Valley of Wealth: Burragorang Coal Story
Australian History Memoir Mining History Environmental History Industrial Economics Regional Australiana Collectible Illustrated Non-Fiction
Valley of Wealth: Burragorang Coal Story is the only book-length, first-hand chronicle of the coal seams that once lay beneath Sydney’s drinking-water catchment. Ian Welsh grew up in the Burragorang Valley before it was flooded for Warragamba Dam, and he spent four decades underground at the historic N.S.W. collieries that powered the city. In 252 fast-moving pages he blends memoir, local history and industrial economics to show how pick-and-shovel miners turned a remote gorge into one of Australia’s richest energy corridors, why the valley was ultimately sacrificed for water security, and what life felt like for the families who had to leave. Young-adult and adult readers looking for a narrative that is both personal and authoritative will find Welsh’s voice—at once laconic miner and meticulous researcher—impossible to forget.
What makes this 2006 first edition especially collectable are the 40-plus period photographs, survey maps and pit diagrams reproduced on the page—images that were rescued from private albums and company archives before they disappeared. Together they document long-gone towns, cable-hauled inclines, the steam locos that hauled coal to the coast, and the everyday dangers of shot-firing and pillar extraction. Because no reprint has ever been issued, copies with intact maps and clean page blocks (like this one) are already scarce; the closed-page edge scuffs and back-cover crease are cosmetic only and do not affect readability or resale value.
For collectors of Australiana, mining history or environmental case studies, Valley of Wealth sits at the intersection of several hot niches: it is cited in university courses on resource politics, sought by genealogists tracing displaced Burragorang families, and tracked by antiquarian dealers who specialise in illustrated regional histories. ISBN 064645286X is the key search term to verify true first-edition status; demand is driven by Sydney Basin heritage groups and by tourists who now bushwalk above the drowned towns and want the full story. Secure this copy now while copies with all illustrations present are still priced within reach.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
Buy Now