Replica Underground Coal Mine Experience

Collie Visitor Center

Useful Information

Location:	156 Throssell Street, Collie. 200 km south of Perth, 60 km east of Bunbury. From Bunbury Highway 20 towards Perth, between Burekup and Roelands turn east on highway 107 to Collie. Located at the main road through town. (-33.358605, 116.149283)
Open:	All year Mon-Fri 9-16, Sat 10-15, Sun, Hol 10-14. [2023]
Fee:	Self-Guided: Adults AUD 15, Children (5–16) AUD 5, Children (0-4) free, Seniors AUD 12, Families (2+3) AUD 30. Guided: Adults AUD 20, Children (5–16) AUD 10, Children (0-4) free, Seniors AUD 17, Families (2+3) AUD 55. [2026]
Classification:	Coal Mine Replica Underground Mine
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided. D=1 h, Min=4, Max=15.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:	AS Millar, AJ Mory, DW Haig, J Backhouse (2011): Collie Coalfield and Lake Clifton — a field guide, Geological Survey of Western Australia, Record 2011/17, Perth 2011, 13p. academia.edu J. S. Moncrieff (1993): Hydrogeology of the Collie Basin, Western Australia, Professional papers, Report 34, Geological Survey of Western Australia, 193p. online
Address:	156 Throssell Street, Collie WA 6225, Tel: +61-8-9734-2051. E-mail: Coalfields Museum and Historical Research Centre, 161 Throssell St, Collie WA 6225, Tel: +61-418-792962. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1983	Replica Mine constructed by the Collie Rotary Club.
2023	replica renovated and upgraded.

Geology

The Collie coalfield is located on the Yilgarn Craton which is a major part of the Western Australian land mass. It is quite old, consits of rocks which are between 2.94 and 2.63 Ga old. Around Collie it is covered by up to 1400 m of Permian strata. The coal was deposited during the Artinskian to Wuchiapingian age, between 290 and 250 Million years ago. Coal is deposited in basins with massive plant growth and water which stops the decay of dead plants, creating moores. Massive layers of peat were covered by sedimentary layers, pressure and temperature stated a process called coalification. The result are sub-bituminous coals with low ash (generally 3–10%) and sulphur (typically 0.3 – 0.5%).

Description

The Replica Underground Coal Mine Experience is located at the Collie Visitor Centre. It is an exhibition which shows a realistic coal mine tunnel, with dummies of miners at work, handling typical machinery. The exhibition shows how the mine was worked during the 1950s, the heyday of the local coal mines. It was created by the Collie Rotary Club to commemorate the centenary of the discovery of coal. The mine tunnel is visited self-guided, but only 15 people are allowed inside at a time. It’s also possible to have a guided tour by a miner which includes not only knowledge about mining and geology, but also anecdotes about the daily life of the miners. Highlight is probably the Simulated Coal Blast, the visitors can set of a blast, the result are loud noise and a trembling platform.

The city also has a coal mining museum called Coalfields Museum, which is on the other side of the road. The museum is located in the historic buildings of the 1900 and 1930 Road Board offices. It seems it is only marginally a mining museum, despite the name, as most items are local history stuff, like a restored barrel organ from Italy or old refrigerators. But there is also some mining equipment and Lynch’s Rock and Mineral display- It’s obviously a good idea to visit both sites.

The actual coal mines are a series of huge open casts, east of the city. There is a Coalfields Mine Lookout at highway 107. Beneath the view there is also a huge decommissioned coal excavator to see.

The town Collie was named after Dr Alexander Collie, a physician on the HMS Sulphur. Captain Stirling made an expedition to the Swan River colony in 1829.