SPC / Blue Circle annual volumes

More than a cement works

The works at New Berrima linked local shale and Medway coal with limestone brought by rail from Marulan. Around that industry grew a community of workers and families. These annual volumes offer a window into their workplaces, social occasions, sport and changing district life.

Follow the story from New Berrima to Medway and Berrima Junction. Read about the migrant hostel and its residents or the cement works cricket team in the Society’s newsletters.

Stories waiting in the volumes

In 1959 the first company newsletter invited readers to design a new cover for a £5 prize. It was the start of a record that reached far beyond production figures. Explore the 1959 volume

Rain forced one staff picnic indoors, but Santa arrived after a muddy journey and a trio kept the crowd entertained. A later volume follows cement supplied for a new note-printing works in Victoria. The picnic in the 1961 volume · The project in the 1981 volume