Kandos, New South Wales - 1920-1987

Kandos Cement Works

Kandos Cement Works operated from 1920 to 1987 in the Central Tablelands of NSW. The Kandos Cement and Lime Company established the site for its limestone deposits, and the town of Kandos was built alongside the plant to house the workforce. The 2 were inseparable from the start.

At its peak the works ran rotary kilns, ball mill drives, a No. 2 process laboratory, and an extensive conveyor system connecting the limestone quarry above the town to the production floor below. Workers processed raw limestone into Portland cement that went into infrastructure across NSW, including components of the Sydney Harbour Bridge approaches and the postwar suburban expansion.

The plant changed ownership several times over its 67 years and closed in 1987 when the economics of regional cement production shifted. The ball mill drives, the process lab, the kiln infrastructure, and the coal handling equipment remained largely intact after closure.

The site is one of the more complete surviving examples of mid-20th-century cement manufacturing in Australia. The scale of the machinery, particularly the ball mill rows, is not readily communicated without standing in the shed.