The last truck at the Penrith Lakes quarry in Castlereagh, New South Wales departed the site on 21 September, concluding more than 130 years of extraction.
Keith Carew, chairman of the Penrith Lakes Development Corporation (PLDC) – a consortium between building materials suppliers Boral, Holcim and Hanson that operates the site – said quarrying at Penrith Lakes began in the 1880s, making it one of Sydney’s oldest continuous industries. At 1935ha, the site was also believed to be one of the largest sand and gravel quarries in Australia.
The quarry reportedly employed hundreds of local people over its many years of operation. “Some quarry veterans spent their entire working lives on the site, and in some cases more than one generation in the same family did the same,” a PLDC press release stated.
Carew added that more than 160 million tonnes of aggregate had been extracted from the site over the course of its life, with Penrith Lakes supplying up to 80 per cent of the sand and gravel used in the Sydney construction industry for extensive periods during that time.
“The Penrith Lakes scheme is unique in Australia – possibly the world,” Carew said. “It truly is the end of an era.”
Innovative rehabilitation
In addition to its longevity and size, Carew said the quarry was unique due to its progressive rehabilitation program.
“Over the last three decades since PLDC was formed, the company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the most comprehensive, scientific and environmentally ground-breaking rehabilitation of the enormous 2000ha site ever undertaken in Australia,” he stated.
“Where historically many quarry operations have left behind a scarred landscape and environmental damage, [the Penrith Lakes] scheme is the new gold standard for remediation, creating hundreds of hectares of lakes, parkland, native bush and recreational open space, along with critically needed land for home sites.”
An agreement signed with the NSW Government in 1987 required that the PLDC progressively rehabilitate the quarry site as extraction was completed and to transfer some of the land to the state government for use as a major parkland and lakes system for the western Sydney community.
Parts of the site have already been redeveloped, with the Penrith Whitewater Stadium and Sydney International Regatta Centre sports facilities having hosted the rowing, kayaking and canoeing events for the 2000 Olympic Games.
The NSW Government has proposed to redevelop the remainder of the site as seven distinct precincts that could potentially include wildlife reserves, themed recreation parks, an environmental education centre, walking and cycling routes, camping areas, and an Aboriginal cultural centre.
“In coming months, [we] will complete the massive remediation task and then our focus will be on making available some of Sydney’s most desirable home sites on the designated sections of the site,” Carew said.
A PLDC spokesperson told Quarry that rehabilitation was expected to be completed before the end of the year.
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