The History & Archaeology of Cadia
Cadia - a historical mining community
The history of Cadia begins with the Wiradjuri people, the traditional owners of the land.
The Cadiangullong Valley was covered with open forest and woodland, rich in both plant and animal species. It was a varied landscape with high ridgelines and spurs, steep sided valleys with creeks forming rock pools and rock platforms, as well as river flats, leading to the more gently rolling landscape to the south.
The Cadia mining history began in 1851 when traces of copper were discovered near Cadiangullong Creek.
It was 10 years before the Scottish Australian Mining Company commenced major mine workings, erecting an engine house and smelting works.
Cadia Village was soon established and survived through several stages of mining activity for copper, gold and finally iron ore, before being deserted in the 1940s.
In its most prosperous times, Cadia Village supported a population of 600, as well as a general store, bakery, post office, butcher, shoemaker, school and a cemetery.
Periodic downturns in mining, from as early as 1868, were triggers for many to take up land in the area, realising a dream for many miners.
Newcrest Mining discovered the Cadia Hill orebody in 1992, which lead to the development of the Cadia Hill Gold Mine, followed by the Ridgeway Gold Mine and Cadia East Gold Mine. In 2023, Newcrest was acquired by Newmont Corporation, to create the world's leading gold mining company with robust copper production.
The rich history of Cadia would not have been recorded without the assistance of many current and former Cadia District residents, relatives of descendants who lived in the area and the historians and archaeologists, in particular Dr Edward Higginbotham, commissioned by Newcrest Mining to undertake surveys and research of the Cadia Valley.
Newmont Cadia has developed this website to provide a record of the mining and farming history of the Cadia Valley, as discovered through historical research and archaeological surveys commissioned by Cadia. For more information about Newmont, visit the Newmont website.
