Glen Davis, Shale Oil Works Ruins, Capertee Valley Royalty-Free Stock Photo

The shale oil industry at Glen Davis was developed for production of shale oil for national defence purposes. As a result of poor planning and lack of research, the plant was built using old equipment and technology, and even the obvious things such as a reliable supply of water was largely ignored. Whilst this was the largest development in NSW up until this point, the operation was always running at a loss and the subsequent post war years saw more capital pouring into the plant with no improvement in production. As a consequence the plant was closed in 1952 and whilst much of the old buildings have been demolished, there is still a great deal of remains of the plant still evident.