Balmain Colliery

Balmain Colliery

Balmain Colliery, Birthday Shaft, c. 1940s
Location
Balmain Colliery Location in greater Sydney
Location	Birchgrove, Inner western Sydney
State	New South Wales
Country	Australia
Coordinates	33°51′09″S 151°10′40″E
Production
Products	Coal Natural gas
Greatest depth	2,900 feet (880 m)
History
Opened	1897 (1897)
Closed	1945 (1945)
Owner
Company	Sydney Harbour Collieries (1895–96) Harbour Collieries Co. (1896–1931) Natural Gas & Oil Corporation Ltd (1932–55)

Balmain Colliery was a coal mine located in Birchgrove in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It produced coal from 1897 until 1931 and natural gas from 1937 to 1950.[1] At approximately 800 metres (2,600 ft) in depth, it remains the deepest coal mine ever to have been sunk in Australia.[2]

Location

The colliery was located on the northern side of the Balmain Peninsula, on the corner of Birchgrove Road and Water Street, next to Birchgrove Public School.

History

Balmain Colliery (date unknown; within period 1925–1957)

The presence of coal was confirmed in 1891 with bores at Birchgrove and Cremorne Point.[3] Permission to mine from the Department of Mines was granted in 1894 with another parcel of land between Rose Bay and Vaucluse also applied for in 1895.[4] Sydney Harbour Collieries (Limited) started the mine, however the company was wound up in 1896;[5] and the mine was bought by the Harbour Collieries Co.

Two shafts, named Birthday and Jubilee, were sunk between 1897 and 1902.

The mine produced coal from 1897 to 1915 and from 1924 to 1931, and methane (natural gas) from 1937 to 1950.[6]

The site is now occupied by the Hopetoun Quays residential complex.

Mining accidents

Three fatal accidents occurred at the mine claiming ten lives:

• On 17 March 1900, six miners were being lowered down the Birthday shaft. At 434 metres (1,424 ft) the bucket they were travelling in caught on a projection, tipped over and five of the six men fell to their death in the shaft. As a result of this accident, the Mining Act was amended to provide guide rails in shafts to prevent bucket swinging or overturning.[1][7]
• On 23 January 1933, a year after the mine closed, two men were killed in a gas explosion while preparing a drilling site on the 2900' level for an exploratory drill hole to locate methane gas. The coroner concluded that one of the miners struck a match to light his pipe and caused the explosion.[8][1][9]
• During the sealing of the Birthday Shaft on 20 April 1945, a rudimentary test was being undertaken which ignited escaping gas and caused an explosion below the seal. The company manager and two men were killed in the accident and another two men injured.[1][10]

See also

• Mining in Australia
• Coal in Australia

References

1. Peter Reynolds, Balmain Places 2 – The Coal Mine Under The Harbour , Architectural History Research Unit, University of New South Wales, 1996, ISBN 0-908502-54-0
2. "Primefact 556 – Balmain's Own Coal Mine" (PDF). NSW Department of Primary Industries. February 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
3. "[BY TELEGRAPH] NEW COAL DISCOVERIES". The Barrier Miner. Vol. 4, no. 1107. New South Wales, Australia. 10 October 1891. p. 3 – via National Library of Australia.
   "COAL UNDER SYDNEY HARBOUR". The Argus. No. 14, 200. Victoria, Australia. 30 December 1891. p. 7 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "Coal Discovery at Cremorne". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. LVI, no. 1741. New South Wales, Australia. 18 November 1893. p. 1063 – via National Library of Australia.
   "Government Gazette Notices". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 636. New South Wales, Australia. 24 September 1895. p. 6156 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "SYDNEY HARBOUR COLLIERIES (LIMITED)". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 158. New South Wales, Australia. 28 February 1896. p. 1512 – via National Library of Australia.
6. Radford, Neil (2016). "Balmain Colliery". The Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
7. "Balmain Disaster". Clarence and Richmond Examiner. New South Wales, Australia. 20 March 1900. p. 5 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "Explosion in mine". Daily Advertiser. Wagga Wagga, NSW. 9 February 1933. p. 3. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
9. "Deep Down – Explosion in Balmain Mine". Warwick Daily News. No. 4226. 24 January 1933. p. 5. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
10. "MINE GAS EXPLOSION KILLS 3 MEN". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 33, 487. 21 April 1945. p. 3.

Sources

• Reynolds, Peter (1986). The coal mine under the harbour. Architectural History Unit, University of New South Wales. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
• Solling, Max; Reynolds, Peter L (1997). Leichhardt : on the margins of the city : a social history of Leichhardt and the former municipalities of Annandale, Balmain and Glebe. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-86448-408-3.
• Lawrence, Joan; Warne, Catherine (1995). A pictorial history of Balmain to Glebe. Kingsclear Books. ISBN 978-0-908272-40-2.
• "Balmain's own coal mine" (PDF). NSW Department of Primary Industries. February 2007. Primefact 556, 2007.
• "ACTS OF PARLIAMENT ASSENTED TO". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 142. New South Wales, Australia. 7 November 1924. p. 5087 – via National Library of Australia.