The Wallarah Coal Mines
From the Lookout you get a view of much of the historic precinct.
When the first mine failed, the Parbury family organised a new venture, raising funds in England. It was called The Wallarah Coal Company Limited and was formed in London in 1888 with the issue of 10,000 shares at £10 each.
While the Upper Newcastle Coal Measures were being formed, the land was first folded to form the Lake Macquarie Syncline. It is in this which Lake Macquarie sits. As this formed, the southern end of the Lake also began a period of subsidence.
This meant that the highest, commercially valuable coal seam, the Wallarah Seam, was exposed in the hills to the North and it then dips so that it is under the Lookout.
Map by HJ Wright - Australaian Historical Railway Bulletin 1973