Airly Cave Houses and Village
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Maps: LPI Glen Alice 89314N GR: 239 344 Track Notes: Comments: When Oil Shale Mining started in 1883 at Mt Airly and Torbane, a small village named Airly sprang up in the valley immediately to the east of Mt Airly. There was no town planning. Small ramshackle huts were built wherever there was a level bit of ground large enough to support foundations and the chimney. A tramway for hauling shale from the mines to the refinery at Torbane ran through the village. Some miners took advantage of rock overhangs and built cave houses, filling in gaps with stones. These houses were very small and cramped. Not much is left of the village today. There are large open spaces in the valley. Along the old tramway there are the remains of several stone or brick houses and several some cave houses. A couple of the cave houses are in remarkably good condition. Mining had ceased by 1914 and most of the population moved away soon after.
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