Final report on MLN 153

Abstract

In 1947, this land was acquired under the Commonwealth Lands Acquisition Act and Lands Acquisition Ordinance by the Commonwealth Department of Works as a future quarry site adjacent to the then railway corridor. The MLN is located adjacent to what is now the water main access road (the former railway corridor) and fronts onto Stow Street at Howard Springs. The MLN is in headwaters of Brooking Creek. The area to the northeast is subdivision. To the west, semi-rural blocks are located between the MLN and the former Howard Springs garbage dump. An NT lease was applied for in 1960 by Lacava and Guidolin (as ML 212B) to quarry for hard rock quartzite. Despite some reservations at the time as to whether an NT ML could even be granted over a Commonwealth quarry site, the application was processed. In the 1970s, there was some concern about activities infringing onto ML 212B from the adjacent MR 566 which was apparently used as a shallow borrow pit by the NT Port Authority. There appears to have been other borrow pits in the area used to extract material for local road construction but no hard rock quarries. In 1990, the Litchfield Shire Council applied to create a passive recreation reserve over the area. At that time, the ML contained a number of sheds and humpies occupied by squatters and itinerants. Also in 1990, ML 212B appears to have become MLN 153 which apparently occupied a lesser area than 212B, being only 125 m wide by 262 m at its longest side. The Director of the Geological Survey noted in the 1998 annual review that there was 'likely to be problems developing due to rural subdivision'. CSR who had then acquired MLN 153 acknowledged 'we believe that the residents of the area would object to mining and we are currently investigating our options.' At that time, Rinker (CSR) admitted to holding it only as a strategic reserve with no intention of working it in the foreseeable future. The possible use as railway ballast that they originally cited was no longer an issue. In 2003, the ML was transferred from CSR Readymix to Readymix Holdings. Readymix surrendered the title and reported that no work whatsoever has ever been undertaken on the MLN and all posts and boundary markers have been removed. (additional material by John Dunster - Geological Survey)