Coal Mine
Parks Victoria Information Centre, Tel: +61-131963. E-mail:
| Location: | Wonthaggi, Gippsland. 130 km south-east of Melbourne. Monash Freeway past Dandenong to Cranbourne, then the South Gippsland and Bass Highways. Follow road signs to Phillip Island and Wonthaggi. The mine is signposted from the town. |
| Open: | All year daily 10:30, 11:30, 13, 14, 15. Additional tours during school and public holidays. [2004] |
| Fee: | a gold coin donation. [2004] |
| Classification: |
Coal Mine
|
| Light: | electric |
| Dimension: | |
| Guided tours: | |
| Bibliography: | |
| Address: |
State Coal Mine, Garden St, Wonthaggi, Victoria 3995, Tel: +61-3-8627-4699, Tel: +61-3-5672-3053
Parks Victoria Information Centre, Tel: +61-131963. E-mail: |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/10/09 18:22:54 $ |
| 1909 | mine opened. | |
| 1934 | a strike of fife months ends with a victory of the miners. | |
| 15-FEB-1937 | in an explosion die 13 miners. | |
| 20-DEC-1968 | mine closed. | |
| 2004 | closed because it failed to comply with occupational health and safety laws. | |
| 2007 | proposed reopening. |
The heyday of Wonthaggi State Coal Mine was in the first half of the 20th century, when coal was needed to power Victoria's railway network. Before the mine was opened, Victoria was completely reliant on the private collieries in New South Wales for its supply. The prices were high and disruptions to the supply were a constant problem. In 1909 a strike in New South Wales completely stopped coal supply for Vitoria, and the Victorian Government was forced to open an emergency coal mine at the Wonthaggi coal fields.
State Coal Mine soon became one of the largest and most dangerous collieries in Australia. Working conditions were considerably worse than those of the private mines. The State Mine was handed over to the Railways Department, who had little mining experience. In the years before World War I miners from all over the world arrived at Wonthaggi. Many came from Great Britain, where decades of bitter conflicts had forged strong union ideals. Wonthaggi became the centre of a highly organised militant unionism. A strike of fife months in 1934 ends with a victory of the miners.
The mine was still unsafe, and the protest of the union was ignored. On 15-FEB-1937 20 shafts blew up and 13 men lost their lives. This tragedy resulted in a successful national campaign to improve conditions for all Australian miners. However, only twelve years later, in 1949, again record numbers of miners killed and injured were counted. A nation wide strike was ended by the Federal Chifley Labor Government, by sending troops and jailing the union leaders.
The visit inludes historic buildings housing machinery and photographic displays, an audio-visual interpretation of Wonthaggi's history, and a mining museum. A short film traces the history of the mines. A steam locomotive K192 is on display, which burnt Wonthaggi coal as its fuel.
The underground tour starts with a 280m walk into the East Area mine. The guides tell stories of working conditions underground, the humour and the hardship of being a miner.
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