Joadja Cemetery - Joadja, NSW - Abandoned Cemeteries on Waymarking.com

Most of those buried here were Scottish workers and their families who migrated to Australia with the promise of a better life at the Joadja shale mine. Kerosene was extracted from the shale & a cable system lifted the barrels out of the valley.

Hours were long, employees were underpaid or not paid at all, and numerous deaths occurred due to poor working conditions and rampant lawlessness. Some residents felt trapped in Joadja, and until the railway was built a treacherous bush track winding up the mountain side was the only way out. This earned Joadja the nickname "the valley of no return" - an apt description for an unlucky thirty-one whose final resting places you will discover when visiting the cemetery.

The cemetery was in use from 1880 to 1908 with 20 graves for 31 burials. Children, particularly infants are over represented with three buried along with their mother, Jane Macgregor Kerr in 1887. The oldest grave is that of William Isdale who died 31 May 1880 aged 68 while his wife Ann being the last buried here after her death on 11 June 1908 aged 75.

Bushfires, vandals and the passage of time have all taken their toll. As the years move on and the bush reclaims the land, many of those final resting places are in danger of becoming lost forever.

Details of the cemetery can be found here: (visit link)

Earliest Burial: 05/31/1880 Latest Burial: 06/11/1908

Visit Instructions:
Take a photo of at least one grave marker and including a qualitative and quantitative description

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   06/03/2016 Throsbyonchurch visited it