892 ( here ) you will appreciate that some things have not changed, but others have c...

 2. LIMEKILNS NEAR BATHURST I have selected Limekilns for the first blog entry, as this appears to be the first place in NSW where a limestone cave was reported and explored (1821) . Previously,  explorer George Evans had observed and recorded the presence of limestone in several places near Canowindra (1816). The discovery of limestone was  significant because of its use in making mortar and for agricultural purposes. Previously, sea shells had been gathered in large quantities around Sydney and Newcastle, including from aboriginal middens, and roasted to make quicklime which was then "slaked" by  adding water  to produce slaked lime, usually referred to as lime. Limestone is essentially calcium carbonate and it is commonly derived from marine shellfish.  Fossils of these are frequently  found in limestone and associated sedimentary rocks. A little chemistry:   calcium carbonate  (calcite)  CaCO 3;   calcium ...

1.  AN INTRODUCTION TO "THE LIMESTONE CAVES OF NSW" Cave Creek Cooleman Plain This is a very broad subject and I intend to compose this Blog so that the average reader can enjoy it. There will be no particular order in which the blog entries are presented. I haven't visited all the places named. Especially when it comes to photographs, I have had to use some from various places on the internet. Where possible, these are individually acknowledged. References I located all of these in DIGS where they can be downloaded.  http://digsopen.minerals.nsw.gov.au/ Carne J.E. & Jones L.J. 1919. The limestone deposits of New South Wales. Geological Survey of New South Wales, Mineral Resources 25. Lishmund S.R., Dawood A.D. & Langley W.V. 1986. The limestone deposits of New South Wales, 2nd edition. Geological Survey of New South Wales, Mineral Resources 25. https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/geodiversity/10104nswkarstcaveguide.pdf           ...