Kingston Toxic Waste Dump collection

Collection

Accession number
31178
Date
1960s to 1990s
Scope and content

This collection includes government reports, briefing papers, community newsletters, clippings, photographs, media transcripts and reviews. Also included are assessments relating to the economic, environmental and health aspects of toxic waste produced by the former Kingston Gold Mine.

Description
3 boxes of manuscript material
Administrative / Biographical history

Gold-mining used cyanide during the ore-crushing process. When gold mining ceased in the 1950s, the site was used as a refuse tip. The combination of cyanide waste and the dumping of used engine oils and other unidentified wastes led to a toxic site. However, this was not discovered until the late 1980s when residents in the Diamond Street area found black sludge oozing up through the ground in their properties. The area had been filled and subdivided in 1967 for housing development. The State Government took action after complaints from residents. This involved the resumption of many houses and the rehabilitation of the site, which include desealing, capping and venting. In December 1991, the Mt Taylor parklands were opened on the once contaminated site. [Information taken from: http://www.logan.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/74764/6558491-H…, viewed 5 October, 2017]

Access restrictions
Unrestricted access.
Conditions of use
You are free to use for personal research and study. For other uses see https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/understanding-copyright
Preferred citation
31178, Kingston Toxic Waste Dump collection, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.