Bulahdelah

Postcode: 2423

Bulahdelah is a small coastal town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, in Great Lakes Council.

It is situated roughly 300km north of Sydney along the bank of the Myall River (where the Crawford River meets). Behind the town sits the rocky outcrop of Alum Mountain. Leading into the town from the South is the Bulahdelah Bridge which forms part of the Pacific Highway.

The mountain next to Bulahdelah was first recorded in 1818 by John Oxley, a crown surveyor who named it "Bulladella 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 from the mined alunite. Another period of mining was then again from 1934 to 1950. Decreasing profitability meant mining had ceased by the 1950s and in 1979 the State Forests took over control of the mountain.

In 1970 the Bulahdelah tornado swept through the nearby forests in what is Australia's most destructive tornado on record. Construction of a bridge across the Myall River was completed and opened on the 28th July in 1892. On the 3rd of May 2006 funding was approved for work on the Bulahdelah bypass project which moves the path of the pacific highway between the town and the mountain.

At the 2001 census, Bulahdelah had a population of 1,155. Although large portion of the effective population lives in the surrounding area. Overlooking the town of Bulahdelah, Alum Mountain (sometimes known as Bulahdelah Mountain) provides some spectacular 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 the 1950s 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 tracks") forms part of the local and regional level cross country running trail.

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