Kandos, New South Wales

Kandos is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in the Mid-Western Regional Council. It is located on the Bylong Valley Way. At the 2011 census, Kandos had a population of 1,284 people.History and economyThe town was established in 1913 to take advantage of local supplies of limestone. The New South Wales Cement Lime and Coal Company lifted the limestone from quarries by an enormous aerial ropeway.The town was originally named Candos, an acronym of the Board of NSW Cement, Lime and Coal Co Ltd. In 1915, the name Candos was considered too similar to Chandos in South Australia, and the name was changed to Kandos, the name was registered with the NSW Registrar General.For many years Kandos' main non-agricultural industry was the production of cement. However, the cement manufacturing facility and associated limestone quarry (both operated by Cement Australia) were closed in September 2011. This was expected to result in the loss of 98 jobs.Another major industry in the region was coal-mining. Centennial Coal operated the Charbon coal mine until its closure. The underground mine closed in March 2014, while open cut mining continued until 2015.The town contains the northern-most Field Support Centre of Endeavour Energy.TransportKandos is located on the Wallerawang to Gwabegar railway line. The line was extended from Capertee to Rylstone (7 km to the north of Kandos) on 9 January 1884. Kandos station was opened in 1915 as Candos before being renamed Kandos the same year.