Powlett Coal Fields, 1909. Photo: State Library of Victoria
By Linda Cuttriss
PAST the Mitchell Mine mullock heap and beyond Kilcunda’s rolling breakers lies the Powlett River valley. It was here, at the place we now know as Wonthaggi, that a truly extraordinary feat of human endeavour unfolded over a few months from November 1909 to early 1910.
Dust rose in great drifts across the valley amidst the sound of men’s voices shouting out, working together, the clanging of steel, metal on metal, hammers coming down on timber, oil engines chugging, bullocks bellowing and the sweat of men and beasts.
The State Coal Mine came to life almost overnight. But it took more than half a century and a state of emergency for it to happen.
PAST the Mitchell Mine mullock heap and beyond Kilcunda’s rolling breakers lies the Powlett River valley. It was here, at the place we now know as Wonthaggi, that a truly extraordinary feat of human endeavour unfolded over a few months from November 1909 to early 1910.
Dust rose in great drifts across the valley amidst the sound of men’s voices shouting out, working together, the clanging of steel, metal on metal, hammers coming down on timber, oil engines chugging, bullocks bellowing and the sweat of men and beasts.
The State Coal Mine came to life almost overnight. But it took more than half a century and a state of emergency for it to happen.
*****
The colony of Victoria gained self-government in 1851 and while it became a separate entity from New South Wales it remained dependent on its supply of coal, essential fuel for a functioning economy.
While members of the government had concerns, attempts to find a local coal supply were half-hearted at best. Incentives were offered, but the government relied on private companies to invest, develop and bring the coal to market.
In 1852, a £1,000 government reward was offered for finding good quality coal deposits within reach of Melbourne. In 1853, government geologist George Selwyn inspected coal seams near Cape Paterson, around present-day Harmers Haven. He found the coal of good quality but was sceptical of its commercial viability due to challenges of getting the coal to market.
In 1858, Selwyn found coal at Powlett River, one mile north of the present town of Wonthaggi and was convinced this would be more economically sustainable than the seams near Cape Paterson. Despite this advice, two companies chose to develop the Cape Paterson coalfields which operated from 1859 to 1865 until, as Selwyn had foreseen, transport problems brought an end to mining.
In 1870, a £5,000 offer induced the Western Port Coal Company to begin mining at Kilcunda, investing heavily in construction of a tramway to San Remo for shipping coal to Melbourne. Despite delivering 15,000 tons of coal to market and attempts to raise more capital, the venture failed due to financial troubles, including non-payment of the government bonus.
After closure of the Kilcunda mine in 1883, Victoria was yet again without prospects and in 1889 a Royal Commission on Coal was established to investigate solutions. Interestingly, while reports were being heard of lack of government initiative and support for the coal industry, government drilling by the Mines Department found black coal seams of commercial thickness at Korumburra.
Around the same time, trouble was brewing north of the border where industrial strikes in NSW mines and ports were shrinking supply of coal to Victoria. A secure supply of local coal was looking more necessary every day.
Whether it was good luck or good timing, the government rail line was opening through South Gippsland and due to reach Korumburra by 1891. The Coal Creek Mining Company formed but had to wait for a branch line to get out commercial quantities of coal.
Before long, the government had connected Victorian Railways branch lines to numerous private mines around Korumburra, Jumbunna and Outtrim and by 1900, black coal from these and other South Gippsland mines were producing half of the state’s annual demand for half a million tons of coal.
In 1901, Victoria became a state of the newly federated Commonwealth of Australia yet was still dependent on hundreds of thousands of tons of coal from NSW each year. Relying on small, speculative, under-capitalised companies to develop a local coal industry was becoming untenable.
By 1906, declining local production, industrial action against massive cuts to miners’ wages and closure of several South Gippsland mines had reduced Victorian black coal output to 160,000 tons, well short of the amount needed.
After a series of Royal Commissions and Parliamentary Inquiries, systematic drilling of the Powlett River area commenced in 1908 under the direction of the Mines Department engineer Stanley Hunter.
It was almost by accident that Hunter found a thick seam of coal a few metres from the surface while sinking a well to source water to cool a drilling bit. A shaft sunk nearby reached a seam 8 feet thick at a depth of 32 feet near where George Selwyn had found coal half a century before. The shaft, close to the present Donmix site on West Area Road, became the first shaft of the Powlett River coalfields.
While members of the government had concerns, attempts to find a local coal supply were half-hearted at best. Incentives were offered, but the government relied on private companies to invest, develop and bring the coal to market.
In 1852, a £1,000 government reward was offered for finding good quality coal deposits within reach of Melbourne. In 1853, government geologist George Selwyn inspected coal seams near Cape Paterson, around present-day Harmers Haven. He found the coal of good quality but was sceptical of its commercial viability due to challenges of getting the coal to market.
In 1858, Selwyn found coal at Powlett River, one mile north of the present town of Wonthaggi and was convinced this would be more economically sustainable than the seams near Cape Paterson. Despite this advice, two companies chose to develop the Cape Paterson coalfields which operated from 1859 to 1865 until, as Selwyn had foreseen, transport problems brought an end to mining.
In 1870, a £5,000 offer induced the Western Port Coal Company to begin mining at Kilcunda, investing heavily in construction of a tramway to San Remo for shipping coal to Melbourne. Despite delivering 15,000 tons of coal to market and attempts to raise more capital, the venture failed due to financial troubles, including non-payment of the government bonus.
After closure of the Kilcunda mine in 1883, Victoria was yet again without prospects and in 1889 a Royal Commission on Coal was established to investigate solutions. Interestingly, while reports were being heard of lack of government initiative and support for the coal industry, government drilling by the Mines Department found black coal seams of commercial thickness at Korumburra.
Around the same time, trouble was brewing north of the border where industrial strikes in NSW mines and ports were shrinking supply of coal to Victoria. A secure supply of local coal was looking more necessary every day.
Whether it was good luck or good timing, the government rail line was opening through South Gippsland and due to reach Korumburra by 1891. The Coal Creek Mining Company formed but had to wait for a branch line to get out commercial quantities of coal.
Before long, the government had connected Victorian Railways branch lines to numerous private mines around Korumburra, Jumbunna and Outtrim and by 1900, black coal from these and other South Gippsland mines were producing half of the state’s annual demand for half a million tons of coal.
In 1901, Victoria became a state of the newly federated Commonwealth of Australia yet was still dependent on hundreds of thousands of tons of coal from NSW each year. Relying on small, speculative, under-capitalised companies to develop a local coal industry was becoming untenable.
By 1906, declining local production, industrial action against massive cuts to miners’ wages and closure of several South Gippsland mines had reduced Victorian black coal output to 160,000 tons, well short of the amount needed.
After a series of Royal Commissions and Parliamentary Inquiries, systematic drilling of the Powlett River area commenced in 1908 under the direction of the Mines Department engineer Stanley Hunter.
It was almost by accident that Hunter found a thick seam of coal a few metres from the surface while sinking a well to source water to cool a drilling bit. A shaft sunk nearby reached a seam 8 feet thick at a depth of 32 feet near where George Selwyn had found coal half a century before. The shaft, close to the present Donmix site on West Area Road, became the first shaft of the Powlett River coalfields.
*****
Discovery of the rich Powlett River seams sparked lively debate in the Victorian Parliament. The Labor Party and some Liberal members, including the Minister for Mines, Peter McBride contended that these coal deposits should be reserved for the state’s own use rather than go to private speculation.
Knocking down coal at Powlett, 1909. Photo: State Library of Victoria
In 1909 the time for talk was over. Protracted strikes in NSW coalmines had dried up Victoria’s main coal supply and local supply was rapidly dwindling. The Victorian Railways had resorted to using wood to fuel some locomotives. Manufacturing was severely disrupted, railways were grinding to a halt and workers were laid off in their thousands. The situation was unsustainable. Victoria was in crisis.
On 11 November 1909, at an emergency meeting of Cabinet, a recommendation by Minister McBride to establish a State Coal Mine at Powlett River was approved. Stanley Hunter was made general organiser, Mr. D.E. McKenzie from the Mines Department was appointed mine manager and preliminary work started immediately with 50 goldminers recruited from Rutherglen.
The challenges ahead were enormous. Establishing a state-owned and operated coal mine had never been done in Australia and huge amounts of coal were needed urgently. Mine shafts had to be sunk, timber carted and hewn for tunnels and a rail line built from Nyora to Wonthaggi to transport the coal to Melbourne.
Hundreds of miners were needed immediately but there was no town for them on the dusty Powlett Plains. Stanley Hunter selected an acre of ground near the mine and surveyed streets for rows of tents to accommodate the men. Businesses appeared virtually overnight to provide the miners’ daily needs and soon many of their families came to join them.
On 11 November 1909, at an emergency meeting of Cabinet, a recommendation by Minister McBride to establish a State Coal Mine at Powlett River was approved. Stanley Hunter was made general organiser, Mr. D.E. McKenzie from the Mines Department was appointed mine manager and preliminary work started immediately with 50 goldminers recruited from Rutherglen.
The challenges ahead were enormous. Establishing a state-owned and operated coal mine had never been done in Australia and huge amounts of coal were needed urgently. Mine shafts had to be sunk, timber carted and hewn for tunnels and a rail line built from Nyora to Wonthaggi to transport the coal to Melbourne.
Hundreds of miners were needed immediately but there was no town for them on the dusty Powlett Plains. Stanley Hunter selected an acre of ground near the mine and surveyed streets for rows of tents to accommodate the men. Businesses appeared virtually overnight to provide the miners’ daily needs and soon many of their families came to join them.
Powlett Tent Town, 1910 Photo: Victorian Collections - Inverloch Historical Society
Three shifts were worked each day and in less than three weeks four shafts had been sunk. The drilling derricks used for exploration over the previous year were erected over the shafts and oil engines for the drills were used to wind the coal in basket loads to the surface.
At the end of November, the first two bullock wagons of coal trundled along the 11 miles of sandy track to Inverloch jetty where the coal was loaded aboard steamers and shipped to Port Melbourne. By the start of January 1910, 20 bullock teams and 15 horse teams were carting a daily output of 220 tons of coal to Inverloch.
At the end of November, the first two bullock wagons of coal trundled along the 11 miles of sandy track to Inverloch jetty where the coal was loaded aboard steamers and shipped to Port Melbourne. By the start of January 1910, 20 bullock teams and 15 horse teams were carting a daily output of 220 tons of coal to Inverloch.
Coal wagons at Inverloch Pier, 1910. Photo: Victorian Collections - Inverloch Historical Society
Meanwhile, the rail line from Nyora to Wonthaggi was being constructed at break-neck speed by 500 men working in dreadful conditions in the summer heat, laying 30 miles in the record time of 10 weeks.
Hunter and McKenzie had made an undertaking to have 10,000 tons of coal stacked at the surface by the time the first train arrived. Such was the miners’ respect for Hunter that they took up the challenge with energy and enthusiasm. The Argus, 1 March 1910, described a scene where, “as the last few tons were coming up, the dust from the railway navvies could be seen rising over the undulating country near the town, and next day the first locomotive drew up near the pit’s mouth.”
Hunter and McKenzie had made an undertaking to have 10,000 tons of coal stacked at the surface by the time the first train arrived. Such was the miners’ respect for Hunter that they took up the challenge with energy and enthusiasm. The Argus, 1 March 1910, described a scene where, “as the last few tons were coming up, the dust from the railway navvies could be seen rising over the undulating country near the town, and next day the first locomotive drew up near the pit’s mouth.”
First train to Wonthaggi , 1910. Photo: Victorian Collections - Inverloch Historical Society
On the morning of 23 February 1910, the first train arrived at Wonthaggi and by afternoon 108 tons of coal was on its way to Melbourne with 3,526 tons having already been shipped from Inverloch.
By the end of February 600 men were on the payroll, all mine shafts had been connected and it was possible to walk about one and three-quarter miles without coming to the surface. The Argus, 1 March 1910, added that, “Every man engaged on the mine seems to share the enthusiasm of those in charge” (and) “it would be quite safe to back the Victorian State Coal Mine against anything of its kind in the world for rapid progress.”
Faced with a state of emergency, the government’s bold, unprecedented move to establish a state coal mine was a first for Australia, and there would be more ‘firsts’ to come in the town that grew alongside the mine. The Cabinet decision would ultimately break the state’s reliance on NSW coal but it was Stanley Hunter’s inspirational leadership and the sheer hard work, determination and cooperation of the miners and railway workers that enabled the people of Victoria to get back on their feet. Those extraordinary few months of 1909-10 were just the beginning of the story of Wonthaggi and the State Coal Mine.
By the end of February 600 men were on the payroll, all mine shafts had been connected and it was possible to walk about one and three-quarter miles without coming to the surface. The Argus, 1 March 1910, added that, “Every man engaged on the mine seems to share the enthusiasm of those in charge” (and) “it would be quite safe to back the Victorian State Coal Mine against anything of its kind in the world for rapid progress.”
Faced with a state of emergency, the government’s bold, unprecedented move to establish a state coal mine was a first for Australia, and there would be more ‘firsts’ to come in the town that grew alongside the mine. The Cabinet decision would ultimately break the state’s reliance on NSW coal but it was Stanley Hunter’s inspirational leadership and the sheer hard work, determination and cooperation of the miners and railway workers that enabled the people of Victoria to get back on their feet. Those extraordinary few months of 1909-10 were just the beginning of the story of Wonthaggi and the State Coal Mine.