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LITHGOW STATE COAL MINE

STATE COAL MINELITHGOW1916-1964

CONS RV TION Pl N

CHRISTOPHER PRATTEN & ROBERT IRVINGHeritage and conservation consultants

17 Donnelly Street Balmain NSW 2041Telephone (02) 8104717 (02) 7988593

Facsimile (02) 810 4717

AUGUST 1994

CONTENTS

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1 SUMMARY AND PRINCIPAL RECOMMENDATIONSOF THE REPORT Page 1

2 INTRODUCTION 7

2.1 What is a Conservation Plan? 72.2 Background to this study 72.3 Methodology 82.4 Definitions 82.5 The study team 92.6 Acknowledgments 9

3 HISTORY OF THE PLACE 11

3.1 Early coal mining In the Lithgow valley.................. 113.2 State Coal Mines 113.3 Establishment of the Lithgow Coal Mine 133.4 Development work halted 153.5 Work resumes 163.6 The mine's heyday 193.7 New managers 203.8 The early post-\\"(;Ir years 243. 9 Safety and accidents 253.10 Closure 273.11 The Greater Li thgow Mining Museum 283.12 References 29

4 CI-IRONOLOGY 33

A series of historic maps follows page 34

5 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PLACE 35

5.1 The col lien' context 355.2 The Mine -. '" 365.3 The surviving surface structures 36

6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PLACE 39

6.1 Heri tage listings 396.2 The nature of significance 406.3 Statement of significance 41

Contents continued next page



Contents, contin.ued

7 CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES 43

7.1 Constraints 437.2 - Opportunities 45

8 GENERAL CONSERVATION POLICy 478.1 Introduction 478.2 Policy statement 47

9 DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS, SIGNIFICANCES,POLICIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS : 49' .

9.1 The former power house/bath house 49Illustrations follow page 54

9.2 The office building 55Illustrations follow page 59

9.3 The workshops and stores 60Illustrations follow page 65

9.4 The powder magazines 66Illustrations follow page 67

9.5 Remnant structures and formations 68Illustrations follow page 78

9.6 The State Mine branch 79Illustrations foHmv page 80

10 MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS 81

10.1 Supervision of proposed works : 8110.2 Archival material 8110.3 Noxious and invasive weeds 8110.4 Distribution of this report 8110.5 Review of the Conservation Plan 82

APPENDICES, following page 82

I Extract from Coal Mining in AustraliaII Extract from 1928 Department of Mines Annual ReportIII Summary of On-Site Planning MeetingIV Lithgow Mining Museum - List of PrioritiesV State Rail Authority Archives - List of drawings relating to Lithgow State MineVI Archives Office of NSW - Records of Lithgow State MineVII Brief for preparation of the Conservation PlanVIII Pratten & Irving proposal to Greater Lithgow Mining Museum IncIX Curricula vitae

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CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Section 6)

The cultural significance of the Lithgow State Mine derives from the following:

The principal findings of the report, and the sections in which they are disc~ssed, are as follows:

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Th.e mine was the first colliery to be established in New South Wales following thepassing of the State Coal Mines Act in 1912.

The mine was the first action by the government to operate a colliery in New SouthWales since the transfer of the convict-worked mines at Newcastle to the AustralianAgricultural Company in 1828.

The mine was the only colliery operated by the Railway Department in New SouthWales.

The erection of the permanent mine buildings by the Railways Department has resultedin a number of the surviving buildings evidencing a particluar architectural style. '

In its heyday in the late 1920s the mine was the biggest employer on the WesternCoalfield, and one of the largest in the state.

In the years that it was managed by the Railways Department the mine frequentlyworked more days than most other collieries in NSW.

The report confirms and expands the heritage significance of the former mine site and itssurrounding precinct that is so clearly felt by members of the Museum Committee.

1 SUMMARY AND PRINCIPAL RECOMMENDATIONSOF THE REPORT .

This Conservation Plan was commissioned by the Greater Lithgow Mining Museum Inc. Itspurpose is to evaluate the heritage significance of the site of the former Lithgow State Mine, andto provide information and recommendations that will assist with its ongoing conservation andadaptation for the purposes of the establishment of a museum.

The first stage of this evaluation is to gain an understanding of the place. Therefore thiSConservation Plan begins with an historical outline, based largely on documentary sources forwhich full references are given (Section 3). The history of the mine and its context issummarised in a chronological chart (Section 4). A general description of the mine is then given(Section 5), followed by an overall Statement of Significance which has been prepared on thebasis of an understanding of the procedures involved in the assessment and analysis of culturalsignificance (Section 6). . - ' .. ':'.". . - '.','

In accordance with accepted conservation practice and methodology, this Plan then examinesvarious constraints which may affect the future of the place, as well as some opportunities whichare seen to have a bearing on the future conservation, management and interpretion of both theextant buildings and the archaeological remains (Section 7).

The Plan then proceeds to determine an overall Conservation Policy to guide the fUturemanagement of the site (Section 8). In accordance with this general Policy, ,a the specificbuildings and sites at the former mine are then described in detail; their significances are stated;and specific recommendations are made in relation to their conservation (Section 9).

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Finally, the need to recognise than any Conservation Plan needs periodic review and updating isstressed (Section 10).

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CONSERVATION POLICY (Section 8)

(b) The mine site must also be acknowledged to have an important association-with thehistory and development of State-run enterprises in NSW.

(e) Use of the mine site for the establishment of a Mining Museum does not conflict with itsidentified significance, and should assist rather than hinder its conservation.

(t) Commensurate with aspects of public safety and any requirements associated with theongoing development of the Museum, public access to the mine site and its settingshould be provided.

The near-intact surviving'suite of explosive magazine buildings is a rare example ofdistinctive structures which are often among the first to be demolished at redundantindustrial $ites.

Many of the extant footings and formations at the site are capable of stablisation andinterpretation to demonstrate most of the various industrial processes associated withcoal extraction and transport.

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The location of the mine headworks so far from the workable coal reserves demonstrateshow a state-run enterprise can be saddled with economic inefficiency due'to politiCalinterference or ineptitude.

The mine retains more extant structures than any other former mine site in the LithgowValley.

The branchline. connecting the mine site to the Lithgow Railway Yard is the.only .survivor of the many short branches that served industries and collieries in the LithgowValley.

The Z26 class locomotive located at the mine is representative of a class of purpose-builtmineral tank locos which worked the mine branches in the Lithgow Valley for? years.

The proximity of the mine site to the extensive industrial archaeological remains of theold Lithgow Power Station demonstrates the close relationship that existed between thetwo industries during their lifetime.

The surviving formation of the Steelworks Colliery headshunt slightly west of the StateMine site demonstrates the close proximity of colliery headworks due to the physicalconstraints imposed by the topography of the Lithgow Valley.

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Based on the evidence and arguments set out in this report, it is recommended that the GreaterLithgow Mining Museum adopt the following Policy Statement. The discussions, specificpolicies and managment recommendations given later in the report in Section 9 are based on thisgeneral policy.

(a) The site of the former Lithgow State Mine must be acknowledged as an important placeof heritage significance, the history and use of which has played a significant role in theongoing development of coal mining in New South Wales

(c) The mine site and its extant buildings and remnants of foundations and formationsshould be retained and conserved, together with an appropriate curtilage of bushland.

(d) The Statement of Significance set out in Section 6.3 of this report is accepted as one ofthe bases for future planning of activities and works relating to the mine site and itssli'rrbunding precinct.

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SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS

The former power house/bath house (Section 9.1)

(iv) The round openings in the perimeter walls, once used for steam pipes, should beretained and reopened where they have been closed, glazing them where necessary.

(v) There is room in Space 1 for a stage or withdrawing area at the west end where, at anearlier time in the life of the building, there were partitions built to about door headheight.

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Adequate interpretat.ive·matedal should be provided to enable the cultural significance ofthe former mine to be better appreciated by the general public.

The approach to conservation and the specific recommendations for action set out inSection 9 of this report should be endorsed as a guide to future \,'ork, therecommendations having been related to the principles of the Burra Charter.

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(iii) One space in the former power house/bath house building should be retained andconserved with its tiled finish, as a reminder of its use as a bath house for the coIfierythat was the biggest employer on the western field. Suitable areas for suchconservation, in view of their relative intactness, would be either Space 2 (south-eastcorner) or Space 8 (north-west corner). It would be reasonable to salvage wall tiles andsoap holders from other areas for use in this restoration. Retention of the tiled finishshould not be construed as implying that the space could not be used for any otherappropriate purposes, such as offices, storage or supper or display rooms.

(ii) If, by using this building as a hall, the workshops/store building would have to be ~

considered for the garaging of such vehicles, it must be stated that any opening up of theexterior walls of that building to provide additional vehicle access is not desirable. Onthe other hand, it is conceivable that some of the workshop/store could successfully beadapted for use as a hall or function space.

(i) The building could be used for any desired purpose, the main objective in such reusebeing to retain its spatial qualities, but not necessarily to retain the view of the roofcovering and purlins which have little visual appeal. If used as a hall, consideration willneed·-to be given tQ-alternativeogarage 'accomodation for the motor vehicles and heavy" ;equipment currently stored in the building.

(vi) If Spaces 2, 3 or 4 need to be separated from Space 1, infilling should be such that thearched forms of the existing openings are not compromised. If it is required to erectpartitions in Spaces 2, 3 or 4, the form of the existing partitions, ie not extending to theroof line, should be respected;. in other words, extensions up to the roof, or newpartitions built up to the roof line, should be of light-weight or contrasting constructionso as to retain the essence of the old bathroom divisions.

(vii) Space 3 is suitable for use as a storage or office area. Space 4 also has potential foroffices or storage, or it could be used for the installation of new toilet facilitiesaccessible via air locks from Space 1 and/or Space 5.

(viii) Space 5 has potential for use as a lobby for toilets in Spaces 4 and 6 and also as a lobbyfor Space 1. .

(ix) The western appendage (Spaces 7, 8 and 9) compromises the building both structurallyand visually more than that on the south side, and its refurbishment would requireconsiderably more effort and expense. It is therefore recommended that its demolition,if desired, should not be opposed.


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(x) Space 7, if not demolished, has potential for any required use and, b~cause it hasopenings to the exterior as well as to Space 1, could be considered for a toilet block.

(xi) Space 8 could be retained and conserved as an example of bath facilities or, if Space 2 isso used, it could be demolished or modified for any purpose.

(xii) Space Q, if not demolis4ed, could be adapted for any purpose.

The office building (Section 9.2)

(i) The exteriors should be painted, as soon as possible so as to prevent furtherdeterioration, in appropriate colours, using evidence of the original or earliest knowncolour scheme.

(ii) Interior wall claddings not original to the building should be removed where theirremoval would reveal original or more appropriate surfaces such as V-jointed liningboards.

(iii) Appropriate uses for the building include a Museum office, interpretation spaces andmaterials and refreshment facilities.

(iv) It is strongly recommended that, in view of (iii) above, accomodation for a radio station,as has been proposed, should be located in another building.

The workshops and stores (Section 9.3)

(i) While the building could be used for almost any desired purpose, it seems mostappropriate to continue its present functions as working and storage spaces.

(ii) The spartan, elemental qualities of the interiors, such as undecorated, simply paintedsurfaces, should be preserv~ and not compromised by superficial or decorativeimprovements un1e~s such treatments are reversible and preferably temporary. Withinthis limitation there is scope for internal additions or insertions such as toilet facilities.

(iii) The old 10ft storey in Space 1 should be retained and conserved. Removal of the morerecent and less sympathetic 10ft storey in Space 5 should be regarded as optional.

(iv) The open fireplaces should be retained and conserved.

(v) • Penetrations in the internal connecting walls are acceptable, but new penetrations inexternal walling are undesirable.

(vi) Adequate visual curtilage on the east side, free from outdoor displays and the like,should be retained.

The powder magazines (Section 9.4)

(i) Th'e security fence should be extended to enclose and protect the magazines and theirimmediate visual curtilage.

(ii) Steps should be taken urgently to remove plant infestation 'and repair the damage socaused.

(iii) The steel doors should be repaired and secured so as to prevent unsupervised access,and should be opened only when controlled visitation is permitted.

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It is recommended that

Interpretation (Section 7.2)

Remnant structures and formations (Section 9.5)

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the Museum Committee engage the services of an appropriately qualified conservationarchitect to supervise the carrying out of any works on the site.

consideration be given to the further removal of noxious and invasiw weeds from thesite.

copies of this report be lodged with appropriate libraries.

this Conservation Plan be reviewed no later than the year 1999.

The authors commend this Conservation Plan and its conclusions andrecommendations to those charged with the future management ofthesite ofthe former Lithgow State Mine.

A tabulated chart giving specific polices and recommendations for the remnant structures andformations on the site may be found between pages ? and ?

(iv) The site should be cleared in the immediate vicinity so as to more adequately r'eveal thebuildings, their relationships to each other, the creek and the main buildings of themine. Moisture-retaining vegetation near the structures should be removed as soon aspossible.

(v) Interpretative signs or displays should be provided.

It is recommended that the Museum give consideration to the establishment of a permanent onsite display of archival and interpretative material.

The establishment of a working tourist railway on the old State Mine bracnch is considered to be~of very high priority.- -

\Other recommendations (Section 10)

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2 INTRODUCTION

2.1 WHAT IS A CONSERVATION PLAN?

Many people, especially those not familar with conservation processes and practice and itsaccompanying jargon, have only a hazy notion of what is meant by the expresion ConservationPlan. It is often thought to be synonymous with a Heritage Study. But it is mu~h more thanjust that.

A Heritage Study sets out to establish the heritage significance (or cultural significance as it ismore correctly termed), of a building, a place, a landscape, or even an item such as alocomotive. Put simply, determining the heritage significance of a place establishes why andwhat we want to conserve, or what we should conserve, or what should be conserved eventhough not all in the community may see the need or desirability of doing so.

A-Conservatien Plan goes much further. It not only determineS what fs""imporHuit aoout"fueplace, but it also sets out to help guide the future use and management of the place so that theidentified importance can be protected. It attempts to set down parameters for guiding the futureuse of the place by looking at various constraints on future use (such as what the owner wants to ~

do, what the law says may be done, or not done, and perhaps what the condition of the placemay dictate cannot be done). A Conservation Plan also looks at what opportunities there may beto utilise the attributes of the place to help ensure its ongoing conservation by some sort ofpractical use or adaptation.

A Conservation Plan does not proceed so far as to be considered a schedule of actual works tobe carried out, or to set down detailed specifications for such works. Rather should it beregarded as a guiding handbook -- a handbook to be used by owners, by a conservation architectcommissioned by the owners to prepare details of proposed works, or, if the job is relativelystraightforward, to a sensitive builder capable of implementing the sort of broadrecommendations that may be found in a Conservation Plan.

The meaning of the term Conservation Plan is clearly and briefly defined in the Draft GreaterLithgow Local Environmental Plan 1993 (page 4):

"conserVation plan" means a document establishing the significance ofaheritage item and identifying the policies that are appropriate to enable thatsignificance to be retained in its future use and development. .

Not many places can be conserved in mothballs. Most places can be conserved only by usingthem in some way, perhaps for a private purpose, or for a community or public use. Herein liesthe challenge.

It is relatively easy to prepare guidelines for conserving a beautiful house designed by aneminent architect situated in the middle of a desirable residential precinct. It is a much greaterchallenge to prepare policies and recommendations which will assist in the conservation of aredundant mine site.

If ~is report assists the Greater Lithgow Mining Museum Committee in their laudable butformidable task of establishing a mining museum at the old State Mine site, while at the sametime conserVing the elements of the mine's past that survive there, it will have achieved its aimand purpose.

2.2 BACKGROUND TO THIS STUDY

This study was commissioned by the Greater Lithgow Mining Museum Inc as part of theMuseum's obligations associated with the receipt of a grant from monies disbursed by the

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Heritage Council of New South Wales. The brief for the study is attached to this report asAppendix 1. This brief is not of the nonhal form associated with conservation plan preparation,but is more of an outline and staging of proposed development work at the museum site at theold Lithgow State Coal Mine. The consultants I response to this brief, setting out the manner inwhich the study would be undertaken, is attached as Appendix II. Examination of this responseto the brief, the methodology set out below in Section 2.3, and the list of contents and thestructuring of tge report, will show that the work has been carried out and presented as thoughit was prepared in response to a 'standard conservation plan brief.

2.3 METHODOLOGY

Three kinds of investigation were employed, viz documentary research, site inspection and oralresearch. The sources consulted are given as References at the end of appropriate sections ofthe report, and in the Acknowledgements. .

The investigation has generally followed the methodology outlined in J S Kerr's TheConservation Plan (National Trust of Australia, NSW, 3rd edition, 1990). The reportacknowledges the principles and in general adopts the terminology laid down in The Australia[COMaS Charter fEe.the. Con.servatio!J ofPlaces ofS;;}.f]tur.al Significance (The Burra Charter),

" and its accompanying guidelines; Cultural Significance and Conservation Policy.

The outcome of the investigation is twofold. The obvious and expected result is the statement ofConservation Policy (Section 8) and its consequent set of Management Objectives (Section 9).The authors have considered, however, that, because of the intended increase in public visitationto the site with its development as a museum, the treatment of the history and description of the

"place (Sections 3 and 5) should be as full as practical within the limitations of the budgetavailable. It is hoped that the material in this report will thereby be helpful in the presentationand interpretation of the former Lithgow State Mine by the Museum Committee through writtenand graphic means.

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Any discipline uses words which often have a very specific meaning to the informed, and a" moregeneral meaning to the non-specialist. Conservation theory and practice is no exception, and itmay be helpful if a few of the more important words used in this report, and their precisedefinitions, are given here:

·Cultural significance means aesthetic, historic, scientific or social val]le for past, present or futuregenerations. (See also section 6.2 of this report)

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Conservation means all the processes of looking after a place so as to retain its cultural significance.It includes maintenance and may according to circumstance include preservation, restoration,reconstruction and adaptation. It will COIIUIlpnly be a combination of more than one of these.

Maintenance means the continuous protective care of the fabric, contents and setting of a place, andis to be distinguished from repair. Repair involves restoration or reconstruction.

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Preservation means maintaining the fabric of a place in its existing state and retarding deterioration.

Resto,ration means returning the existing fabric of a place to a known earlier state by removingaccretions or by reassembling exisitng components without the introduction of new material.

Reconstruction means returning a place as nearly as possible to a known earlier state and isdistinguished by the introduction of materials (new or old) into the fabric. This is not to be confusedwith either recreation or conjectural reconstruction.

Adaptation means modifying a place to suit proposed compatible uses.

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(After Burra Charter)

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2.5 THE STUDY TEAM

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Robert Irving prepared the description of the place, and contributed to the discussion andass,es~meI!t of signific.ance, and to the discussion of constraints, polky -and· management'·· ·c'·-

recomrriendatfons. '

Compatible use means a use which involves no change to the cultura;Ily significant fabric, changeswhich are substantially reversible, or changes which make a minimal impact. " '

This Conservation Plan has been prepared by Christopher Pratten and Robert Irving, assisted byNora Peek and Don Hagarty.

Chris Pratten was' the project team leader. He was also responsible for preparing the hist6ry,and contributed to the assessment of significance; discussion of constraints, policy andmanagement recommendations.

Nora Peek (Principal Research Officer of the Ashfield & District Historical Society) carried outspecific historic and archival research tasks to assist in the preparation of the history of the site.

Others who have contributed in various ways are listed separately in the Acknowledgements.

Curricula vitae of the principal consultants are appended to this report as Appendix IX.

Don Hagarty (a former Chief Civil Engineer of the State Rail Authority) undertook historicaland archival research at the State Rail Authority.

The study team acknowledge with thanks the assistance kindly provided by the followingorganisations and people:

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The Greater Lithgow'Mining Museum Committee, especially Joe McGuiness (president)The Lithgow Regional Library, especially John BaylissThe Greater Lithgow City Council (Ian Rufus and Andrew Muir) .The Earth Exchange, SydneyThe Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, SydneyThe Department of Mineral Resources

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3 mSTORY OF THE PLACE

3.1 EARLY COAL MINING IN THE LITHGOW VALLEY

When the extension of the Great Western Railway from Mt Victoria reached Bowenfels in 1869,there was little_ settlement in the Lithgow Valley. Railway historians R F \Vylie and C CSingleton claim that Andrew Brown of Coerwull was the first to mine coal in th.e vicinity in1848, initially for his flour mill and later for his woollen milI.1 However, in his account ofindustrial workers in the Lithgow district, Bent Backs, Jim Brown records that an entry inAndrew Brown's diary on September 18th, 1838, indicates that on that day he was "gettingcoal" .2

When Angus Mackay looked around the valley in 1869 while on a trip to the Cudgegongdiamond mines, he noted that Thomas Brown of Eskbank House, a police magistrate, wasalready supplying coal to the "railway_ engines".3 Mackay included mhis ~ccount some notes

"written by the Reverend W B Clarke on the Lithgow seams:" That cferic, better remembered forhis geological wanderings than for his pastoral work, recorded that he had "first becomepersonally acquainted" with the Lithgow coal deposits on February 24th, 1841.4 But the honourof being the first to actually discover coal on the western field appears to belong to WilliamLawson. Writing in the Lithgow District Historical Society's Occasional Paper No 5, Coal

- Mines of tlie Western Coalfield, B W Genders states that

In 1822 Lieut. William Lawson discovered coal near Mt. York and o~: the slope ofBartley Valley.. Samples were sent back to the Colonial Secretary, Goulbum, who wasfavourably impressed and could foresee a big industrial future for this newly openedsection of the Colony.5

The. 1869 extension of the Great Western Railway from Mt Victoria to the Lithgow Valley wasmade possible by the construction of Engineer-in-Chief John Whitton's masterpiece, the GreatZig Zag. Wylie and Singleton record that there were neither stations nor sidings between MtVictoria and Bowenfels at the time of the opening of the extension. However, the new mode oftransport caused industries to "spring into life" so quickly that,

at the end of 10 years, the following rail sidings had been opened to serve.the localindustries - T. Brown's Esk Bank Colliery, 1872; Mort's Freezing \\'orks, 1873;Lithgow Valley Colliery, 1873; Vale of Clwydd Colliery, 1874: Bowenfels Colliery,1874; and Eskbank Ironworks Company, 1878.6

Fifty years were to pass between the connection of the early Lithgow collieries to the developingrail network in the early 1870s and the first winning of coal from the Lithgo\"'l State Mine in1921.

3.2 STATE COAL MINES

Writing of the State Coal Mines of New South Wales in 1955, the then-Chairman of the StateCoal Mines Authority, R J Ashworth, stated that "the Government's first venture as a collieryowner was at Lithgow where the initial work of preparing the site at a spot on the outskirts ofthe City commenced in September, 1916".7 Ashworth was, of course, ignoring the part playedby the 's!ate' in the mining of coal by convicts at Newcastle in the early years of the nineteenthcentury.8 · While the Lithgow venture may have been the first 20th century State mine to comeinto production in New South Wales, it certainly was not the only one to be considered in those.years. In 1914 and 1915, the Annual Reports of the New South Wales Department of Minesrefer to the drilling of two bores in the National Park south of Sydney testing the coal resourcesfor a proposed State mine there.

Victoria beat New South Wales for the distinction of first opening a government-owned mine.In 1909, a State mine was opened at Wonthaggi-as a "direct result of uncertainty in the supply of


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coal from New South Waies occasioned by industrial disputes"?

Two years before the necessary enabling l.egi~lq.tion was passed by the New South WalesParliament in 1912, reference was made in the Lithgow press to a proposal to establish in NSWa State coal mine to supply both the railways and other government departments. It wasenvisaged that the Government would not acquire an existing mine, but open up a new pit. lO

Some months later, the Lithgovy Mercury reported that the site for the proposed State minewould be on the western coal field.

On March 1st, 19.11, the Mercury reported that the Minister for Mines, Mr Alfred Edden, hadstated that 40,250 acres of Crown land was available on the western field for a State mine. TheMinister claimed that the efforts of the Inspector of Collieries, Mr Humble, to find a suitablesite for the mine had been "crowned with success". He said that the land covering the coalreserves proposed for exploitation was traversed by the Commonwalth Oil Corporation'srailway from Newnes Junction to Newnes. It was proposed to connect the site of the new Statemine to this private line by a short branchline. The minister was quoted as saying that "you ~~n

.-rest assured-that the best pos·sible site will be chosen, where the cost to the State will be least".The Mercury's report noted that the contract with the Lithgow Coal Association [the localprivate collieries] for the supply of coal to the Railway Department then had three and a halfyears to run. 1l ~

-The problem of coalfield industrial disputes experienced in Victoria was claimed to have beenone of the main reasons responsible for the passing of the N~w South Wales State Coal MinesAct in 1912. Speaking at the second reading of the Bill in the Upper House on October 10th,1912, the Honourable F Flowers stated: .

We should not depend entirely on private enterprise to supply us with this much neededcommodity. As a matter of fact, our railways and tramways cannot run nor can weoperate our other industrial enterprises unless we have an absolute guarantee of a regularand efficient coal supply... 12

The Hon Mr Flowers reassured the house that the establishment of State mines in New SouthWales did not aim at "supplying anybody apart from Government enterprises with coal"."There is no intention on the part of the Government to tresspass upon the field of privateenterprise", he told the Opposition.I3 .,

The Honourable Member's attempt to convince his parliamentary colleagues that the legislationwas not part of some socialist plot would clearly have fallen on deaf ears. Over a year before,when the Secretary for Mines, Mr Edden (Kahibah) had sought leave to bring in the new Bill,the members on the opposition benches apparently expressed some degree of forced merriment.Mr Edden said:

I do not anticipate any serious debate on this motion. I do not know why honourablemembers opposite laugh...It has been known long enough that the policy of thisGovernment was to establish state coal-mines, and that it is of no use honourablegentlemen opposite raising opposition on the ground that it spells socialism... 14

The numerous debates on the Bill before it was finally passed refer to the success of theVictorian state mine They also indicate that the Bill originally proposed that the· NSW mine wasto be under the control of the Minister for Works rather than the Railways DepaJ:tment, and thatthe Railw.~ys Commissioners should be compelled to take their coal from the State Coal Mine.

A perceived threat to the pro~tability of privately-owned mines on the western field was alsoraised early in 1916 in the New South Wales Parliament by the State Opposition when theMinister for Mines introduced the State Coal Mines (Land Acquisition~ Bill. The Leader of theOpposition claimed that it was "nothing less than monstrous" that the Government proposed toopen a state mine at Lithgow. "They choose the smallest district in the State, and were preparedto take from the present collieries nearly four-fifths of their present output". The OppositionLeader claimed that this would lead to a "crippling" of the industry.Is

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The land acquisition bill was necessary to enable the resumption of coal lands from Messrs G &C Hoskins and the Oakey Park Coal Mining Company. Acquisition of this land was essential topermit the construction of headings for the purpose of reaching the large area of Crown coal thatwas intended to be mined. Even then, it was acknowledged that it would take four or five yearsfor the new workings to reach this area, during which time only 300-400 tons of day wereexpected to be won. When the main area to be mined was finally reached, the expected outputwas 1,500 tons-per day, which approximately equalled the consumption of coal by the railwayson their western line. 16

1958

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Railway historian C C Singleton's map ofthe mine and industrial branches inthe Li[hgow Valley. Note that the State Mine branch was the longest ofall.

!Australian Railway Historical SoCiety Bulletin, March 1959)

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3.3 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LITHGOW STATE MINE

After the passing of the enabling legislation in 1912, some years were to pass before workfinally started on the establishment of the Lithgow mine.

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Despite the Minister's assurance back in 1911 that the "best possible" site would be chosen,with the liklihood that this would be located on the Newnes Plateau, the Mercury reported inmid-1914 that the Minister was still engaged in making investigations for a "suitable site". 17 Asite for the headworks of the new Lithgow State Coal Mine was finally chosen, not on theplateau above the coal reserves, but at the upper end of Mort's Gully on Portion 151, Parish ofMarangaroo, County Cook. The initial work undertaken in September, 1916, involved theclearing of the site. On September 27th, the enterprise was officially opened by the thenMinister, John Estell, even though there must have been very little to actually 'open' at thatstage. 18

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The Hermitage, Zig Zag and Oakey Park workings were close to the western, southern andeastern boundaries of the area to be worked by the new mine. Thirty years after productioncommenced at the State Mine, the Chairman of the State Coal Mines Authority wrote:

Because of the situation of the shafts and the limitations imposed by the adjoiningcollieries (the existing Steelworks Colliery Holding and the old Oakey Park CollieryHolding) the main headings had to be driven a distance of over a mile before it waspossible to open out and form production districts and the mine has been saddled withthe cQJ1Sequences of this bad planning ever since. Normally, in the development of ashaft mine, it is aimed to place the shaft at a central point within the holding... fromwhence mining operations can extend in all directions and so reduce mining, and,particularly haulage costs. The "dead" distance of over one mile referred to has had tobe added to all haulages and transport in the mine ever since its inception and right up torecent times, the main headings extending for a distance of some 4l/4 miles from theworking shafts. 19

Given the early reference to the siting of the headworks on the Newnes Plateau, one can onlywonder why the Lithgow State Mine was ever established in Mort's Gully, as the disadvantagereferred to by Ashworth was clem:ly evident from the time the colliery was conceived. Manyyears later, the then local member, Mr J Chalmers, MLA (Hartley) , attributed the change inlocation of the mine headworks to "political wire-pulling" .20

The first reference to the new mine in the Annual Reports of the Department of Mines Is in1916, and this entry noted that the coal available within 1l/4 miles of the shafts was under 200acres, so that for the first three or four years after the coal is reached the output was predicted tobe small, even though the colliery was initially planned to be equipped to raise an output of1,500 tons per day.21

The construction camp, Lithgow State Mine, c.1919.(Lithgow Regional Library photo - 76-6125)


15

Workmen's bathroomExploSlvesmagazineInflamable-liquid magazine

Sanitary accommodation - partly built

Temporary officeStorehouse

Carpenters and Smiths ShopsMotor-lorry garage

It was some years before the new mine was brought into production, however, as, by adetermination of the State Cabinet, all work at the site was terminated on July 10th, 1917. Itappears that the cessation of work was due to financial stringencies placed on the StateGovernment bUdget due to the impact of the war, although in later years it was claimed that thestoppage was due to political pressure against the concept of a State-owned mine beingopened. 22

Note: Apart from possibly the explosives magazine, all these were temporarystructures (see photos). The three principal buildings that survive todaywere bUilt later.

Source: Department oJMines Annual Report, 1917, p 59

When work ceased, the Upcast Shaft (nineteen feet in diameter inside the brick lining) had beensunk to a depth of eighty-five feet. Special timbering was required for the first forty feet,"owing to the treacherous nature of the surface alluvial deposits, containing considerablequantities of water".23 The Downcast Shaft headgear had been erected, and the followingbuildings were in place:

3.4 DEVELOPMENT WORK HALTED

While the Department's Annual Reports for both 1918 and 1919 indicate that no further workwas undertaken developing the mine, it was pointed out that it would be "advisable" to have thebranch railway constructed to the mine site to "facilitate the work of development, and effect agreat saving in the carriage of materials". In 1920, it was reported that earthworks and blastingfor the construction of the branch line were proceeding.24

The construction site, c.1919. Note the temporary locomotive boiler, and the workshops builtout ofsecond-hand iron: there was nothing fancy about the initial installations at the LithgowState Mine. (Uthgow Regional Library photo - 766123)

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Sinking the No 2 or Upcast Shaft. This photo from the Lithgow Regional Library Collection(No 76-6124) is dated "c.1919", but it is more likely to have been takenjust before workceased on the site in 1917, or after it resumed in 1921. The wooden building between thepoppet-head braces houses a winding engine, but whether this is the one later installed inthe brick Upcast Winding House is not known.

3.5 WORK RESUMES

In 1921, work resumed on developing the mine. The Department's Annual Report for that yearrecords tha~

After overhauling the machinery and unwatering the Upcast shaft, sinking was restartedabout the middle of June, and the shaft was bottomed on the 12th November at a depthof 261 feet to the floor of the Lithgow seam.

The Downcast Shaft had been sunk to a depth of sixry-one feet; the omput was from eighty toninety tons a day, the coal being wound in buckets, as the permanent winding engine for theUpcast Shaft had not yet been completely erected. The branch railway had reached the mine,although a number of sidings remained to be laid out. 25 It seems as though the financialstringencies that had led to the curtailment on development work during the war years extendedinto the post-war period, as some equipment was clearly second-hand. Towards the end of1921, the Lithgow Mercury noted that portion of the winding engine for the Downcast Shaft hadbeen purchased from the Brilliant Extended gold mine in Queensland.26

Even though the Lithgow State Mine was to be operated by the Railways Department for over adecade;. details of the development at the mine in its formative years may be found in the AnnualReports of the Department of Mines and not those of the Department of Railways. This is dueto the fact that it was necessary for the Government to pass new legislation to enable therailways to take over the mine, and this did not occur until the end of 1920. On December 29thof that year the Government Railways Amendment Act No 26 received assent. This actauthorised the Railways Commissioners for NSW to acquire, to hold, develop and work, coalmines within the State of New South WalesP The Railway Commissioners had repeatedlyrequested that the mine should be made over to them. During the parliamentary debates on the

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Another photo ofthe temporary wooden poppet-heads over the Downcast Shaft (foreground)and Upcast Shaft· If there is a winding engine for the Downcast Shaft, no wooden shed hadbeen erected to protect it. Note that as yet no work has been started on the raU sidings~vhich were later to occupy the foreground. (Lithgow Regional Library photo _ 76 6121)

Mining (Amendment) Bill, Mr Price (Oxley) had claimed that he "took up 22,000 acres andspent 5,000 pounds in putting the first tunnel into what is now called the State Coal Mine and Iturned it down because it was not a payable proposition then".28 No other reference to earlierwork being carried out at the Mort's Gully site has been found.

The mine was first mentioned in the Railways' report for the year ended June 30th, 1921, whenit was recorded that Ingersoll Rand compressor equipment was being installed at the mine andthat the construction of the branch line from Lithgow yard had almost been completed~9

The transfer of the managment of the mine and its development to the Railway Departmentresulted in the Railways Commisoners deciding at their Board Meeting in February, 1922, toconvene monthly conferences to oversee progress at the mine. The first of these meetings washeld on March 17th, 1922.30

The pace of development work at the mine during 1922 quickened. Drives had been completed750 yards to the north from the bottom of the Upcast Shaft and 400 yards to the south. In themiddle of the year, the miners changed from day wages to contract rates, and daily output hadreached 900 tons by December. The top sixty-one feet of the Downcast Shaft had beenconcreted to dam back the water entering through the alluvial'deposits near the surface. TheUpcast winding house was completed, and the engine put to work; three permanent Lancashireboilers were installed. Temporary screens were in position, and, at the end of the year, workwas proceeding on the erection of a large power-house (including compressors), surface stables(brick - eighteen stalls), and the Downcast winding engine. Permanent lighting and power werebeing installed.3l

1923 saw yet further development, with the temporary wooden Upcast poppet head beingreplaced by a lattice steel headframe, constructed at White Bay, and erected over the woodenone to allow winding to be continued until the new frame was ready for work. The Downcast

18

.q..... .'F

• ",).,; .. 1.

This photo dates from 1922 - temporary screens are in position, the rai/link has beencompleted, coal is being despatched, but the upcast poppet-head is still timber andawaits replacement with the lattice steel structure referred to in the 1923 repons.(Lithgow Regional Library photo - 76 6120)

Shaft was nearing completion, and its winding engine was in place. This had 24" cylinders witha 4' stroke, piston valves and a Cornish or double-beat throttle. Five boilers were installed.Three were 30' x 8' with flat ends, at 115 lbs pressure, and two were Thompson dish-endedboilers, 30' x 8'6", at 160 lbs pressure. The average coal being won at the end of 1923 was1,149 tons per day.32 Coal from the mine was being delivered to locomotive depots as early as1922, and it is recorded that it was proving "very satisfactory for loco purposes and for therequirements of the electric power houses" .33

The 1924 Annual Report of the Department of Mines gives full details of the development thatwas undertaken at the Lithgow State Mine during that year.34

STATE COAL ,MINEThe following development work: h.... been carri~ .o~~ 'during the year 1924 :- , ,t.'~, .17ndergrcn.nd.-The MAin Headingll have ~. adva.nced a diatance of 715 yuda in tb<! )e&J:, m..k.inga total distance now driven of 2,297 ya.nl! from t1l.e .hAfL&. The diatricta to the right and ~ef~J,re now incourse of being opened out, ~he hea.dings having advanced !a.i enough to pen:n.it of thia being d~Other worlr underground comprise- 30 yards of cOncret<! a.rching a.t dOW'IlC&4t Ahaf(pi.t bottom,90 yards of grading for sta.ndage pu.r~ the lin~g and fit~ ont of thia &bAH for coeJ. dr&~ Ppe.r&tiOl1.l.Haulagu.-T}1e worlc in this connection comprises thil·j.nata.l1a.tion of an electricall1 driniziliain and"TaU Set (at present fitted with a 7f> hOl'll&-power motor) ...hicld"u.been primarily put down fOl' the plUJ'O"" ofriding men to and fro. from the wit bottoIll to thef1a.t, r.n<l a1&o to act ·a ata.ndby·haul.age. .I'p.lparatioa8..re well under wa.y for the illRtalla.tion of the perma.nant ha.ulage, tor hich pllrJlO'l4 ele<l~."~vell,(trolley wire), are being eonaidered. . .' . ~',' .Durin!,: the period &llm&1I 3()"inch aingle inlet SirroccQ auxili.ary fan waa i.n.at.alled. u.n&rground toma.inta.in the 'l'entilailon in an efficient ata.te. The new la.n 11:l inches diamet<!r f> inches W. G. doable inletSi.rocoo type ia now on the ait<!, . .~

Pumping.-Two duplex type stea.m pumps with a &-inch r&m pump ... a at.&ndby, are 'DOY dealingwith a.n the water ma.de. These later on will be replaced by electriCAlly driveu set, probably ot the turbinetype.SurJII8.-The down"""t beadgear has boon completed and ,,180 the winding-engine for this shalt.Guide ropes arc now bein~ installed and when completed, this shaft .. ill be put into 0P<'r&tion.The ::;creaning Plant comprising four picking belts, sha.kers and tipplers (with two units IHW withcru.hers) was so fa.r completed tha.t, at the beginning of 1925, two units will be put into commiaoion.Witb regard to the e1echiCllI pla.et, a.notber 210 K. W. A. aet bu heen put dowu and i.s ready to gointo commisaion, ...aking two units in an each :'lI0 K. W. (A-C.)Boiler Plant. Another 30 feet by 8 feet 6 inch... Thompson Di..h-end.d Lancuhlre Eoiler. 160 lb.working proMure, hM been put into use, maldng a rnoge of six boile.... &t p""",nt under .team. .Building", Worbhops, etc. During the year a m:>chino ,bop. carpeoter's shop aod blacbmith's.bop have been practically completed in hrickwork, the maehine sbop being pertly C<juipped "Ich thonecessary machine tools, i.e. latbe, drilling machine, pte.


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3.6 THE MINE'S HEYDAY

The growth in the mine workforce at this time is reflected in the following figures extractedfrom the regular meetings of the Railway Commissioners' committee: 36

The Lithgow State Mine appeared to reach its heyday in the late 1920s while still managed bythe Railway Commissioners. Back in 1912, when speaking in favour of the State Coal Mineslegislation, the Hon Mr Flowers had expressed the hope that "in our state mines we shall beworking free from any industrial upheaval ...so far as strikes against the state are concerned,they are more quickly settled and remedied than strikes against private enterprise" .38

393

36 miners

86349

207 on payroll

588Nov, 1926

Dec, 1922

April, 1922

Production in 1924 reached 253,975 tons, but work was still continuing on developing the mine.In 1925, the Downcast Shaft was still not ready to draw coal, although the winding house andengine were completed. The folIowing year, a permanent boiler stack was installed, resulting ina greater efficiency in steam generation from the boilers, which now included an additionalLancashire unit instalIed in the same year. By the end of 1927, the Railway Commissioners'Annual Report noted that all the new plant at the mine had finally been installed, and was givinggood service.35_

While some of the success of the Lithgow State Mine in achieving an above-average number ofdays worked per year was no doubt due to the assured market provided by the governmentowned r3;ilways and powerhouses, especially in this period of a serious general decline in coaloutput in the state, it seems that during this period the mine must have also been relatively freefrom industrial stoppages.

The colliery was one of the largest employers in the New South Wales coal industry. With atotal workforce in 1929 of 734 (598 underground), the State Mine was by far the biggest on theWestern Coalfield, and the third biggest employer in New South Wales after Richmond Mainand Aberdare Collieries on the Northern Coalfield.42 Production exceeded half a miIlion tons inthe last three years of railway management, 193'0-1932.43 In the late 1920s, the mine was

Today's politicians rushing to 'privatise' state instrumentalities would no doubt be interested toknow that the Lithgow State Mine then worked more days per year than most private mines inNew South Wales. In 1927, for example, 252 days were worked, the second best record on theWestern Coalfields, and the fifth best in the NSW out of seventy-six mines listed in thedepartment's Annual Report. By 1929, 265 days were worked, the third best record in NewSouth Wales. In 1930, with 264 days worked, the State Mine achieved the best record of allNSW collieries for days worked. In 1931, despite the impact of the depression on the coalindustry generally, the mine worked the second greatest number of days (244) in NSW~9

The development and growth of the Lithgow State Mine took place during a period when coalproduction in New South Wales dropped significantly. Coal output in this state declined from apeak of 11,600,000 tons in 1924 to 9,400,000 tons in 1928.40 The weighted average number ofdays worked in the coal mines of NSW fell steadily from 227 in 1920 (the post-war maximum),to 202 in 1925 and 168 in 1928.41

In 1927, work commenced on the construction of a 1O,OOOkw power station adjacent to the StateMine. Its prime function was to provide power to the mine itself, but applications were beipgreceived from outside bodies for the supply of power for industrial and lighting purposes.

_Power was progressively supplied to the Hoskins works and the Small Arms Factory inLithgow, the local council, and finally other local government areas.37

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usually referred to in official reports as the 'Railway Coal Mine'.

While the mine may have worked a good number of days, and been a large employer of labour,its efficiency was permanently marred by the distance of the shafts from the working coal face.This resulted in costly and at times ineffective ventiltion, above-average haulage costs, andinefficiency in hours worked at the face. It is claimed that many miners took two to three hoursto reach their_working place, so that their productive working time was greatly reduced~4

3.7 NEW MANAGERS

In the winter of 1932, at the height of the depression, the Stevens Government announced that itplanned to close the State Mine owing to the high cost of production -- 14/4d per ton. JimBrown states that

Mayor George Coates pleaded to Premier Stevens to visit Lithgow to observe the townwith the highest unemployment in NSW. Olle thbu:sandminet!rwer~()l1t Of worlt"andonly 1500 miners were still employed although some were only working part time...Premier Stevens visited the town and relented on the total closure of the State Mineprovided it continued as a 'competitive industrial undertaking' on terms and conditonsto be announced by the State Government. 45

The Lithgow State Mine continued under the managment of the Railway Commissioners untilSeptember 30th, 1932 when it closed, the miners being given notice. The mine was broughtunder the control of a new authority, the State Coal Mines Control Board, a change madepossible by the passing of the State Coal Mines Ammendment Act, 1932. When the mine wasre-opened, only 350 miners were engaged on the undertaking that the output would.be 1,500tons per day. Ashworth states that the constitution of the controlling body managing the minewas changed from time to time, a State Mines Control Authority being established in 1950~6

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A group ofminers leaving the pit at the State Mine in 1937.(Lithgow Regional Library photo No 74 6423)


PERMIANAGE

.AWKESIlUKTSANDSTONE

.. =.... "1<A-~"M6Arl~l(._ No %

'iD' ) ~ Oia,"'y

IlPl'EKCOAL

MEASUo.eS

SANDSTONE. ;,".: • • ••COAL AND &l<NOS. •• I'..... ,·.•_SAAlE WITH CAUOHACEOUS&l<NOS ANO THIN COAl, .2S' .. -'1•.COAL AND 6ANOS__ • .I'n.H·_SANOSTO~E.SHAU ANO CHERT_.%O'" loT__COAL AND 6ANOS_ •• e' I. '8~_

SHALE WITH THIN COAL SEAMS.no'ul4<l'.

SIlAU Wlro 1lI1N 6EOSOf SANDSTONE.. 10' ...e,·_.

SANDSTONE WITH PI&llD•• _.,' 1/110'_••

COAl. AND 6ANOS. • __.1-eull'·r.._ " •• ', - ._.lITHGOW

SANOSTONE WITll pueus_ ...e'~.,'::-~.~'~~'-----r"':-i' "

.....1,. tIPPER.....RINE.SEKIES

Fig. 142. Section of the Upper Coal Measures atLithgow. The Katoomba, Irondale and Uthgow seamsare worked. At the State mine, the Uthgow seam is minedto a thickness of 6 ft_ -4 in.; the remaining 5 ft. of the seamis high in ash.

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The State Coal Mine has not worked up to its capacity since it has been placed under theState Coal Mines Board, notwithstanding the fact that the number of employees has beenconsiderably reduced. The other collieries in the district do not appear to havebenefitted as a consequence. The result has been that the output for the year has beenconsiderably reduced.47 ,

Inspector V B Collins, in his report reproduced in the Annual Report of the Department ofMines for 1933, seemed to have doubtS about the initial success of the transfer:

At this period, the main ventilating fan as well as the winding engines were still steam driven.Alford and McKeown state that steam was then

generated in two Lancashire boilers. Superheated steam, at 750 deg. F, and 160 lb. sq.in. pressure, is delivered from the Railway power house through an insulated main.Steam is admitted along the full length of the bottom of each boiler, in which thefurnace and flues are blanked off, through a 6 in, dia. pipe with numerous apertures.The boilers are filled to normal working level with feed water, which is converted tosteam by the superheated steam. Two boilers using superheated steam have displacedseven hand-stoked boilers which were insufficient for the load.51

In the mid-1940s, all coal was still beingmined and most loaded by hand.Horses pulled the loaded 28 cwt. skipsto the flat, a distance of up to 200 yards,after which the coal was transported tothe shaft by an endless rope haulage.The men were transported undergroundon trollies, which were also operated byan endless rope system. A set of twelvetrollies, containing a total of 360 men,conveyed miners a distance of 11/2 milesfrom the shaft to the point where thefirst workings opened out. The systemwas installed in the return airway.5o

For those interested in the complexquestion of coal conservation, it isworth noting that the mine then onlyextracted coal from the bottom or'Uthgow seam, and only 6' 4" of the 11'average thickness of this seam wastaken. The rest of the Lithgow seam,having a high ash content, was notmined, and the extraction of this lowestseam of coal sterilized all coal in theshallower Katoomba and Irondale seamsabove (see diagram at right).

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Industrial harmony at the State Mine also seemed to deteriorate with the new managment. 230days were worked in 1934, the seventh best record in the state, but a slip to 221 days thefollowing year saw the colliery well down the list of mines in tenns of days worked~8 -

A detailed report on the Lithgow State Mine was prepared in the 1940s for inclusion in Elford

I and McKeown's book Coal Mining in Australia. It is reproduced as Appendix 1. Coalproduction was then 1,650 tons per 8-hour day, 490 employees were on the and 85% of

I""",,,,,.'¥••~a,,::,'· thecoal,_~as.being~er-ed from the seam-as mined by the bord and pillar me1:holi'elrnpi~~!~'-·--:. '!"'_"'Ii0!:'

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Two panoramas ofthe mine showing both the layout ofthe prihcipal buildings and structurtes. and also the generally messystate ofthe mine precinct. The photographs are said to date from c 1955. However they were certainly taken prior to thatdate. as coal is still being lifted from the workings via the Downcast Shaft. and tMre is no evidence ofconstruction workhaving been started on the overhrad conveyor which served the Drift, completed in 1952-53.

(New South Wales Department of Mineral Resources)

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3.8 THE EARLY POST-WAR YEARS

The reports of the Department of Mines for the war years, 1939-45, are very brief, and nomention is made in them of the Lithgow State Mine. The 1946 report, however, recorded that anew fan had been put into service at the mine and mechanical loaders were then in use. The 231days worked for the year were well down when compared with other New South Walescollieries.52

~-It is not hard to see the reason for the declining work output at the mine if we turn to thefortnightly reports of the Mine Managers preserved in the NSW Archives Office. Even in themiddle of 1944, well before the close of the war, the then-Manager, Mr A Donne, continuallycommented on the very high levels of absenteeism in the mine workforce. The figure regularlyquoted in the reports hovered around twenty percent, but two days before Christmas, 1944, onlyfive miners reported for work out of a possible 180. After the holiday period, in the Manager'sreport dated 6/1/1945, the absenteeism level of 35.5% was recorded as "satisfactory"! Somemonths later, the Manager reported that absenteeism was very high on the first Monday inOctober, which waseel.ebrated in Sy~:b~~as Hoorfi'ay;;<liAle;Mmlager nlfted- that the factthat a race meeting had been held in Sydney that day gave some indication of what themanagement could expect in the way of absenteeism when mid-week race meetings were reintroduced.53

- Some stoppages appeared to result from strange reasons. In November, 1946, work at the mineceased because "a wheeler alleged that he had lost a watch in the mine the previous Friday". Afew years later, two days work were lost as, following a short pit-top meeting, the men decidedto go over to Portland to help search for two missing boys.54 A laudable reason, no doubt, butone hardly designed to safeguard the future of a mine already under a cloud as to its futureprospects.

The managers' reports also contain references to the care of the horses used at the State Mine.The horses were regularly rostered on agistment, and those working were withdrawn from theunderground stabling and placed on agistment for holiday breaks such as that at Christmas.Despite this, horses appear to have been killed from time to time, presumably due to accidentsalthough the exact nature of these was not noted in the official reports. In February, 1945, forinstance, the Manager's report noted that "Tom" had been killed, and in his very next report tothe State Coal Mines Authority two weeks later, he noted that "Pat" had suffered the samefate. 55

The contributions of the various mine inspectors to the Department of Mines Annual Reports inthe years following World War II do not specify the names of the individual collieries in whichincidents occured. We know from Ashworth's paper, however, that an inclined tunnel wasdriven into the eastern section of the mine in 1948-49. The prime object of this excercise was toimprov.e ventilation, but it was also to provide a second outlet for coal in the future. Initiallyknown as Dobbs's Drift, the incline was taken in for a distance of over 2,300 feet and completedduring 1952-53.56

Ventilation in the State Mine was an ongoing problem, which led to industrial action at thebeginning of 1953. Twenty-two miners went on strike (the State Mine then employed a totalworkforce of 550), refusing to work in places where the ventilation of the mine did not reach theminimu.m requirements of the Coal Mine Regulations Act. Reporting on this strike, the LithgowMercury stated that disputes over ventilation had occured at the mine over the previous twentyyears, and had culminated in a decision being made some years ago to sink another (No 4)ventilation shaft some miles north of Mort's Gully over the actual mine workings. 57 Thisproposal never came to fruition, although some work was undertaken, and even a windingengine and compressors acquired for the new shaft.58

Based on his work as an inspector, Jim Brown claims that "only twenty odd percent of air drawnout by the fan ever reached the working face". He states that the mine had

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a great long haulage road before reaching the main mining lease. With the large numberof brick stoppings all leaking intake air into the returns and a one time pay roll of 800men it was difficult for the manager to ensure an adequate air supply to dozens anddozens of separate contract miners working faces. 59

The long underground haul of coal from the workface to the shaft required the installation ofahuge electrically operated underground winding engine, pictured here in a photo from thecollection of the Lithgow Regional Library.

The great, long, underground haulage road resulted not only in problems for the ventilationsystem, but also in inefficiencies in production. The local member, Mr J Chalmers, MLA, wasreported in the Lithgow Mercury early in 1953 as referring to the "major mining problems"experienced at the State Mine since the "very commencement of its life". In addition to airproblems, these included trouble with the roof and the long haulage necessary to bring coal tothe surface. Chalmers claimed that the mine had often been subjected to threats of closure. Hestated that the railways at that time were purchasing coal for their adjacent power house at afigure of 18/- per ton less than could be delivered by private mines, despite the fact that the StateMine was connected directly to the power house by a coal conveyor. Mr Chalmers also notedthat Lithgow Council had in 1951 been forced to obtain coal for the local gasworks from privatecollieries, due to the high cost of the State Mine product. Notwithstanding this frankness, themember rather optimistically predicted a fifty-year future for the mine! 60

3.9 SAFETY AND ACCIDENTS

Despite the large number of men employed at the Lithgow State Mine, the colliery appears tohave had a good safety record with few fatalities. In 1927, three men were injuredunderground, and the following year, on October 10th, 1928, an underground fire occuredwhich, but for the prompt action taken by mine workers and staff, could have had seriousconsequences. Although no-one was injured in the incident, it was dealt with at length inofficial reports. The relevant extract from the 1928 Annual Report of the Department of Mines

26

is reproduced as Appendix H.

From time to time, underground workers were prosecuted for ignoring safety requirements. In1929, for example, two men were fined for firing two shots simultaneously. Other incidentsrecorded in the same year were an overwind of the engine, due to insufficient boiler pressurebeing available to work the engine reversing gear, and a small ignition of flamable gas due toburning cotton waste underground. 61

On June 5th, 1931, the win'ding rope in the main shaft broke during the lifting of coa1. \Vhileno damage Occured or injury resulted, this accident resulted in a decision being made to renewthe winding ropes after eighteen months of use.62

In 1935 and 1936, two men died as a result of injuries suffered while working underground. OnNovember 14th, 1935 William Towers was injured when he slipped while placing coal in a skip.He died some weeks after the accident. Almost exactly a year later, on November 17th, 1936, JMina was injured when a trolley on which he was travelling underground was derailed. He alsosUbsequently died.63

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The No 3 ventilationshaft being sunknear the MiddleRiver, 1930. Theheadworks weredestroyed by firein 1952 -(see nextpage) - LithgowRegional Libraryphoto.

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During the later years, production at the Lithgow State Mine was to suffer seyeral setbacks.

Three miles to the north of the main mine site, No 3 shaft, an eighteen foot ventilation shaft, hadbeen driven in 1929-31. The shaft, equipped with an electric winding engine, was located onthe Middle River 200 yards below the Lithgow water supply, and it had been sunk in an effort toimprove ventilation in the mine. The headframe of this shaft was destroyed at the beginning of1952 by a bushfire, which also caused internal damage, resulting in the impairing of ventilationin the mine and subsequent reduced production and increased costS.64

On August 12th, ,1953, a serious fire occured in the main transport heading. The fire wa~contained by a series of seals, but production was ceased beyond the fire area, and all work wasconfined to the eastern section of the mine. Ashworth's 1955 paper indicated that at that timethe large coal won from the mine vias used by the Department of Railways and a number of gasworks. Most of the small coal \vas transferred by conveyor to the adjacent Lithgow PowerHouse, the balance being sent to the various power stations in Sydney.65

3.10 CLOSURE

The Lithgow State Mine never attained a high degree of mechanisation. We have already notedthat, in the mid-1940s, all coal was still being mined and most loaded by hand. In August 1950,under the heading of "mecahnisation", the Mine Manager's Report referred to scraper loaders, aJoy loader, and a coal' cutter. [The last two references were in the singular]. But even thescraper loaders must have been horse operated and required a high labour input, as a fewmonths later it was noted that only five were working at the mine, due to a shortage of bothlabour and horses. 66 .

Water was often a problem for a number of collieries in the Lithgow Valley. In 1928, forexample, Farmers Creek t1ooded, causing an inrush of water into the low-lying Smelting WorksColliery. The water passed through the barriers between that colliery and the adjoiningHermitage and Zig Zag Collieries.67

In the wet year of 1951, management of the State Mine denied current rumours that there was athreat of danger from severe flooding of the mine due to water passing from the Vale of Clyddworkings into the Oakey Park mine, and then breaking through into the State Mine.68 Whilethis denial may have had some substance in 1951, it was to be the flooding of adjacent workingsthat was finally to lead to the closure of the mine. The dramatic end to the life of the State Minein mid-1964 due to flooding is chronicled in the pages of the Lithgow Mercury.

Early in June of that year, the district was deluged with widespread rain, and the Mercurycarried th~ first reports of the impact of the rain in its columns on Monday, June 8th. OnWednesday the tenth, the local paper reported that millions of gallons of floodwater werecascading from Farmers Creek into the Cobar Colliery. The proprietor ofttie 'coiliery, Mr BasilGenders, who had owned the mine for thirty-two years, was quoted as saying that he felt asthough he was watching "an old friend die" .

The following .day, the Mercury reported that members of the army and civilians were strugglingto divert the flow of floodwaters from the swollen Farmers Creek. Despite the State MineManager declaring that, in his opinion, the mine was still safe, the 200 employees stopped workbecause of the. danger of a breakthrough of water from the Cobar and Steelworks Collieries intothe underground workings of the State Mine.

On Sunday, June 14th, an underground inspection of the Lithgow State Mine was carried out.The Director of State Coal Mines, Mr Perkins, said later that there was no abnormal water inthe mine, and that a decision on the resumption of work would soon be made. On June 19th,the Mercury reported that the manager of the mine, Mr Sykes, denied a local rumour that waterhad broken through into the mine from the Oakey Park workings. Mr Sykes's assurances were,however, meaningless, as only a week later the paper reported that 150 dismissal notices had

- 28 -

been issued at the mine. The Lithgow Mercury took up the issue of the closure of the mine in aleading article~ which claimed that the loss of the mine was only a "passing phase" in the life of~ 1 . .

the city.

It is well-known that two years ago the Government decided to close the mine downaltogether, but following on representations from this City, it was agreed to keep thecolliery open for one more year. When that year was up, the Government saw tlt toextend the life of the State Mine for yet another twelve months. 69- .The leading article summed up the role that the mine had played in the life of the town:

In the Lithgow district today the fact must be faced that· the State Mine was, apart fromthe wages it put into this City, nothing more than a status symbol. The mine began inthe later 1920s, its primary purpose was to supply coal to the district railways and therailway power house.

Its employees were, in earlier days, a social caste above other miners in the district andenjoyed amenities and privileges, including free holiday rail passes, not shared by' .phvate miners. Even though this situation has long disappeared, the State Mine hascontinued to have a strong physchological influence in Lithgow.

The MercUlY was quite blunt about the mine's inefficiency:

... and while the facts are being faced, it cannot be denied, that as a colliery, the StateMine has been a white elephant for several years. Its coal has been dearer than thatproduced in other western mines. WaIlerawang Power House has been instructed to buyState Mine coal at a price far in excess of coal offered from other local sources.

The state Mine has been living on borrowed time. In the late 1950s, State \-fine \I;asemploying about tlve hundred men, two 'years ago the figur~ dropped to four hundred.The State Mine is not Lithgow.

Subsequent issues of the Lithgow Mercury over the next few months contained frequentreferences to the possibility of the re-opening of the mine. However, despite local deputationsto the minister, the recommendations of mining inspectors that the mine should not re-open wasadopted. The New South Wales Government must surely have welcomed the opportunity of theflooding of the workings to close down a mine long recognised as economically inefficient. It isinteresting to conjecture on the history and future of the' Lithgow State Coal Mine had itsheadworks been established on the Newnes Plateau as forshadowed in 1911.

;

IIIIIII

IIII

3.11 THE GREATER LITHGOW MINING MUSEuM IIn May, 1976, the old mine site was purchased by Austen and Butta (Collieries) Pty Limited.70It was Feported some years later that the company had purchased the abandoned mine site withthe view of establishing a cement works in Mort's Gully?!

The site was, however, never developed for that purpose, and in February, 1987, the LithgowMercury reported on plans to establish a mining museum in the surviving buildings at the StateMine, and restore the mine branch line and connect it to the former Hoskins line behindEskbank House. 72

In October, '1990, the Mercury reported that plans for the museum had' received a boost whenthe owners of the former mine, Austen and Butta, handed over the site to the City of Lithgow. *The Chairman of Austen and Butta, Mr Dick Austen, was claimed to have made the formalpresentation of the land to Council for the nominal price of one dollar. Austen's partner, MrAngelo Butta, donated the dollarF3

The Title to the land shows a transfer from A & B to the City of Greater Lithgow MiningMuseum Ine on November 12th, 19907 74

IIIIIII

IIIIII

- 29 -

The Museum has stated that its overiding development objective is to

establish a Mining Museum complex, which will restore and retain one of the greatheritage sites of Australia and one which at the same time will have sufficient touristappeal to be commercially viable from its commencement.75

Since acquiring the land, which totals 135 hectares, the Mining Museum has cleared weed andscrub growth from the site, erected a security fence, and gathered together a considerablequantity of equipment and artifacts. -.

In April, 1994, the preparation of a Conservation Plan was commissioned. At the time of "carrying out this study, a section of the former Workshop building was leased to the ElectricityCommission, and a community nursery had been established on part of the former mine site.

3.12 REFERENCES

2 J Brown, Bent Backs, Independent Printing Co, Lithgow, nd but c.1989. p 93

1 R F Wylie & C C Singleton, 'The Railway Crossing of the Blue Mountains: 7 - Lithgow', inAustralian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, X, 257, March 1959, p 33

7 R J Ashworth, 'The State Coal Mines of New South Wales', in Mineral. I:3, June 1955, p 11

22 Kavanagh LC 10/11/20

20 Lithgow Mercury, 29/1/1953

18 NSW Department of Mines, Annual Report, 1916, p 188

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

3-

4

5

6

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

19

21

Angus Mackay, A Visit to Sydney and the Cudgegong Diamond Mines, Roberston, Melbourne,1870,p174

W B Clarke, in Appendix to Mackay's A Visit to Sydney...

B W Genders, Coal Mines of the Western Coalfield, Lithgow District Historical SocietyOccasional Papers No 5, p 1

Wylie & Singleton, p 34

J W Shoebridge, 'Wining the Coal', in Shaping the Hunter, Institution of Engineers Australia,Newcastle Division, 1983

Report ofa Royal Commission illfo the Coal Industry, NSW Legislative Assembly, 1930, p 54

Lithgow MercUlY, 9/2/1910

Ibid, 1/3/1911

New South Wales Parliamentaly Debates (Second Series), 1912, Vol XLVII, p 1709

Ibid, P 1711

Ibid, 1911, Vol XLI, p 1357


Ibid

Ibid, 26/6/1914

Ashworth, p 11

Mines Annual Report, 1916, p 188

45 Brown, page 204

.43 Railways AnnuaL Reports, 1930-32

50 Ibid

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33·

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

44

46

47

48

49

51

52

53

54

- 30 -

Mines Annual Report, 1917 p 59

Mines Annual Reports, 1918 (p 69), 1919 (p 69), 1920 (p 39)



NSW Government Gazette, 29/12/1920

NSW Parliamentmy Debates, 3rd and only session, 1921, Vol 84, page 1684

Report of the Commissioners of the New South Wales Government Railways and Tramways,.30/6/1921, p 9

State Rail Authority Archives, R 129/1-16 and 14/10555.3

Ibid and Mines Annual Report, 1922, p 40

Mines Annual Report, 1923, pp 36,37'

Railways Annual Reports, 1922, p 9


Railways Annual Reports, 1924-27

State Rail Authority Archiv.es, R 129/1-16 and 14/10555.3

Railways Annual Reports, 1924-27

NSW Parliamelltmy Debates, (Second Series), 1912, Vol XLVII, p 1709

Mines Annual Reports, 1927-31

Australian Ellcyclopaedi~, 1956 edition, Vo12, p 430

A G L Shaw & G R Bruns, The Australian C9al Industry, Melbourne Gniversity Press, 1947,p 64

Min\:ls Annual Report, 1929

Genders, page 8

" Mines Annual Report, 1932Ashworth, p 11


Ibid, 1934, 1936

H S E1ford & M R McKeown, Coal Mining in Australia, Tait, Melbourne and Sydney, 1947, pp162-164

Ibid, P 164


AONSW, Mine Manager's Report for periods ending 23/12/1944, 6/1/1945, 13/10/1945

Ibid, 23/11/1946, 9/11/1950

.1IIIIIIIIII

·······1

IIIIIIII

I55

I 56

I57

58

I59

60

I61

62

I63

64

I65

66

I 67

68

I 69

70

I 71

72

I 73

74

I 75

IIIIIIII

- 31 -

Ibid, 17/2/1945,3/3/1945

Ashworth, p 11


Mine Manager's Reports, 31/8/1950, 12/4/1951

Brown, p 2§2, 263


Mines Annual Report, 1929

Ibid, 1931

Ibid, 1935, 1936

Ashworth, p 11

Ibid, pp 12, 13

Mine Manager's Reports, 31/8/1950, 7/12/1950

Mines.Annual Report, 1928, p 80

LifhgOlV Clarion, 28/4/1951


NSW Land Titles Office, Vol 12304, Fol159

LithgOlV Mercwy, 27/10/1990

Ibid, 26/2/1987

Ibid, 27/10/1990

NSW LTO, Historical Search, 17/5/1994, Computer folio 1/242977

Undated ~ocument in files of Greater Lithgow Mining Museum Inc

- 33 -

1791-97 Several discoveries of coal in the Newcastle district.

4 CHRONOLOGY

Andrew BrownIS diary records he was "getting coal" at Lithgow.

All coal mining at Newcastle done by convict labour.

Opening of railway to Bowenfels results in major development of mines inLithgow Valley.

A state mine opened at Wonthaggi, Victoria.

State Mine proposed for Western Coalfields.

Minister for Mines claims that state colliery wiII be established on NewnesPlateau.

Land clearing begins at site of Lithgow State Mine in Mort's Gully.

Andrew Brown mUtes coal at Lithgow.

British Government leases Newcastle state mines to AA Co, and grants themmonopoly on coal mining.

NSW State Coal Mines Act passed.

Lieutenant WiIIiamLawson discovers coal near Mt York.

Rev W B Clarke has knowledge of Lithgow Valley coal deposits.

Downcast shaft headgear and some temporary buildings erected.

yvork susp~nded on mine development.

Management of mine transferred to Railways Department.

Work resumes on development. Branch railway reaches mine site. Smallamount of coal lifted in buckets.

Brick powerhouse (later the bath house) and 18-stall stables being erected.

All new plant finally installed.

Production exceeds one quarter of a million tons, but development \vork stillproceeding.

Work commences on adjacent Railway PQwer Station.

Colliery has 734 on payroll; biggest employer on Western Coalfield and thirdbiggest in state.

1828

1869

1838

1841

1799-1828

1822

1909

1910

1911

1912

1916

1917

1918-20

1920

1921

1922

·1848

1924

1927

1928 -..JJn<;l.ergrQund fire extinguished before dam~g:e occurs.

Some mine workings in valley flooded by swollen Farmers Creek.

1929


1930

1932

1935-36

Mid 1940s

1948-49

1951

1952

_ 1953

1964

1974

1987

1990

1994

- 34 -

Production exceeds one million tons.

Lithgow State Mine works more days for year than any other colliery in NSW.

Mine management transferred from Department of Railways to State Coal MinesControl Board.

- No 3 (ventilation) shaft completed.

Two miners die following injuries received while working underground in t\.voseparate incidents.

. All coal still mined by hand.

Drift constructed in eastern section of mine.

Flao.ding threat to Stat-e-..Mine workings-. - -.

No 3 shaft headframe destroyed in bushfire; mine ventilation affected reducingproduction.

Serious fire in main transport heading reduces area able to bo:; worked.

Miners strike over ventilation problems.

Railway powerhouse buying coal more cheaply from private collieries.

Mine closes due to extensive flooding of nearby workings breaking through intoState Mine.

Mine site acquired by Austen and Butta.

Lithgow Mercury reports on plans for mining museum at colliery site.

Austen.& Butta present colliery land to Greater Lithgow Mining i\fuseum Inc.

Conservation Plan commissioned.

,·1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gradienrs Iin:-

Curves:-Ch .in., R4diua:-

Plan----Sketch

R-·-w5--N

-EXTENSION-STATE COAL MINE J9Q~--Curve 8< GrddienrDiClgrClm--

--le· 11· 21--

NSWR Extension, State Coal Mine Curve &: Gradient Diagram From . thPubl' T . . . apnnt at e

IC ransport CommIssIOn Archives. No scale. The date on the drawing is 18 November 1921but the date 1922 has been added.

,If

c,!2~ 0c

Gr·adlcntsTin:. ~

Mde0:l~'-

Curves :- 'I. ',',;fChuino Rl\diu~.~~

NSWR Lilhgow Coal Mine Railway. (State Coal Mine Branch), R GM. 21 November1922. Scale of original. 22 chains to I inch. From a dyeline print from State Rail Archives. Thisplan shows the Colliery railway in relation 10 the town of Lilhgow and the existing lines.

R.

MAlE

w

COAL,Points worked by Ball L"'vl'r shown !IJi/s~

Points worked by Thrmv over Lever shown thus ~

N' S,W'R---L1THGOW--'-

--SlATE COAL MINE RAILWAY--~~.iifii

< ,- ~:

f L-,.'-.- N S.

0: ~,"~ .LJEPARTMENTAL

-

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

.",

- - - - -

NSWGR Departmental Coal Mine, Lithgow: Plan showing Proposed Route forTimber Siding. Plotted by J H E. Mine Surveyor. 4 March 1926. Scale of original. 33 feet to 1inch. From a hand-coloured dyeline in the possession of the Museum. This drawing presumablyshows the main colliery structures as they were in 1926. It is the earliest plan of the site so farlocated which shows the layout of the surface ~Idings.

708080 50

ciM: : ~ i'M;::: :11>1 HM:;::: :: :~:::: ;W~ Yarda 15 10 10 10 10 4lJ

CURVE ANO ORADIENT DIAORAU

Curves :Chains Radius:-

Gradients J in

;{ 1RA PO T '\If ARCHIVES

BOIler Rool71

~CB~£N~3..0A£

Clkh.po/"'f.s Juvr.,d 0/H,uA.sI?I,~m{I..J:t..bcA.

R

I """'"

M'NE

JVP",," FVLJ.' ROAD {:U Tr'..r::~"

NfJ,J FULl. ROAD (t~ rrve/t$)Nf'2 Ft/LL ROAl) (29 Truck.'!f)

w

COAL

s.

POInts worked by Boil Lever shown thus.

N

POInts worked by Throw-over Lever s.J,own thus.

DEPARTMENTAL

NSWR Departmental Coal Mine.' Office of tbe Engineer-in-Cbieffor £xi.sting Lines. From aprint dated 1928 in the Public Transport CornIllisslO~ Archives.. No scale. This IS an amended .version of the 4 April 1927 plan. showing more detaIls of the Lithgow power house and the collieryboiler bouse roads. It is the most detailed plan available of the colliery railway layout.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I

"14'

11I'

\-\\\

'§LAMP

: CA'.

\\

II

II

II

I

I

II

IIII

IIII

{sltate Coal Mine, Lithgow: Plan of Surface Arrangements . .. SC 13.:igned by J H Elms, Mine Surveyor, 11 October 1943, From a dyeline print in the possession of

fum, Scale of original, 33 feet to 1 inch, This plan should be compared with X, With,

.hi is identical except for some alterations mentioned in the caption for the latter..~. '",. '. .

1

11

1

1·1

.1

1a I1~

C:/ ;

I'r 1"----'--

fHOt-£l--IOl---Pl-.J /;/"

t,"

~ I,1;,:1~,

F,

LJ

~ Z to. .

:-~ ;f-~Z Z

,w. 0 <to; W ~

, ,~ ..J i

i er i -a. .

- U~" ,

'I 'j,/,/)" :.

iI'.1,.,Izl1.11·1~,t.'l\,

i'\\\\\'\\\\\\

~&TU'-\P[B] (:A8IN

• H

NSW Slale Coal Mine, Lilhgow: Plan of Surface Arrangements . Signed by J HElms. Mine Surveyor. 11 October 1943. Scale of original. 33 feet to I inch. From a dyeline print

'._ from State Rail Authority Archives. This plan was originally the same as X ahove. but bears'.' alterations accurately drawn at some time after the date on the face of the original. These include the

change of function of the 1avatory' beyond the creek to stables. the change of function andenlargement of the original stables building into a 'new bath and change house'. and the appearance of

. , the three small buildings here labelled the 'powder magazine'

LiJhgow State Coal Mine: Surface Plan, SC 15. Drawing by State Mines ControlAuthority, 30 October 1%1. Scale of original, 33 feet to I inch. From a hand-coloured dyelineprint in the possession of the Museum, with alterations of unknown date. These alterations showthe layout much the same as it was when the mine closed.

-

-.

- -

/'

- ,- - - - - - - •• - - - - -~Di=

Plan view of tile rematntng pllysical features at tile State Coal Mine, Litllgow(21 January 1991). GPA 4191. From a laminated Xerograph. with undated annotations inbl~e marker pen. In the possession of the Museum. It should be noted that the title of this drawing .•IS tnaceurate. for most of the structures indicated on it had heen demolished by 1991. -

KEY:

-

~~~

o I) 10 20 30 .(0 SO m~ltr••

NORTH

NORTH

-

U40nollc North In~975 ....... 11·26'

a .. 1 01 Trut ~~orth

----

? ~, ~~

~ . t::;Q%. c:,. ~.

I9PLO$lIOK BA.RRIER

I

----

PI.I'I vi", .... of 11-;. r.m.lt'llnO phytlC&1

f ... tur •• of Oa SlAt. COlI ,.../In., Ult",;;.:;._

(21 JlnullfT 1 g Q 1 1.

-

- 35 -

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PLACE

THE COLLIERY CONTEXT

The opportunity to make this an income-earning activity can be realised even in the shortterm by planning the progressive development of this historic place under the guidance ofwise conservation principles, and instigating the first phase of that .deyelopment almostimmediately. The writers of this report believe that this first phase should not beconstruction at all. It should be interpretation, as suggested later in this document.

5.1.2 The present chaiienge

~

It is now well realised that at least part of this interpretation needs to be related to the otherhuman activities that are or were ingredients of the scene in the Lithgow district. The StateMine will naturally be perceived by its entrepreneurs as the centrepiece; but other places'that flourished in the vicinity, such as vanished or nearly-vanished nearby collieries, otherindustries of Lithgow such as the blast furnace and the brewery, and the various relatedrailway structures, should also be part of the mine's own presentation. The fact that theMuseum is now the custodian of the most extensive surviving mine in the region makes itimperative to provide for it a cultural context understandable by the visiting public.

Now, most of the mine's surface structures have gone, empty spaces have replacedinteresting buildings and activities, and the place engenders in today's tourist a kind ofbereft pa,.thos. At first sight the visitor could be forgiven for thinking that the bush wouldlike to take over the site as it had done before the mine began. Neverthless the flavour ofthe mine persists, though now weakened and delicate. That vital first impression, of anopen yard with some railway-like buildings and rolling stock, gives little hint of the bustlingscale, intensity and interest that pervaded this erstwhile valley industry.

5. 1. 1 The setting

Therein lies the chief challenge of the Museum, for that fragile remnant of industrialcharacter needs to be cherished, understood and strengthened. The successful conservationof the colliery will therefore include not only the physical treatment of its buildings, remnantstructures and equipment, but their careful interpretation as well. Without rigorous andinformed interpretation, the surviving elements of the mine will be meaningless andunattractive and the tourist potentiai will remain unfulfilled. There must be ampleexplication and illustration, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional, relating thediverse components of the co~liery to each other and to the functions of the mine and themeaning of the place as a whole.

5.1

5

The setting of the colliery in Mort's Gully, close by the city of Lithgow, yet always seenagainst the back;drop of the surrounding wooded hills, is picturesque. The sinewy rail link,runs from Lithgow Yard, across two narrow bridges and past the colliery site. It connectsthe town and the mine like an umbilical cord. The bridges over Zig Zag Road and Farmer'sCreek are small structures still expressing the solid and scenic beauty that is taken for1 granted in railway engineering.

-_~::...,,-:-.=-=::-_-r4~§l¥f{t-,*.sJIuc:,WLes-ofthe miRe occupy the comparatively smaIi-site-wIrere1'rrEVaney~~-'?-:-"="-=~~~~~'. - . - . - narrows and creek, road and railway converge on their way northward. Twenty or thirty1 years ago the buildings were crowded into this level little trjangle of land, making a strikingcontrast with the power house across Mort's Gully Creek, where lines of buildings stepped ~up the steep and narrmv hillside site.

I·111II11II11I'

I1II1

- 36 -

5.2 THE MINE

5.2.1 Coal

By far the most extensive spread of the colliery was out of sight underground, in mostplaces well away from the surface workings. Coal cut at the faces ",'as brought to the baseof the downcast shaft by means of skips hauled by endless steel ropes. The skips werethen brought to the surface by means of winding engines and hauled along tracks up to thetippler and screening plant, from which the coal was emptied into trucks 'waiting on therailway tracks below. When the drift was brought into service the coal was transported.byoverhead conveyor to the 300-ton bin, and from there hauled to the screening/tipplerstructure. .

Transport of the coal by rail from the mine to its destinations, chiefly for fuelling steamlocomotives but also for other uses, was an important component of the colliery operationsand so the railway-be-camea visuif1=mfirijfeStati6if,~en-a-symbOl,of tile mine.

5.2.2 Power

The underground coal-winning operation required several different power modes, makingpower one of the most important and interesting themes of the mine.

The primary power source was steam, produced initially by a rank of seven coal-firedboilers. The boilers \vere part of a cycle: furnace coal was brought by surface skip fromthe screening plaI).t and deposited in bunkers, from which the boilers ,vere fired; a mainlateral exhaust flue conveyed the products of combustion to the chimney stack, and thechimney became the visual symbol of this power.

Steam was conveyed to the colliery power house, where electricity was generated. It wasthe most spacious building, located at the centre of the ensemble of structures.

Steam was also the power source for the winding machines that raised coal and transportedminers in the vertical shafts. The boilers also provided steam to power the fan engine,which drove the exhaust ventilation machinery for the underground workings, and to heatthe water used in the miners' bath houses.

Compressed air, for the operation of the underground drilling machinery, was initiallyproduced in the power house; later, when that building changed to a miners' bath house,additional skillion-roofed areas were built for the compressor gear.

5~3 THE SURVIVING SURFACE STRUCTURES

5.3.1 Layout

The arrangement of the surface elements - planned on several axes at right angles to eachother, yet closely related to the contours of the land - is an interesting phenomenon which,because so many of the structures have been removed, is no lop.~er apparent at first sight.

The aXIS that can now most easily be appreciated runs from north to south, and passesthrough the centre of the former power house/bath house at the north and the centre of theoffice building at the south. This axis must have been an even more emphatic \'isual featurewhen the elevated drift conveyor was in place. .

Two secondary north-south axes, plotted naturally because of the way hoisting power wastransmitted, joined the two shaft headworks and the their respective winding engine houses.The downcast shaft.axis.w;:ls furth(fr.emphasised by the skip retarder works running southfrom the headframe.



- 37 -

There were three east-west axes: the first linked the power house/bath house in the centreand the winding engine houses which flanked it, one on each side; the second joined theupcast and downcast shafts and the fan complex of the downcast shaft; the third axispassed through the office building and the tippler structure to its east.

These and virtually all of the other surface structures were arranged rectilinearly andoriented to the cardinal compass points. It will be noted that the centre of this essentiallycruciform layout was originally the colliery power house. It was the almost-level site,between the hills to the west and north and the diverted Mort's GUlly Creek on the east, thatmade this grid planning possible.

Yet in fact the site is so tightly constrained by the gully and the steep hills that theworkshops and stores building, the most northerly major structure, could not be made partof the axial and rectangular layout. The building had to be long and narrow because the si tenarrowed towards1;he north, prohibiting a wide structure without expensive cutting andfilling. It was therefore canted to the north-east, along the land contour, and its site wasonly slightly cut into the west side of the northern hill. Likewise the powder magazines,protected behind their explosion barrier, were subject to the form of the land; they werebuilt on gently sloping land facing south-west towards State Mine Gully Creek.

This confluence of rectilinear grid planning of most of the structures, and the contourplanning that dictated the rail layout as \vell as a few of the buildings, is a distinctive featureof the colliery's surface layout.

5.3.2 Functions

The surface structures fell naturally into functional groups. The first, associated directlywith coal-winning, were the shaft headframe complexes, their winding engine houses and\'entilation complex, the drift portal, the lamp cabin and the powder magazines. The secondwere the coal handling facilities: the tipplers, screening plant, elevated conveyors and coalbins and weigh stations. The third group were the power generation structures _ the boilersuite, the flue and chimney stack, the power house itself and the cOp1pressor buildings.The fourth comprised the support services, principally the miners' bath houses, but alsoinclUding the horse feed loft and stables and equipment storage areas. The fifth groupcomprised 'the maintenance workshops including their appurtenant stores, as well as otherrepair facilities. The sixth was the administration facilities. Underlying all were the threesystems of movement, viz the extensive underground network of leads and tracks, thecomplex surface skip track systems, and the standard-gauge railway layout and its rollingstock. .

5.3.3 Interpretation

The extensive change~made during the life of the colliery and the subsequent demolition ofso many of the surface structures now make interpretation quite difficult. Yet there are twofactors that make the starting-point for that interpretation very real and obvious. One is theinherent great interest implicit in the complexity, functions and appearances of the colliery atits heyday. The other is the greatly evocative nature of what remail}s, enhanced by itsnatural setting. A third factor is the availability of good documentation such as \vrittenhistory ana photographs.

One of the issues that must be considered by the Museum in the future is the degree tow~ch the evocative remains of the colliery may be observed, both visually and in the abilityto mterpret, by the introduction of extraneous elements, exhibits or structures, which,although of some relevance to the aims of a Mining Museum, may have little or nothing todo with the history and activities of the Lithgow State Coal Mine.

I - 39 -

6.1 HERITAGE LISTINGS

IAedeen Cremin et ai, Survey of Historic Sites Lithgow Area,Department of Environment & Planning, 1987, pp 18-20, 122-124]

6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PLACE

It should be pointed out that, when the Cremin report was prepared in 1981, the heritageassessment process was not as rigorous or as finely tuned as it is today.

[Presumably the authors mean by the last commellt that if the building is to bedemolished, it should only be done afterfull recording of the building, and not thatdemolition is strongly advised.}

Used as a residence when inspected; "architecturally undistinguished"; "a continuationof its present state is recommended"; "demolition only after full recording stronglyadvised" .

Used as a store when inspected; recommended that its present status of preservationthrough reuse be continued; "preservation at all costs and restoration are not advised" .

Same as for Wash-house.

Wash-house:

Oftices:

Storerooms:

The Cremin report makes the general comment that "remains abound which indicate the twomethods of coal extraction practised at the site. However, these remains have heritagesignificance only for the interpretation of function. As on this site, these functions are nowknown, preservation of these unlisted elements is not absolutely necessary" .

6.1.1 The Draft Greater Lithgow Local Environmental Plan 1993

The State Mine site has been 'listed as a Heritage Item in Schedule I of the Draft GreaterLithgow LEP 1993. No inventory sheet has been prepared as part of this listing; no boundaryof the listed site ~as been specified; and no statement of significance has been prepared for thesite. _

6.1.2 Survey of Historrc Sites Lithgow Area 1987

The'State Coal Mine is listed as an Individual Site in the Survey of Historic Sites published bythe (then) Department of. EnvironmenLand Planning. in,,1987 ~ _The. survey· was· carried Gut in1981 by Aedeen Cremin et al of the' University of Sydney for the Heritage Council of NewSouth Wales. The office building, wash-house and storerooms are specifically listed.

The report is somewhat ambivalent and ambiguous in relation to its recommendations forconservation of the site. While listing the mine as an Individual Site apparently worthy of

- conservation, the report then makes the following comments (inter alia), about the individualcomponents:

While the Cremin report does not indicate that any systematic assessment of significance wasmade for each site recorded, the above comments may have been influenced by the fact that thestudy proposed that both the Oakey Creek and Hermitage Colliery sites should be accorded thestatus of Conservation Areas because of the extent of buildings and remnant structuresremaining at both sites [in 1981].

Given that the Hermitage Colliery site has since been levelled, and that the Oakey Park remainsare in private ownership inaccessible to the public, the recommendations of the Cremin report inrelation to the State Mine site should be regarded as being superseded by the listing of the place

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The New South Wales State Heritage Inventory Program has developed the following twocriteria groups which tend to combine all of the above considerations:-

as a heritage item in the Draft LEP and by the thorough investigation of significance embodiedin this present study.' '

The Lithgow State Mine is not protected by any order under the New South Wales Heritage Act;neither is the former mine site listed in the Register of the National Estate; nor is it listed in theRegister of the National Trust of Australia (New South Wales).

Heritage significance may be embodied in a structure, in its setting, in historical recor61sassociated with it, and in any response that the place may evoke in the community or individuals

- who consider it to be important. In The Conservation Plan [page 8], James Semple Kerr furtherdiscusses cultural significance in relation to three qualities:-

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significant in the evolution and pattern of the history of NSW.significant in possessing, or contributing to, creative ortechnical accomplishment in NSW.significant through an association with a' commiunitv in NSWfor social, cultural or spiritual reasons. .significant for the potential to yield information contributing tothe understanding of the history of NSW.significant for some other value to past, present or futuregenerations in NSW.

significant in possessing rare, endangered or uncommon aspectsof the history of NSW.significant in demonstrating the characteristics of a class ofcultural places or environments in NSW.

associationallinks, for which there mayor may not be surviving evidence; and

The ability of a plaCe to demonstrate a process, event custom or style;

formal or aesthetic qualities.

Other Statutory and Non-statutory Heritage lists

THE NATURE OF SIGl'IlF!CANCE

General Disucssion

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6.1.3

6.2.1

6.2

The Heritage Assessment Guidelines published by the Department of Planning in 1990 calls, inaddition, for the interpretation of comparative values such as rarity, group value, landmarkvalue, representative value and integrity, followed by the judgement of value in terms of local,regional, state, national and world significance.

Group 1: the nature of significance -

Criteriun 1 (historic):Criterion 2 (aesthetic):-

Criterion 3 (social):-

Criterion 4 (scientific):-

Criterion 6 (rare):-

Group 2: the degree of significance -

Criterion 5 (other):-

Criterion 7 (representative):-

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Cultural significance is defined in the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter (Article 1.2) as I11 aesthetic, historic, scientific or social value for past, present or future generations 11 • The

I"'_-"'C;:-";;;;;;;'~.""-,-_ ~,pre-eess,.Gf-:=:assess,iHg:--t1lgse values -endeavours, as objectively arid -concis1Hy-- $""'p'(}sSinri;:=rd'--'~""'!->~ ... -~ =--<:establish why a place or item is considered important and is therefore valued by the community. I

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6.2.2 Some Particular Considerations

6.3 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The cultural significance of the Lithgow State Mine derives from the following:

Even the permanent inefficiency of the mine due to the unwise siting of the headworks hasconsiderable social significance, ~elated to the fact that it was the state not a private venture thatset up the colliery.

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. significant for association with people, activities·, phases or'events in the evolution of NSW.

The mine was the first colliery to be established in New $outh Wales fs>llowing thepasSiIl:g of the State Coal Mines Act in 1912. (Historic; social -- rare; associative)

The development of the mine was the first action by the government to operate a collieryin New South Wales since the transfer of the convict-worked mines at Newcastle to theAustralian Agricultural Company in 1828. (Historic; social -- rare; associative)

The mine was the only colliery operated by the Railway Department in New SouthWales. (Historic; social -- rare; associative)

Criterion 8 (associative):-

The historic and social significance of the mine is probably equally as important as its~architectural/aesthetic/scientific significance. This is due to the important role that the collieryplayed in the development of state-owned mines in New South Wales, and as a large employeror labour said to have been regarded by other miners to be in a rather privileged class.

Note: It is n01mal in a Conservation Plan for the detailed description ofthe place to be dealtwith bifore a statement ofsignificance is prepared. In this particular report, thedetailed description ofeach component ofthe total site is dealt with under Section 9.The follOWing statement ofsignificance has been drafted taking into consideration thedetail set out in that section. Additional statements ofsignificance are given relative toparticular components as described in Section 9.

The State Mine at Lithgow is a place of considerable significance. The surviving buildings areinteresting in their own right, and exhibit particular characteristics of style and design derivingfrom the fact' that they were erected in the years that the mine was controlled by the RailwaysDepartment. The rarity value of the buildings, and the remains and formations at the site, areimportant, espcially becasue of the removal of most structures from- 'Other- c()Hieries in theLithgow Valley.

In the Statement of Significance given in Section 6.3 of this report, the categories employed bythe Burra Charter (which correspond approximately to the "nature of significance" group of theSHIP Program) have been used. (These are expanded in the Charter's Guidelines: CulturalSignificance, Articles 2 and 3). The "degree of significance" criteria of the SHIP Program, assummarised above, have then been added.

Finally, the relationship of the former mine site to its branchline railway, and the relationship ofthat branch to the main line at the site of the former Lithgow Coal Stage, is an important andreadily interpreted part of the mine's history and operation.

All these points, and more, are set out in the following statement of significance. It is fortunatethat the proposed use of the former State Mine site as a Mining Museum will enable thesignificant features of the site to. be conserved and interpreted.

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The erection .of the permanent mine buildings by the Railways Department has resultedin a number of the surviving buildings evidencing a particluar architectural style.(Historic; social; scientific; aesthetic -- rare; associative)

In its heyday in the late 1920s the mine was the biggest employer on the WesternCoalfield, and one of the largest in the state. (Historic; social -- rare)

In the years that it was managed by the Railways Department the mine frequentlyworked more days than most other collieries in NSW. (Historic; social -- rare)

The location of the mine headworks so far from the workable coal reserves demonstrateshow a state-run enterprise can be saddled with economic inefficiency due to politicalinterference or ineptitude. (Historic; social; scientific ,-- rare; associative)

The mine retains more extant structures than any other former mine site in the LithgowValley. (Historic; scientific; aesthetic - rar~; represen!ative)

The near-intact surviving suite of explosive magazine buildings is a rare example ofdistinctive structures which are often among the first to be demolished at redundantindustrial sites. (Scientific; aesthetic -- rare; representative)

Many of the extant footings and formations at the site are capable of stablisation andinterpretation to demonstrate most of the various industrial processes associated withcoal extraction and transport. (Historic; social; scientific; aesthetic -- representative)

The branchline connecting the mine site to the Lithgow Railway Yard is the only. .survivor of the many short branches that served industries and collieries in the LithgowValley. (Historic; scientific; aesthetic -- rare; representative; associative)

The Z26 class locomotive located at the mine is representative of a class of purpose-builtmineral tank locos which worked the mine branches in the Lithgow Valley for manyyears. (Historic; scientific; aesthetic -- rare; representative; associative)

The proximity of the mine site to the extensive industrial archaeological remains of theold ~ithgow Power Station demonstrates the close relationship that existed between thetwo industries during their lifetime. (Historic; social; scientific; aesthetic -- rare;associative)

The surviving formation of the Steelworks Colliery headshunt slightly west of the StateMine site demonstrates the close proximity of colliery headworks due to the physicalconstraints imposed by the topography of the Lithgow Valley. (Historic; scientific;'aesthetic -- rare; associ~tive)

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7 CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

7.1 CONSTRAINTS

7.1.1 Introduction

The conservation planning process provides that the assessment of significance should beundertaken independently of consideration of any constraints or development opportunities thatmay effect the place. This assessment has been made in previous sections of this report, and itis now appropriate to consider the possible ways that the significance may be protected white atthe same time the site continues to be used, or, indeed, changes to the existing use may beallowed to take place.

7.1.2 The issues identified at the 1993 On Site Planning Meeting

. Before dealing with the impacts of constraints on the conservation and management of the StateMine site as set out in J S Kerr's The Conservation Plan (Client's Requirements, ExternalRequirements, Requirements for Retention of Significance and Physical Condition), it isappropriate to look at the summary of the points raised by those attending the On Site Plannmg

. Meeting o~ganised by the Museum Committee on April 4th, 1993 (see Appendix ?).

While presumably not specifically orientated towards heritage matters, the summary of theissues raised during the SWOT analysis of the project confirms the importance felt by localpeople in aspects that clearly directly or indirectly have a heritage relevance. The 'weaknesses'and 'threats' noted in this analysis can be regarded as constraints, _and the 'strengths '. can beregarded as opportunities relevant for consideration in the conservation planning process.

7.1.2 Constraints arising out of the owner's requirements

The Greater Lithgow Mining Museum has stated that "the overiding development objective [atthe State Mine site] is to establish a Mining Museum complex, which will restore and retain oneof the great heritage sites of Australia... " The Museum further states that the development ofthe museum "envisages restoration of the old State Mine site including the historic buildings, themine shafts, machinery and equipment as well as re-opening the railway line to carry tourists ... "

(Lithgow State Mine Restoration Project, undated brochure)

-Given these objectives of the owner of the site, there should be no contraints on the conservationof the State Mine precinct arising out of the owner's requirements. The purpose of thepreparation of this Conservation Plan is to guide the development of the Museum in directionsthat will not compromise the site's present heritage values. It is considered that the site hasmany features of significance and interest, apart from the surviving buildings, that could andshould be retained and interpreted. The one constraint in regard to the owner's requirements isto ensure that any development on the site for museum purposes, such as the introduction of newbuildings or structures or display of equipment, does not obscure important features of the StateMine and its history and development itself. .

7.1.3 Constraints relating to external requirements

Requirements to be considered under this category include those relating to Federal or Statelegislation and/or departments, and local government planning controls and ordinances.

(a) Federal Legislation

As the State Mine site is not listed in the Register of the National Estate, the requirements of theAustralian Heritage Commission Act, insofar as they bind Federal government agencies, do notapply. Should the place be listed in the Register in the future, it is not considered that this

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action would impose a~y contraints on the effective conservation and management of the place quite the contrary. Listing by the AHC would have a number of-posItive b'enefits.

Listing of the site in the Register of the National Estate would strengthen the public awarenessof the heritage significance of the place; it would bring the site under the protection of theAustralian Heritage Commission Act insofar as the activities of Commonwealth authorities areconcerned; and it would help substantiate any future claim for a grant from state or federalheritage funds towards future conservation of the buildings or remnant structures at the site.

Cb) Local planning considerations

(i) The Heritage Schedule

As described above in Section 6.1.1, the State Mine site is listed as a Heritage Item in the DraftGreater Lithgow Local Environmental Plan, 1993. While the boundary of the site is not definedin the LEP or supporting documentation, any proposed activity relateq to_th~ e:~tant mine,, structures or remnants will be governed' If)' We""hentage--lJ"rovisi,ofts 'bftlfe"J:"EPl'ipon'Its gazettal.Until that time, the provisions of the draft plan must be considered by Council in dealing withany application relating to the listed site.

The draft plan contains typical heritage provisions, requiring Council consent before any- demolition-, alteration, damage or building can take place on the land.

The heritage provisions of the draft plan also require Council to notify the Heritage Council ofNew South Wales before granting consent to the demolition of any heritage item. The draftLEP defines the word "demolition" in relation to a heritage item as meaning the "damaging,defacing, destruction, pulling down or removal of the heritage item in v/hole or in part" .

It should be noted that the provisions of the LEP apply to "relics' as well as to buildings. Thedefinition of relic in the draft planning instrument includes any deposit, object or materialevidence relating to the use or settlement of the area, not being Aboriginal settlement, which ismore than fifty years old. All remnants of former structures, underground conduits andformations at the State Mine site should be regarded as falling within this definition. Theremoval of the trackbed from the former railway sidings outside the fenced area of the Museumduring the course of the preparation of this Conservation Plan would have constituted theremoval of a "relic'. (See also comments on the NSW Heritage Act belo\v)

This Conservation Plan is intended to provide a guide for both the Council and the HeritageCouncil to assist them to make any determination in implementing the provisions of the draftLEP.

Cii) ·Zoning

The State Mine site is currently zoned Industrial, but a recommendation for a change to Ruralzoning is associated with the draft LEP. Regardless of the outcome of the proposed change inzoning, development relating to the operation of a museum at the State Mine site would bepermitted subject to Council consent in either the Rural or Industrial zones proposed in the DraftLEP:

(c) The NSW Heritage Act

The State Mine site is not affected by any order placed under the provisions of the, NSWHeritage Act.

The site is, however, subject to the relics provisions of the Heritage Act. The Act defines arelic as

any deposit, object or material evidence -

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7.2 OPPORTUNITIES

7.1.5 Constraints due to the physical condition of the place

7.1.4 Constraints relating to the protection of significance

Many of the opportunities that the conservation of the State Mine site offers were identified inthe SWOT analysis at the On Site Planning Meeting arranged by the Museum Committee onApril 4th, 1993 (see Appendix HI).

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which is fifty or more years old.

which relates to the settlement of the area that comprisesNew South Wales, not being"Aboriginal settlement; and

(b)

(a)

If the Lithgow State Mine site is to be retained and conserved, the opportunity of achieving thesuccessful establishment of the Mining Museum should be encouraged by the local communityand Council, and by state heritage bodies.

Essentially, the proposed use of the site for a Mining Muesum offers a rare opportunity toachieve an aiJPropriate use for an old industrial site. While the extant buildings are worthy ofconservation in their own right, and could conceivably be adapted for any number of appropriateuses, it IS virtually inconceivable to see how the site as a whole could be appropriatelyconserved without the prospects of the establishment of the Museum.

The one opportunity that the study teaII! felt was conspicuously absent from the aims andpriorities ~f!he Museum Committee was the early establishment of a visual display of archivalmaterial. Such a display is not mentioned in the Museum's list of priorities (undated), attachedto this.report as Appendix IV.

The consultants commissioned to prepare this report were advised by the client that independentprofessional advice was available to the Museum Committee on the physical condition ofbuildings and other structures on the site. Accordingly, this report makes only passingcomments (see Section 9) on the condition of buildings.

One of the aims of a Conservation Plan is to set out a "framework of policies andrecommendations that will ensure that the identified cultuFal significance of any place is notcompromised by any development work that may occur. Any constraints arising from the neeg.to protect significance are lessened by the fact that the proposed use of the State Mine site for a~/Iining Mu.§eum should assist the overall conservation of the site. Specific policies andrecommendations designed to assist in the protection of significance will be found in Section 9of this report.

It is strongly· recommended that the Museum take early steps to prepare a permanent (butflexible) display in one or more rooms of the Office building. This display should includeappropriately-captioned photographs (many of which are already held by the Museum), siteplans, plans of underground workings, and small artifacts. Blinds could be fitted to thewindows of the rooms to prevent the sun fading documents.

The Act requires that a permit must be obtained from the Heritage Council before any work iscarried out which is likely to di~turb or excavate a relic. All remnants of former structures,underground conduits and formations at the State Mine site should be regarded as falling withinthis definition,

It has already been noted in Section 7.1.3 (b) (i) above that the Heritage Council must beadvised of any proposal by the Greater Lithgow City Council to grant consent to the demolitionof any item at the State Mine site.

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Such a display would then be available for showing wh~n visitors come to the ~ite. ~ A party gfvisitors were due to inspect the Museum on Saturday, May 21st 1994. What wo'ul<:fthey see? -three old buildings, in various states of decay, some derelict looking rolling stock on thesurviving sidings, and a lot of footings which few would have the knowledge to interpret. Ifvisitors could first be shown a display of old photos and plans of the site (these are always ofinterest to most people), especially before and after photos, they could then wander round theplace imagining some of the past structures and their functions and activity. A small map andbrochure shoUld be produced, 'with the sites numbered both on the map and on the ground, sothat visitors can relate the footings and formations to their past use.

There is much to be learnt from the inadequate interpretation of the historic Lithgow :blastfurnace site. Here the opportunity to interpret an aesthetically evocative and historicallyimportant icon seems to have been missed. Few of the surviving remains are identified; nobrochure is available in a box near the car park; the visitor is unsure where one should walk andwhere one shouldn't. .

Another aspect of the Museum's proposals which is consIdered 'to be ofv·~iy high"·priority is" th~-'-":'establishment of a working tourist railway between the mine site and the blast furnace/EskbankHouse precinct. Steam engines are universally popular, and draw visitors The use of the 226on the State Mine branch would achieve a degree of verisimilitude and historical authenticltylacking in many tourist steam railways. The establishment of the line would also bring people to- the site, and things would be seen to be happening. Until such time as the railway becomesoperational, strenuous opposition should be made to any proposal to disconnect the branch fromLithgow Yard, or to remove the remaining section of the former Hoskins r branch which could,with minimium trouble, be connected to the State Mine branch.

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8 GENERAL CONSERVATION POLICY

8.1 INTRODUCTION

This report has established that the Lithgow State Mine site has considerable culturalsignificance. E'Vlluation of this cultural significance has shown that the place has importantvalues associated with all four generally accepted categories of significance -- historic, aesthetic,social and scientific.

The historic values derive from the association of the mine with the development of coal miningon the Western Coalfields and especially in the Lithgow Valley. They also derive from theimportant and seminal role the mine played in the establishment of State-owned collieries in thetwentieth century, and from the unique association of the establishment and management of themine with the NSW Railways Department. The historic significance of the mine is furtherstrengthened by the fact that the abandoned site remains connected to the main rail network bythe still-surviving State Mine branch railway.

Its aesthetic significance relates to the impact the extant remains of the mine and its setting has~

on our senses -- both the surviving buildings and the remnants of foundations and formationshave the ability to conjure up different images in the mind of the visitor. The opportunity ofthese images being heightened by the sensitive establishment of a Mining Museum at the siteshould be regarded as a fortuitous and positive aid to the conservation of the site.

The site's social significance derives from the impact that the State Mine has had on the lives ofthose associated with its construction and its operation as the first government-owned coal mineestablished in New South Wales in the early years of the twentieth century.

The scientific significance is based on the site's ability to demonstrate the technology and workpractices of coal mining in the early to mid-twentieth century. The significance of this aspect isstrengthened because the history of the mine not only has the ability to demonstrate the goodthings -- such as developing mining technology and mechanisation -- but also the bad things,such as the poor siting of the headworks, uneconomic underground haulage distances, problemswith mine ventilation, and underground flooding from adjacent workings.

Because of these different aspects of significance, it is important that both the extant State Minebuildings and the surrounding mine site should be conserved so that future generations may bebetter able to understand and interpret the various themes that have been identified in this report.

8.2 POLICY STATEMENT

Based on the evidence and arguments set out in this report, it is recommended that the GreaterLithgow Mining Museum adopt the following Policy Statement. The discussions, specificpolicies and managment recommendations given later in the report in Section 9 are based on thisgeneral policy.

Ca) The site of the former Lithgow State Mine must be acknowledged as an important placeof heritage significance, the history and use of which has played a majoLfole in theongoing development of coal mining in New South ·Wales

Cb) The mine site must also be acknowledged to have an important association with thehistory and development of State-run enterprises in NSW.

Cc) The mine site and its extant buildings and remnants of foundations and formationsshould be retained and conserved, together with an appropriate curtilage of bushland.



(d)

(e)

(t)

(g)

(h)

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The Statement of Significance set out in Section 6.3 of this report is accepted as one ofthe bases for future planning of activities and works relating to the mine site and itssurrounding precinct.

Use of the mine site for the establishment of a Mining Museum does not conflict with itsidentified significance, and should assist rather than hinder its conservation.

Commensurate with aspects of public safety and any requirements associated with theongoing development of the Museum, public access to the mine site and its settingshould be.provided.

Adequate interpretative material should be provided to enable the cultural significance ofthe former mine to be better appreciated by the general public.

The approach to conservation and the specific recommendations for action set out inSection 9 of this report should be endorsed as a guide to future work, therecommendations having been related to the principles of the Burra Charter.

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9 DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS, SIGNIFICANCES,POLICIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

9.1 THE FORMER POWER HOUSE/BATH HOUSE

9.1. 2 H.istorical notes

This building began its life as a power house, a simple rectangular fonn and virtually asingle volume. The fabric evidence suggests that the large doorway at the east end wasoriginally a window and that the access openings were t\VO moderately large archeddoonvays in the south wall. Circular openings in the walls indicate fonner penetrations ofsteam pipes associated with power generation.

At some time before 1943, according to a plan of the surface arrangements at the mine donein that year, the building was converted for use as a bath house. This required the additionof shower and toilet facilities on the south side and showers at the west end, the walls ofwhich were tiled. A new floor, with slight falls to central and perimeter drainage channels,was laid. It is of interest that no attempt appears to have been made to limit loss of warmth- by such means as the insertion of ceilings. Small compartments once existed at the westend, the walls of which extended only to about door head height. These may have beenbuilt to provide a segregated change area for the mine deputies, or the partitioning may haverelated to the building's earlier use as a power house,

In the 1943 drawing a compressor room is shO\\'n added at the east end, while anothercompressor structure and two tanks appear on the north side, between the bath house andthe main brick flue to the chimney stack. They were probably erected when the buildingwas converted to a bath house, to accommodate plant fonnerly located in the power house.All these appendages, no doubt necessary in purely functional terms, compromised thearchi tectural pretensions which the original designer expressed in the first structure.

9.1. 3 D~scription of the fabric

ill Planning

The power house was related to several planning axes which appear to have governed thelayout of the complex. The axis running from north to south took in the coal bunkers, theboiler group, the power house and the general offices. The east-west axis linked the power40use,~in the centre, to the upcast shaft winding engine house on the west and the downcastshaft winding engine house on the eas't; - Thiscrucifonn plan, which in a way symbolisesthe transmission of power, is often eviden,t in colliery layouts but is 'especially evident atthis site. The addition of other structures such as the switch room and the compressor roominevitably obscured the symmetry of the arrangement, while subsequent demolitions havefurther concealed its simplicity, but the layout of these important components can still beappreciated and deserves to be interpreted.

In other places in this report attention is drawn to the remains of the upcast shaft winderhouse and'its basement, to the remnants of the electric switch room, to the remnant of themain chimney stack, to the floor of the downcast shaft winder house (which are allconsidered to be of very high significance) and to the footings and engine bases on thenorth side of the former boiler house/bath house (which are 'considered to have lesssignificance).

~ Exteriors

The form of the original building is that of a simple rectangular prism with a parapettedgable roof sheeted in painted corrugated steel. There are later appendages at the west endand along the south side, which have skillion roofs of corrugated asbestos-cement. Boththese additions have compromised the construction of the main building. Walls areconstructed -of brickwork which is assumed to be solid as no evidence of cavityconstruction has so far been found. None of the concrete floors is le\'el, all either falling todrain channels or uneven in surface.

Two of the original south bays had 'wide doorways. These and the south windmvs werealtered when the southern shower rooms were added. Above the roof of the annexe,rectangular windmvs were inserted, interrupting the curves of the former arches. The threewest ba\'s were also altered when the end shower rooms were added; the roof of this annexcuts across the former window arches. The centre bay in the east end has a very widearched opening, probably originally a window, with projecting brick imposts. This '\-vaslater altered, the imposts knocked off, and the arch partly filled in with bricbvork supportedon a lintel of double channels, to form a vehicular doorway with a steel roller shutter. Thesouthernmpst east windmv was also altered and a doonvay inserted. In the tipper cornersof the east wall panels, and in some other places in the side walls, there are circularopenings, presumably penetrations for former steam pipes.

The building has high walls of common dry-press brown-pink bricks displaying a highproportion of red-hearts, laid up in English bond with downstruck joints. The brick rod issuch that eight courses measure approximately 26314 inches (680 mm). The building haseight side bays and three end bays marked by engaged pierS: between \vhich. are tallopenings having two-ring bullnose arches, mostly filled \'dth multi-paned iron-framedwindows. Each window frame includes an eight-light centre-pi\'oted sash. The sills are ofcement render. The walls are articulated also bv a base and a corbelled frieze motif whIchproject similarly to the piers, i e half-a-brick from the panels which they enframe. Above

- the frieze the v/aIling corbels out additionally to provide a wide continuous bearing surfacefor the roof trusses inside, the spacing of which is not related to the exterior embayment.Externally this corbelling reads as a cornice on each side, upon which the roof guttersappear to rest.

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Form and structure

The pier, panel, frieze and cornice motif extends around to the ends of the building, exceptfor the centre east bay, in which the brick arch has a crown slightly higher than the cornice.The end piers extend up into the gables, where they are narrmver than below the cornice,and merge with the corbelled brick coping of the gable parapets. These copings are levelledQut towards the base of each gable, where the top piers are stepped out, giving prdminen-ce ..to the corners of the building. High in each gable there is a circular opening edged withredder bricks and originally containing timber louvres. At the apex of the east gable there isa remnant of a timber framework, possibly once a bellcote.

Outside the north and south walls at ground level there are drainage channels, now withoutcovers. At the east end there are two ground-level sumps and a length of channel:

Beyond the north wall there are remnant brick walls at ground level, concrete floors andmachine or column bases, presumably once parts of the compressor buildings, furtherevidenced by flashing lines in the walling above the windows in several bays. Two lowconcrete bases here appear to have'been supports for columns of the conveyor leading fromthe drift southwards and over the roof of the bath house to the coal handling facility (thereare other such bases on the south side of the building). At the \vest end, partly concealedby recent banking and fill, are the remains of the switch room and the substantial base of the

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main chimney stack. Further west are the remnant floor and basement"bfthe former upcastshaft winder house. At the east end can be seen the remnant of the footings of one of thecompressor rooms and, near the south-east corner, the rails of an old skip road. Theseelements are indicated on the sketch plan and described elsewhere in this report.

@ Interiors

For identification of the spaces described in the following paragraphs reference should bemade to the accompanying sketch plan. '

Space 1

This is the main and largest area of the building. Its length is marked by twelve rooftrusses which divide the space intp thirteen bays, l!nrelated tu the spacing ,of the sidewindows, which it will be recalled are set within eight longitudinal wall bays. There are nointernal piers. The roof trusses are of Ifan l design, fabricated of rivetted steel angles; theysupport timber purlins which are stop-chamfered and spaced to suit the corrugated metalcovering. There are no ceilings. There are some relatively new ridge vents as well asremnants of older ones. '

,The window openings are recessed within larger internal panels which are rendered and, have three-ring bullnose brick arches and bullnose reveals and sills. The walling is of facebrickwork laid in Flemish bond, without redhearts. It has been painted but the paint is invery poor condition. Where the \'\'indows have been filled in, e g on the south and·we,stsides, the masonry has been rendered to match the rendered recesses. In the south-westcorner an entranc~ doorway and a small lobby having rendered walls of doorhead heighthave been formed.

The floor is of concrete with a plain trowelled finish. At the west end this is more-or-Iesslevel, where there were once spaces enclosed by brick partitions. Around the north, eastand south sides the floor falls to a drain channel against these walls. Here the floor ismarked with shallow grooves in a diamond pattern. From these edges the floor is laid witha fall inwards. towards a longitudinal channel which appears to have drained to the easternend of the space. There is evidence of what appear to be locker supports, typified by a rowof impressions about 3m in from the eastern doorway.

Spaces 2, 3 and 4

These were part of the skillion-roofed appendage on the south side. They are identicalexcept fbr being of different lengths, and are separated from one another by half-partitionsattached to the south wall and twelve tile-courses high. The walls;'indudlng the formerexternal wal,ling of the power house, are covered with white ceramic tiles 6 inches (152mm) square to a: height of about 6 feet (1.8 m), with soapholder tiles at frequent intervals.The three-light windows, some of which are top-hung sashes, are located in the renderedwalling above the tiling. The floor is of plain trowelled concrete, generally falling to acontinuous drain channel. The roof is a simple timber-framed skillion with timber raftersand battens covered with asbestos-cement, and there are no c~ilings or ventilators. '

The shower' pipes, heads and taps, presumed to have been overhead fittings, have gone,and the floor drain cover plates or grates are missing.

Space 5

This is a lobby leading from the south side of the building through the appendage to Space1 and also giving access to the toilet block, Space 6. It has rendered walls, a concrete floorand a timber skillion roof as in Spaces 2,3 and 4: A pair of doors leads into Space 1 and a

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single door leads to the toilets, but the external doors are missing.

Space 6

This toilet block has tiled surfaces and walls and a roof treatment much the same as Spaces2,3 and 4, and there is a plain concrete floor. There are three toilets with teraz~o partitionsand a stainless steel urinal. There were two basins but only one nmy sUf\'i\'es. An openingin the nort~ wall above the urinals indicates a pipe penetration.

Spaces 7 and 8

These rooms are in the western appendage. They are separate sho'wer rooms, said to havebeen for the mine deputies. Their detailing is the same as that of Spaces 2, 3 and 4 alreadydescribed. However some of the overhead shower piping and control gear is still in place.Space 7 has an external doorway in the south wall which is nm,' filled in, and both r:oomshave doors' leading from-Space 1...... "'- 1,- - - --. - .•

Space 9

This is a small room in the north corner of the ,,'estern appendage. It is accessed from- Space 8-and has a splayed corner in which there ,vas once an external doorway. The walls

are of brick, the floor of concrete and the skillion roof is of exposed timber construction.The original use of this room is not known.

Dil Intactness and condition

The building bears in its fabric much evocati,'e e"idence of earlier uses \\'hich would beuseful in the practical interpretation of its history. Of the po\,'er-house phase the mainevidence is the volume and form of the structure, including the arched doorways in thesouth wall of Space 1; but other evidence such as steam-pip;penetrations ha\'e be-en notedearlier. The appearance of the original power house has been notably compromised by thelater additions, which caused the filling-in of the arched openings of the south and eastwalls and the insertion of the high windows in the south wall.

The bath-nouse phase is indicated by the south and west appendages and their surYi\'ingfinishes. It is reported that the southern shower areas \\-ere for the miners and the westernrooms were for the mine deputies, the toilets for both groups being in the south-westcorner. This particular usage has not been SUbstantiated, for the existing block of threetoilets is the only suite to survive; it is not adequate for 500-plus employees and therefore itseems likely that other toilet blocks once existed. (The 1943 plan indicates that the smallbuilding on the west side of State Mine Gully Creek, later used as stables and now only aremnant, was at that time a 'lavatory' not far from the horse paddock).

Alterations which appear to have been made in more recent times include the roller shuttereddoorway and the smaller doorway in the east end. The large opening had bullnose revealswhich are still evident down to about the level of a window sill, and there are rebated jambscontaining timber plugs such as might have been used as fixings for a window frame. Thebrick imposts·no doubt added to the visual importance of this opening.

The cOhdition of the structure is much less than peIfect. The principal damage is someserious wall cracking, probably the result of subsidence, at the north-west come!; of thepower house building. The roof of the western appendage is damaged and leaking, and itsconnection to the main building is now somewhat insubstantial.. .

The appearance of the building as a whole has been considerably impaired by the lack ofmaintenance and upkeep in recent years, giving it an unfortunate character of decrepitude.

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9. 1.4 Cultural significance

illl Statement of signficance

(i) The surviving buildings at this colliery are distinctive in possessing a charactermore akin to railway architecture, in contrast to that evident at most other coalmine sites.

(ii) This oharacter reflects the fact that the buildings were designed and erected after themine had been taken over by !he Railway Commissioners at the end of 1920. .

(iii) The former power house/bath house is a good example of this 'raihvayr characterat this particular colliery.

(iv) -.-. It is an example of successful changed use, from power house to bath housf;.----'- .~. :0. >. _ ..,...,..~

(v) It displays interesting architectural features and details, such as its comparativelylow-profiled, linear form, its 'layered' arched windows and its unusual parapettedgables.

(vi) The large, single-volume space, befitting both a power house and a colliery bathhouse, has intrinsic spatial interest which is enhanced by iron-framed, multi-panedarched windows and other large arched openings and the bayed open roofstructure.

" 9. 1 . 5 Conservation policy and recommendations

@ Policy statement

(i) The former power house/bath house building should be retained and consenoedand adapted for use or uses which do not compromise the values discussed in theStatement of Significance. See recommendations (i), (ii).' (v), (vi).' (vii) and (viii).

(ii) Evidence of use as a colliery bath house should be retained. See recommendation(iii):

(iii) Evidence of use as a power house should be retained. See recommendation (iv).

(iv) It is considered that the skillion-roofed appendages at the west end and on the~south side compromise" the architectural values of the building. These additionshowever are primary evidence of bath-house usage and consideration musttherefore be given to retaining them. See recommendations (ix), (x), (xi) and (xii).

ffl Recommendations

(i) The building could be used for any desired purpose, the main objective in suchreuse being to retain its spatial qualities, but not necessarily to retain the view ofthe roof covering and purlins which have little visual appeal. If used as a hall,consideration will need to be given to alternative garage accommodation for themotor vehicles and heavy equipment currently stored in the building.

(ii) If, by using this bui~ding as a hall, the workshops/store bu~lding would have to beconsidered for the garaging of such vehicles, it must be stated that any opening-upof the exterior walls of that building to provide additional vehicle access is notdesirable. On the other hand, it is conceivable that some of the workshop/storecould be successfully adapted for use as a hall or function space.

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(iii) One space in the fonner power house/bath hims~ building should be retained andconserved with its tiled finish; as a reminder of its use as a bath house for thecolliery that-was the biggest employer on the western field. Suitable areas for suchconservation, in view of their relative intactness, would be either Space 2(south-east corner) or Space 8 (north-west corner). It ,"vould be reasonable tosalvage wall tiles and soap holders from other areas for use in this restoration.Refention of the tired finish should not be construed as implying that the spacecould not be used for any other appropriate purposes, such as offices, storage orsupper or display rooms.

(iv) The round openings in the perimeter walls, once used for steam pipes, should beretained and reopened where they have been closed, glazing them if necessary.

(v) There is room in Space 1 for a stage or withdrawing area at the west end where, atan earlier time in the life of the building, there were partitions built to ~bout doorhead height. - ~ -, ."

(vi) If Spaces 2,3 or 4 need to be separated from Space 1, infilling should be such thatthe arched forms of the existing openings are not compromised. If it is requireettoerect partitions in Spaces 2, ~ or 4, the fonn of the existing partitions, i e not

- extending to the roof line, should be respected; in other words, extensions up tothe roof, or new partitions built up to the roof line, should be of light-weight orcontrasting construction so as to retain the essenc~ of the old bathroom divisions.

(vii) Space 3 is suitable for use as a storage or office area. Space 4 also has potentialfor offices or storage, or it could-be used for the installation of new toilet facilitiesaccessible via air locks from Space 1 and/or Space 5.

(viii) Space 5 has potential for use as a lobby for toilets in Spaces 4 and 6 and also as alobby for Space 1.

(ix) The western appendage (Spaces 7, 8 and 9) compromises the building bothstructurally and visually more than that on the south, and its refurbishment wouldrequire considerably more effort and expense. It is therefore recommended that itsdemolition, if desired, should not be opposed.

(x) Space 7, if not demolished, has potential for any required use and, because it hasopenings to the exterior as well as to Space 1, could be considered for a toiletblock.

(xi) ~ Space 8 could be retained and conserved as an example of bath facilities or, ifSpace 2 is so used, it could be demolished or modified for any purpose.

(xii) Space 9, if not demolished, 'could be adapted for any use.

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A general view of the former power house/bath house, from the east. The skillion-roofed section'onthe left was added as part of the conversion from colliery power house to miners' bath house.

The east or front facade. Note the division into bays by means of brick piers, frieze and cornice. Inthis elevation the cornice is interrupted by the wide brick arch in the centre, which appears to havebeen originally a large window, perhaps incorporating a door. The door on the left is an insertion;the left window originally matched the one on the right.

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Above: This viewfrom the south-westshows both skillionedadditions, whichcontained showerrooms.

Left: The north-eastcorner of the powerhouseJbath house,viewed from the siteoriginally occupied bythe boilers. Note thebrickparapetted gable,the tall iron-framedwindows and thecircularpipe-opening.One of the compressorstructures was attachedto this side of thebuilding.

Left: A detail of ajamb of llIC cast door.Its inside reveal isbullnosed and llle jambis rebated as for awindow willl a sillheight of ahout 1300mm.

Right: A detail ofthe door inserted besidethe tall window at the'front, the opcning ofwhich can be seenbricked up. Note alsothe bricked-up pipeopening high in thisbay.

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This is a view of Space 1 looking towards the large east doorway. Internally the building is simpleand somewhat utilitarian. The trusses are rivetted steel and there is no ceiling. The windows areenclosed in large round-arched reeesses with bullnose reveals. The wall finish is simply painted

brickwork. now neglected.

A detail of the floor inside the east door. In its bath house phase this area was evidently a largechange room. Note the edging ofdiagonally grooved concrete. In the foreground can be seen themarks left when banks oflockers were removed.

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Two views in Space 1. ITop: The south-east

Icorner, showing theaddition ofa smallentrance lobby. Notethe rectangular window Ithat breaks the archover one of the originalsouth windows.

ILeft: A detail ofthe south wall. Thisarchway now leads into ISpace 2. In the powerhouse phase of thebuilding it was Ioriginally one of thewide entrancedoonvays.

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Left: A detail of thewest wall inside Space1. The doorway, whichnow leads to 7,was originally awindow. Note the poorcondition of the paintedbrick.vork

Below: lnsideSpace2, looking towardsSpace 3.

- -- - -

, Left: Space 6, a maletoilet block. The tilesoap holder above theurinal (right) suggeststhat this space wasonce a shower area.

Right: Space 8, inthe armexe added to thewest end of thebuilding.

- - - - -_. - - - - - - - - --

I

", Left: The north-;vest~ . ..:

corner of the former-t".... ,1

power house/batht;";

I house, showing the": i,major diagonal crack in

,11 the brickwork of the< -!

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!"~I:':~; Below: The south';,.r; wall of Spaces 2,3 andIf'!; ... I

4. Note the many'.-'71,~.~'t· '\ L

alterations to the brick~r·~;~ ; f;

~walling. A drainage

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channel runs along thebase of this wall.

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9.2 THE OFFICE BUILDING

9.2. 1 Historical notes

The office building has evidently always been in this location but, according to the 1926plan of the surface structures, a building labelled 'temporary offices' preceded the presentone. At thar time a large fenced horse paddock existed to the south of the offIces and therewas a time office - a small square room with a verandah all round - to the south-east.Hard against the north side of the offices there was a gantry, 'which crossed over the timberstorage area and its rail sidings.

The 1943 plan shows the building substantially as it now is: a weatherboarded building,labelled 'general offices', encircled by a verandah and having at the rear or west end anambulance room. This room was later fitted out as a kitchen and is shown as Space 9 onthe accompanying sketch plan. At this time there was also a rectangular appendage withtwo rooms, of unknown purpose, beyond the ambulance room; these have now gone. Thesame drawing indicates that the external toilet (Space 12) and the eastern half of Space 11were there in 1943. By then the time office had gone and in the vicinity (though not on thesame spot) was a stump cabin - a small weatherboard room with a verandah on its west,north and south sides. There was no sign of the gantry.

By 1961, according to the site plan of that year, the area had changed somewhat. Thepresent bath room and toilet (Space 10) had been built at the south-west corner of the'general office', adjoining the two-room appendage. It is likely that this ablutions areareplaced an older bath room which was converted into a strong room (Space 5). The raisedlawn area is also shown, and on it the stump cabin, though that little building is unlabelled.A road encircles the office building and its lawn, and on the north side of the road is thetwo-compartment elevated 300-ton coal bin at the highest end of the overhead conveyor.

The building as it stands is largely the same as it appears to have been in 1961; the maindifference is the absence of what has been called the two-room appendage.

9.2.2 Description of the fabric

@l Planning

This single-storey building has the scale and character of a residence. It was evidentlyplanned so as to be located on the same north-south axis as the power house/bath house. Inplan it is a simple rectangle with projecting rooms on the west. There is a full-length centralpassage with the front entrance door at its east end and a small rear lobby at the west. Oneach.side of the passage there are rooms of various sizes, one of them (Space 5) probablyoriginally a bath room. The verandah envelopes all sides of the building. On the south sidethe verandah is partly enclosed for the external toilet (Space 12) and small rooms whichappear to have been pay booths (Space 11). There are eight corner fireplaces, reminders ofthe cool climate that must have made winter heating an imperative. Six of these are in pairs,each pair sharing a chimney. In what seems to have been an economy measure, the backsof the paired fireplaces are not sheeted with the common wall materials but are simply ofexposed brickwork.

l.Ql - Form and structure

The low profile of the office building is emphasised by its hipped roof of painted corrugatedsteel, which extends down over the verandah on all sides. There is a circular ventilator inthe centre of the roof ridge. Apart from concrete floors in Spaces 5, 10, 12 and part of 11,and the floor of the verandah,the building is entirely timber framed. Its wall studs arecovered externally with rebated weatherboards which are butted at chamfered corner stops


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and overlapped by the outside window architraves. Internally the ·walls are sheeted (as faras can be determined) with horizontal V-jointed timber lining boards. Most of the walls arenow lined with hardboard, softboard or asbestos-cement, presumably applied over thetimber lining boards. It is possible that the ceilings were also originally sh~eted with thesame kind of lining boards, though they are now covered as for the walls, mostly withtimber cover_straps. The fireplaces and the five chimneys are of brick, as·are the walls ofthe bath room, the exterior toilet and the base waIling of Space 11. The roof over thesection of. the verandah south of Space 10 is curious because it is built as a low gableslightly higher than the main verandah.

This is the only surviving timber building of a colliery ensemble which essentiallycomprised .brick and ·steel structures. It is also the only building having a domesticcharacter. Furthermore, the character is also clearly that of the Federation period. It ispossible that the building was in fact a house, built on some other site in 1905-1910 andlater remove~ aI!-d re-erected here. That possibility has not yet been investigated.

ffl Exterior

The east or entrance front is the only symmetrical face of the building. The generalcharacter of the exterior is that of a simple, utilitarian structure, the organic quality of which- is even -inore evident by virtue of the western extensions. Because there has been noeffective maintenance for some time, there is an overall air of seediness bordering ondecrepitude. The front and rear doors are four-panelled, with bol~ction moulds and hingedtransom lights, and the windows have moulded narrow timber architraYes and projectingtimber sills with scotias beneath. External door thresholds are of bullnosed timber. Theverandah has no ceiling except for the added portion outside the south wall of Space 9,,vhich has a level ceiling of second-hand hardboard sheeting. Some of the verandah postsare missing or have been altered. Space 9 has roof eaves with exposed rafters, simplerwindow architraves and sills with ovolos rather than scotias beneath. Over the rear doorthere is a skilllion roof of translucent plastic sheeting supported on two pipe posts. Space10 has boxed eaves lined with hardboard. An additional area of paYing has been formed atthe south-west corner to give access to the doorway of Space 11. The chimney brickworkis laid in stretcher bond and the chimney tops have a projecting string, corbels and concretecaps.

@ Interiors

The interiors are generally simple in design and detail, their spartan quality now being moreevident because of the lack of maintenance. Timber floors are covered in linoleum or vinyl;mostly in poor condition. Skirtings are of simple chamfered section. The chimneypiecesare painted exposed brick and the fireplaces have hobs and segmental arched openings.Hearths have kerbs made of skip-rails and each overmantel is a plain shelf supported onsolid bandsawn brackets. Doors are four-panelled with simple mouldings and some withrimlocks, while windows are timber with double-hung sashes, each divided into two paneswith a vertical glazing bar and with homed bottom sashes as well as top sashes.Architraves are of simple chamfered section. Many sash cords are missing but presumablythe weights are still inside the boxes. There are zinc adjustable wall ventilators. Cornicesare generally timber scotia mouldings. While most of the electric ligh~ wiring is concealed,most o( the power wiring is surface mounted.

Space 1

This has a corner fireplace and a small external wall hatch north of the west window.Inside a timber framed wall cupboard the painted V-jointed lining boards of the originalwalling can be seen.

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Space 2

Here the V-jointed lining boards can be seen and there is a corner fireplace with a kerbformed of curved skip-rail. A door connects to Space 4.

Space 3

There is a small store room (Space 3A) inserted here. The door to Space 3 is missing.

Space 4

This 'is a small room with a corner fireplace and a doorway to Room 2.

Space 5

This is now a strongroom'with wans eH3#Ck:, bagged internally, inserted inside the timberwalls and across the window of what is supposed to have been previously a bathroom.Some white wall tiling is visible between the brick walling and the wall of the passage,while the original ceiling of V-jointed boarding is "isible above the concrete ceiling slab.The floor slab is of concrete at slightly higher level than the general timber flooripg, and

- there is a heavy welded steel door with double padlocking, ,velded steel jambs and a raisedthreshold. Inside there are two sets of wall shelves. The passage door has been removed.

Space 6

This room was one of two larger offices. In one corner it has an interesting fuli-heightsquare cupboard with three compartments and ledged and braced doors. There is a cornerfireplace, bricked over, and a hearth which once supported a console heater. A door in thesouth wall gives access to Space 11 and beside it there are windO\\' lights. There are twohatches in the east wall connecting to Space 4 and another door leading to Space 8A.

Space 7

This is the second of the larger offices and, with four windows, ,,'as possibly a drawingoffice. It has a corner fireplace.

Space 8

The wall between this space and Space 8A is presumably a later insertion, as the room isnow small and ill-lit. The door to 8A haS three panels. There is a corner fireplace whosemantel has been removed. The door to the passage is a later insertion and the door has twopanels, the top one glazed.

Space 9

This is the original ambulance room and the double doors in the west wall, above whichthere are transom lights, are remnants of this former use. It is now a kitchen, having acorner fireplace bricked up and now with a slow-combustion stove on the hearth. There isa sink and cupb0ard unit, a stove, a refrigerator and a small hot ,,'ater unit. The windowhere is wider and is probably of later date than the other windows of the building. Outsidethe double doors there is a single flyscreen door. A doorway without a door gives access toSpace 8A, and another door leads to the bathroom Space 10.

Space 10

This is an L-shaped room with walls of hard-plastered brick and a concrete floor one step

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down from that of the kitchen. There is a WC in the south-west corner, with a slightly lower floor, a corner basin, a bath, a single trough and a hot water unit. There are a smalldouble-hung window and two small louvre windows. A door is visible outside thenorth-west corner of this room but there is no sign of it inside.

Space 11

-This is an.enclosed portion of the south verandah. It appears to have been two narrowrooms, the one on the west having a concrete floor one step down from the other space toits east. The south wall is glazed with sliding sashes above a brick base at silllevel;-andtwo of the sashes have openings in their bottom rails such as those used for dispensing payor dockets. There are two external doors, one in the brick wall to the east and the other inthe timber west wall, both leading to verandahed areas.

Space 12

This is an external toilet with brick walls in stretcher bond, added under the verandah andoutside the timber walling.

Passage

Here the walls are of butted softboard presumably nailed over the timber lining boarding.The west door leading to the small lobby is of stable door design. T4e' combined back ofthe fireplaces in Spaces 2 and 4 is exposed brick, but the brickwork of the fireplaces inSpaces 6 and 8 has been covered over wi th softboard.

Rear lobby

Here the walls are lined with both beaded and V-jointed boarding and the brick back of thefireplace in Space 7 is visible.

ffi Intactness and condition

The office puilding is relatively intact and in good though tatty condition. It displays in itsfabric evidence of its changed functions such as from ambulance room to kitchen and frombath room to strong room, the latter possibly suggesting a former residential occupancy.The principal reason for its present condition is lack of maintenance.

9.2.3 Cultural significance

Statement ofsignificance

(i) The office building is the only timber building remaining at the colliery site.

(ii) The building has been in continuous'use as mine offices.

(iii) As is the case with the other remaining buildings, its character is unusual in beingakin to railway architecture rather than colliery architecture.

(iv) -, The low profile and roof line of building, together ,with the vertical emphases of itschimneys and its setting relative to the lawn areas, provides some aesthetic appeal.

9.2.4 Conservation policy and recommendations

ill

(i)

(ii)

ilil

(i)

(ii)

_ (iii)

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Conservation policy

The office building should be retained and conserved and, if necessary, adaptedfor use or uses which do not compromise the values enunciated in the statement ofsignificance.

Evidence of use as an office building should be retained.

Recommendations

The exteriors should be painted, as soon as possible so as to prevent furtherdeterioration, in appropriate colours, using evidence of the original or earliestknown colour scheme.

Interior wall claddings not original to the building should be removed where theirremoval would reveal original or more appropriate surfaces such as V-jointedlining boards.

.Appropriate uses for the building include a Museum office, interpretation spacesand materials and refreshment facilities.

It is strongly recommended that, in view of (iii) above, accommodation for a radiostation, as has been proposed, should be located in another building.


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MAY 1334-

The east or entrance front of the office building. This is the only symmetrical elevation, though itcan be seen that the chimneys are not symmetrically placed.

This long side of the building faces north. The simple hipped roof and enveloping verandahs arenotable. Some of the verandah posts are missing. The construction in the foreground is thebasework of the 300-ton coal bin. On the far side can be seen the south lawn and a mullock dump.

I

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The south side of the office building, viewed from the mullock dump.

The west side, viewed from another mullock dump. The pay windows are on the right The nearestbrick appendage is the bath room. Its door has been bricked up on the that thisaddition formerly had another function,

ii.1

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Left: The frontentrance, a four-panelled,bol~tion-mou1deddoor

with a transom light.The weatherboards arerusticated and rebated.

Below: Therearverandah, showing theextemal door at the westend of the passage: itmatches the front door.Note the brickworkwhich is the back of thefireplace in Space 7.


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whistle "l~lldl".

Left: At lht: north-wt:stcorner is tlle boarddisplavinl! tht:

Right: Detail of thenorili ver.Clndlah, showin:L'tlle brick backsof lhc fircplat:cs in

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Left: Thccomcrcupboard in Spacc 6. Toits right is a hatchwaythat formerly conncctedwith Space 4.

Right: A view in thepassage, showing thestable-type door leadingto the rear lobby.

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9.3 THE WORKSHOPS AND STORES

9.3.1 Historical notes

The earliest available drawing of the colliery surface structures CNSWGR DepartmentalCoal Mine .. ~ 19261) shows this building substantially in its present form, including theskillioned room at the north end. The building was labelled as 'Stores, carp.enters, fittersand blacksmiths shops'. By 1943 there were two galvanised iron appendages, labelled'sheds', one on the east or railway yard side and the other at the south end. Two skiptracks passed through the eastern shed. There is now no evidence of these appenages or theskip roads, except for the remains of a smithy tuyere and piping in the south "vall, which isdescribed later.

The 1943 plan also shows the small brick building beyond the north end of the stores,lal:~elled as 'LAV',...Qresumably.a toilet block for the w9rkshop and stores staff. This is-now. a disused store, the toilets having been removed. It is included in the section of this reportdealing with Remnant Structures and Formations. The same 1943 plan shows a standardgauge rail siding along the east side of the workshop and stores building; no trace of thissurvives, but a plan dated 1961 has a skip track along this alignment, passing through clcompoun4 and proceeding northwards, where it joins another skip road passing-southwards along the \vest side of the building and continuing to the colliery boilercomplex. These rail tracks have also gone, but the west formation surviYes and is listed inthe Remnant Structures and Formations section, as is the former compound.

The concrete bases of two drum stores, located bet\\'een the stores building and the formertoilet block, are also shown unlabelled on the 1961 plan. These too are described in theRemnant Structures and Formations section.

A photograph taken in the 1960s shows that Space 2 had a monitor roof, i e the ridgeportion of the roof was raised above the rest, presumably to provide outlet ventilation,suggesting that the activities carried on in this space generated greater heat than did those inthe rest of the building.


ill Planning

Unlike the power house/bath house building, which is axially related to its neighbours, theworkshop/store building is obliquely placed, along the contours of the site and at the foot ofthe western hill. The accompanying sketch plan indicates the general arrangement of thebuilding and identifies the areas described in this section. It comprises six spaces,originally unconnected, but now having a doorway between Spaces 3 and 4 and anotherbetween Spaces 5 and 6. The room at the north end (Space 6) has a sltillion roof.

There is a wide concrete apron along the east side and extending northwards to the formerdrum stores. This apron incorporates a small length of skip track at the south end, which isnot shown on any available drawings of the site. On the west the soil is retained by" a brickwall separated from the building only by the width of a drainage channel. Thus the adjacentsoil is up.to a metre above the floor level. Another concrete drainage channel runs along theeast side bfthe building and is bridged at each doorway.

ilil Form and structure

The building is a long rectangular structure with solid brick walls and a parapetted gableroof covered in painted corrugated steel sheeting. Its general character and detailingmatches that of the formed power house/bath house building, but because it is narrower

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than that building, it has timber roof trusses instead of :steel.' These· are substantialking-post trusses of plain sawn oregon, each augmented by t\vo additional vertical strutsand some having doubled tie beams. They are very utilitarian trusses, without the refineddetailing usually associated with such structural components, such as the tapered thickeningat the base and apex of the king post. An interesting detail is that the carpenters' chiselledRoman numerals used in identifying and assembling their joints can be clearly seen. Thepurlins are also plain sawn timber and they are doubled at the ridge. Some of j:he floors areon-grade .concrete and some are timber. .

The walling comprises panels of 9-inch (about 230 mm) thick brickwork with a bCl$e,engaged piers and a corbelled frieze surrounding the panels and increasing the thickness to14 inches (356 mm). Above the frieze the walling is corbelled out an additional half-brickthickness to form a seating for the roof trusses, The window and door openings are archedwith iron window frames and timber door frames. The building is unusual in that the '\-"allbays are not of uniform width and, in one room (Space 3) the roof bays (marked by ther.oof trusses) and the wall bays (marked' by-the-ex-temah~iers) d"o·itot=l1ta'tcn"': -ThiS-may be =compared with the former power house/bath house, in which all the bays are unmatched, asfor Space 3 here.

There are loft storeys in two of the rooms. That above Space 1 appears to be original, or at- least early, while that above Space 5 was evidently inserted more recently.

{Ql Exteriors

The general lines of the building are lower than those of the former po'\ver house/bath housebut the brickwork is similar, being of common dry-press brown-pink bricks ,,'ith afairlyhigh proportion of red-hearts, laid up mainly in English and, surprisingly, partly in Remishcolonial bond. There are eighteen longitudinal and three lateral wall bays which, as hasalready been remarked, are of unequal widths. The original openings are ar:ched, thewindow openings having two-ring round arches and the doorways having either round orsegmental three-ring arches. The windows themselves are metal, each frame including aneight-light centre-pivoted sash. Nearly all the glass is missing. The base plinth andwindow sills are '\veathered and cement rendered. The two arched v;:indows in the southwall appear to have been inserted after the building was completed and later still extended tofloor level to form doorways. One of these doorways presumably gave access to theblacksmiths' workshop which was once in a timber shed built against the south wall(shown. in early documents). The pipe of what was the tuyere of the forge can still be seenin the base of the brickwork. Above the cornice another windO\"\' has been inserted,presumably to light the loft rooms above Space 1. A l~rge doorway almost fills thenorth-east bay of Space 2 and other roughly-formed insertions have diminished the pleasantappearance of the facades.

. . .

The ends of the building are parapetted gables, with attenuated piers continuing above thebrick cornice which surmounts the perimeter frieze. The parapet copings are levelled out atthe corners and corbelled similarly to those of the power house/bath house.

@ Interiors

The interior spaces are without exception functional and spartan both in finish andappearance. The walls are of common brickwork, their whitewashed finish now muchdeteriorated. There are no ceilings except as noted below.

There are several interesting details or remnants, such as corner (ireplaces in three of theworkshop areas, a few lengths of internal skip track, and an overhead line shaft at roof tiebeam level which once transmitted power to workshop machinery in Spaces 2, 3 and 4.Only two pulleys remain on the shaft and there is no trace of its driving mechanism except afloor base inside the north wall of Space 3, which is presumed to have been the engine base

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of the electric motor.

Space 1

This small room, one bay in length, has a timber floor and a corner fireplace. There is a loftstorey, formed of timber planks supported on railway-line lateral beams built into thebrickwork. bnly one of these rail-beams has a timber plate for fixing the floQr planks. Theloft, over .about two-thirds of the room, is accessed by a narrow ladder-stair leading to twotimber-framed storage areas with unused shelf framing, whose partitioning is partly sheetedwith pine boarding. The window/door openings in the south and west walls are boarded upinternally. Against that wall there survives the piping leadin'g to the tuyere which formerlyprovided air to, the blacksmith's forge in the shed beyond.

Space 2

This is the largest room in the building, five bays in length. It has aconcretefloor IiI whichthere are two lateral skip tracks, one of which extends through a doorway inserted toreplace a window, and then joins the short length of north-south track in the concrete apronoutside the east wall. The other skip track, which is curved, abuts the same apron trackbutthere is no remnant of a workable external junction with it. A large doorway, with aconcrete lintel, has been formed in the north-east bay, and outside this a length of skip trackcrosses the apron and terminates just beyond the edge. There is a small partitioned andceilinged room in the north-west corner. In the south wall a former doorway has been filledin. At an earlier stage of the building's history the ridge portion of the roof of this roomwas raised ,as a monitor, presumably for ventilation. The roof now has two panels oftranslucent sheeting replacing the corrugated metal.

Space 3

This space is four roof bays long but there are only three wall bays. It is unique in thisbuilding in being the only room in which wall and roof bays do not match. The floor is ofconcrete. The east windows have been boarded up internally and covered with sheet metal.Overhead the line shaft, once transmitting power to the machines in these areas, traversesthe room above truss tie beam level. To the east of the riorth doorway there is a concretepad which was probably the base of the electric motor providing power to the overheadshaft. A doorway to Space 2 has been bricked up.

Space 4

In this area the roof and wall bays match and the space is four bays long. It has a concretefloor- and there is a skip track running north-west for portion of its length. A singlemetal-clad door has been inserted into the window opening in the north--east corner, 'whilethe double doors in the south-east corner are in ail arched opening. A doorway, withoutdoors, has been cut into the south wall leading to Space 3. There is a fireplace in thesouth-west corner, back-to-back with the fireplace in Space 3. Some old timber shelvingunits sun!ive.

Space 5

Here tbe roof and wall bays match and the space is four bays long. It was originally aself-contained area but in more recent years a doprway has been formed leading into Space6. The ledged and braced double doors from the external apron appear to be original; overthem there is a fanlight. Two openings formerly in the south wall (probably windows forthe issue of tools and equipment to the workshop in Space 4) have been filled in withconcrete blockwork. There is a timber floor which on the west side has partly collapsed,apparently as a result of dry rot A timber loft floor has been inserted over the whole room,supported on paired lateral hardwood beams shouldered to timber posts and resting on short

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plates bolted to the side waHs. There is a single-flight staircase of hardwood, without ahandrail and, beside it on the ground floor, the unlined studs of some office partitioning.Upstairs there are ranges of timber shelf framing and, in the north-east corner, a derelictpair of small offices with a ceiling.

Space 6

This is the small skillion-roofed compartment at the north end of the building, about thesame size as Space 1 at the south end. It has a concrete floor and a corrugated steel roof onpurlins supported by two sloping oregon beams. The bay-and-panel construction evident inthe exterior of the building in general can be seen on the south wall here, suggesting that theroom was an addition, but there is no discontinuity in the brick bonding of the east and west

I-----brickworkwhere a joint woulcl-15e expectOOlf irnaen5een aclclecl~Tne entrance from the eastapron is wide enough for double doors but there are in fact no doors. The doorwayconnecting this room and Space 5 is not original and the ledged-and-braced door has beenhung upside·.down. Along-the seuth-'\Wl.U'a series-of bolt heads can be seen; the boltssupport shelving along the other side of the wall in Space 5. The major vertical structuralcrack mentioned in the exterior description is prominent in the north 'wall.

ill Intactness and condition

Considered in general terms the workshops/stores building is intact. Although much detailhas been compromised or lost, it is capable of adequate restoration, reconstruction orreplication.

In respect of general condition some defects will require to be addressed in the medium tolong term. For instance there is some serious cracking in the brick '.vaIling. At the northend a vertical crack, tapering from a couple of millimetres at the base to more than 30 mm atthe top, has broken one of the brick piers, suggesting some subsidence. There is also muchhorizontal cracking, as well as some stepped and radial cracking abo\-e the arches,indicating stresses and building movements of various kinds.

There is some evidence of damp penetration, some-of it on the west of the building verylikely due to the inadequacy or blockage of the drainage channel along the outside wall,where the ground level is well above the floor level. Urgent attention should be given tothis problem. The collapse of the floor in Space 5 is probably due to the effects of moistureon the timber elements and the external wall channel probably exacerbates this.

There is some damage to brickwork, including the arch elements. There is oil staining onsome of the walling, probably the result of over-enthusiastic lubrication of the overhead lineshaft over the years. Most of the windows have lost their glazing and the paintwork of allthe internal walling is in very poor condition.

9.3.3 Significance

ll!l Discussion

The discussion of the significance of the colliery as a whole is given earlier in this report. Itis important to understand, however, that the partiCular significance of the workshops andstores building lies largely in its intactness and therefore in its ability to evoke the nature andcharacter of its ~istory. This is possible by virtue of its setting as well as its fabric" by itsspatial qualities as well as its enclosing surfaces, materials, textures and surviving details.

ilil Statement ofsignificance

(i) This building, like the former power house/bath house building and the officebuilding, is distinctive in possessing a character akin to railway architecture, in

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(iii) The old loft storey in Space 1 should be retained and conserved. Removal of themore recent ands less sympathetic loft storey in Space 5 should be regarded asoptional.

(iv) The open fireplaces should be retained and conserved.

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contrast to that evident at most other coal m'ine sites.

(ii) This character reflects the fact that the buildings were-designed and erected after themine had been taken over by the Railways Commissioners at the end of 1920.

(iii) Its location relative to the axially-designed central mine buildings, i e along thecontour of the -site' and against the bluff of the hill to the north-west, is aniJ?teresting response to the topography of the valley site.

(iv) Like the former power house/bath house, it displays interesting architecturalfeatures and details, such as its comparatively low-profiled, linear form, itsiron-framed arched windows and its unusual parapetted gables.

(v) The comparative intactness of the building, such as the timber and concrete floors,the corner fireplaces in some of the worksh.ops, and the distinctive augmentedkihgpost roof trusses, impart the particular ability to evoke the nature and characterof its history.

(vi) Many remnant details, such as the overhead power line shafting, the skip tracksinthe flooring and the tuyere and piping of the blacksmiths' workshop, havearchaeological significance.


.c& Policy statement

(i) The \vorkshops/stores building should be retained and conserved but may beadapted for use or uses which do not compromise the values discusseed in theStatement of significance. See recommendations

(ii) Evidence of use as workshops and stores should be retained. This could beachieved by continuing its use, in whole or part, as workshops and stores.

(iii) Ap remnants of industrial technology, including skip tracks, drive shafting andforge details, should be retained in situ.

(iv) Conservation action should include repair, reconstruction or replacement ofdamaged or compromised fabric.

(iv) No additions should be made to the east or south facades.

i£l Recommendations

(i) While the building could be used for almost any desired purpose, it seems mostappropriate to continue its present functions as working and storage spaces.

(ii) The spartan, elemental qualities of the interiors, such as undecorated, simplypainted surfaces, should be preserved ,and not compromised by superficial ordecorative improvements unless such treatments' are reversible and preferably

" temporary. Within this limitation there is scope for internal additions or insertionssuch as toilet facilities.

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(v) Penetrations in the internal connecting walls are acceptable, but new penetrations inexternal walling are undesirable.

(vi) Adequate visual curtilage on the east side, free from outdoor displays and the like,should be retained.

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I-'THGOw STATE C()AI- MINE:c:aNSERVAT1()N PLAN

SJ<ETCH PLM/ OF WORKSHOPS &- STottSS

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A direct north view of the workshops/stores building, showing its angled location relative to thenorth-south axis of the downcast shaft (foreground). The fonner power house/bath house is on theleft.

The south-west side, facing the railway yards and the fonner compound. The building has seventeenuneven-width bays along its length, though there are eighteen roof bays. The sketch plan shows howthese different bays relate.


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The southern end, showing stylistic similarities to the former power house/bath house, including thethree-bay division by piers, the lateral frieze and the gable parapet with corbelled copings. Therectangular window above the frieze appears to be an insertion to light the loft above Space 1.

The northern end, showing the sympathetically skillioned Space 6. The brickwork of this wing has aserious vertical crack extending from the top of the third pier.

This view shows the segmental-arched doorway to Space 1 and the characteristic round-archeddoorway, with fanlight, to Space 2.

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The large doorway with sliding doors leading into Space 2 is not original. It probably replaced anarched window. A skip track traverses the concrete apron opposite the door. Note the damage to thearch over the window to the right.


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Left: A detail of thesouth wall. The twowindows in this wall,one of which is seenhere, are not original.Their alteration to ,incorporate doors wasdone later again. A shedwas added here for ablacksmithy but hassince been demolished.The remnant of thetuyere of the smiths'

can be seen at thebase of the pier.

Below: A detail insideSpace I, showing thepipe leading through thewall to the tuyere shownin the picture at leftThe blower mechanismhasdisappeared.

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Left: A view along lheeast wall, showing lheopen drainage channelat the base.

Right: The wesl wall,showing a similar open'drain ehmmcl at its base.Here the earth is retainedby tile chm1l1c1 wall.

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Left: The steep timberstair ascending to the loftabove Space 1.

Right: The south-westcorner of Space 1,showing one of the southdoors now blocked up.

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Two views in Space 1.

Right: Above thesame corner, in the lort.Note the shelving.

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Left: The cornerfireplaee. To its left thewest window has beenboarded lip.

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Left: The space at thetop of the staircase inSpace 1. Some of !hehoriziontallining boardshave been removed.

Below: Theundersideof the loft floor, showingthe lateral beams whichare lengths of railwayline. One beam has anailing strip for fixingthe floor planking.

Above: Space 2, asseen from th6loft inSpace 1, through one ofthe holes in thebrickwork.

Left: Space 3,showing part of the westwall and the cornerfireplace. Note thewhitewashedbrickwork:.

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Above: A view inSpace 3, showing theboarded-up eastwindowsand the roughwhitewashed brick walls.

Left: In this view ofSpace 3 the overheadpower line shafting andpulley at truss tie beamlevel can be seen. Notethe oil staining on thewall.

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Above: A view in ISpace 4, showi!1ganother length of thepower line shafting

Isupported on the tiebeams of the kingposttrusses.

ILeft: ThecomerfIreplace in Space 4.These fIreplaces appear to Ihave been used forwarming the interiors butmight also have been

Iuseful for heatingsoldering irons and othersimple heat treatments.

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A view in Space 5. Note the posts supporting the loft. The stair ascending to the upper floor canjust be seen through the shelving.

Portion of the timber floor in Space 5 has sunk. probably because dry rot has affected the floor joists.Through the windows can be seen the retaining wall of the exterior open drainage channel. The earthit retains is higher than the window sills and the channel is blocked.

Above: A view inthe loft above Space 5,showing the storageshelving. All the rooftrusses display Romannumerals chiselled bythe carpenters to aidassembly of the trussmembers.

Left: In Space 6 thepiers of the main northwall can be seen (left).The roof is a simpleskillion.

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9.4 THE POWDER MAGAZINES'


These three explosives magazines appear as additions to the site plan dated 1943, indicatingthat they were erected after that date. That plan shows a fourth building, small, unnamedand now gone, just in front, i e to the south, of magazine No 2. A 1991 drawing shows thepresent three buildings and labels them as 'powder, detonator and cable magazines'. Itshould be observed that the architectural character of the structures suggests an earlierbuilding date, possibly as early as the foundation of the colliery. . "

Their present arrangement is given on the accompanying sketch plan.


ll!l Planning

The magazines were located on the edge of the complex for the traditional safety reasonsand separated from the colliery proper by an explosion barrier of earth. On one ofthedrawings from the later years of the mine this barrier is shown as a compact rectangular

- mound,-but over the years it has eroded somewhat and is now much more rounded andirregular in form. The site slopes upwards generally to the east and downwards towards analmost level area to the south-west beside State .Mine'Gully Creek.

ill Form and structure

The structures are comparatively small, the largest being about 6 m long and about 4 mwide and the smallest about 2.5 m by 2 m. They have brick walls, semicircular vaultedbrick roofs and timber floors. The vaults are of lesser thickness than the walls, as wastraditionally the case with explosives magazines, so that an accidental explosion wouldgenerate more upwards blast than outwards blast, reducing potential damage. As far as canbe determined, the walls of magazine No 1 are a brick thick, reinforced with threebuttresses on each side, extending up to the springing line of the vault and terminating witp. ,curved tops, while its vault is one brick thick; the other magazines appear to have walls onebrick thick and vaults half a brick thick. The bricks treated as voussoirs appear to havebeen cut or rubbed to wedge shapes.

Because of the slope of the land, magazine No 3 has a floor about a metre higher than thoseof Nos 1 and 2. '

f£l " Exteriors

'r:he brick Walls are plumb and the vaulted roofs are approximately semicylindrical. The'exteriors are cement rendered, magazine No 1 having longitudinal joints in the curvedrendered surface. The end walls are penetrated by terra cotta ventilators. Each magazinehas a door in the front end wall, fabricated of steel sheet, lined with plaster laid overbirdwire, and hinged to swing outwards from steel jambs.

@ Interiors..The walls and vaults have timber blocks of the same size as bricks inserted at frequentintervals, but there is no sign of interior linings as might be expected if these were fixingblocks. The timber floor of Magazine No 1 is about half a metre' above the door threshold.In Magazine No 2 there is an interesting system of subfloor ventilation (now visible becauseits timber floor has gone) consisting of peripheral openings linking the main interior spacewith the space below the floor without connection to the exterior.

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~ Intactness and condition

These little buildings, apart from the missing floor of Magazine No 2, are surprisingly intactand make a surprising and unusual group, visually isolated from, though close to, thecentral colliery structures.

However, because they are outside the chain mesh security fence, they are more liable tounnoticed dmp.age or vandalism. They are in poor condition approaching decrepitude, theresult of rising'and penetrating damp, some structural movement and some attack by plantmaterial growing in masonry cracks. Magazine No 2 in particular is suffering from damagecaused by a substantial plant growing in the front end of its vault.

9.4.3 Cultural significance

fill. . Discussion

It is most unusual to find a suite of explosive magazines such as these. Utilitarian buildingsof this kind, separated from the main assemblage of a mine, tend to be uncared for and-areoften the first to disappear. Here is an unusual and basically intact group, capable of addingimportantly to the interpretive value of the mine complex.

ru Statement of significance

This is a rare group of distinctive utilitarian colliery buildings.


fill. Policy statement

These structures should be retained and conserved and integrated with the mine museum assignificant components of the whole.

ru Recommendations

(i) The security fence should be extended to enclose and protect the magazines andtheir immediate visual curtilage.

(ii) Steps should be taken urgently to remove plant infestation and repair the damageso caused. .

(iii) The steel doors should be repaired and secured so as to prevent unsupervisedaccess, and should be opened only when controlled visitation is permitted.

(iv) The site should be cleared in the immediate vicinity so as more adequately to revealthe buildings, their relationships to each other, the creek and the main buildings ofthe mine. Moisture-retaining vegetation near the structures should be removed assoon as possible.

(vi) -, Interpretive signs or displays should be provided.


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A general view of the suite of powder maga7ines. from the side of the creek (foreground). The hill isbeyond the buildings and the man-made explosion barrier is on the right. The site slopes gentlydown to the creek.

This closer view shows the close grouping of the magazines and the encroachment of vegetation.The largest magazine is No 1 and No 2 is to its right. No 3 is almost completely hidden behind No1, i e to the left in this picture.


Above: The front of magazine No 1. It is constructed of rendered brick, with battered wallbuttresses. The plaster lining of the steel door is missing.

Below: The inside of magazine No 1. It has a brick vaulted roof and there are l1lfce terra cottavents in the upper walling of each end; those visible here are damaged.


Magazine No 2. It is smaller than No 1 and has no buttresses, but otherwise is similar inconstruction to that building. Plants now grow in the cracks of its vault. The door retains its plasterlining. Note the ground sloping up to the left; the surface is well above floor level at the rear.

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Left: A site plandated 1943 does notshow the powdermagazines. A laterversion of the drawing,bearing the same date,shows the magazinesadded in their presentlocation. This is adetail from that laterversion of the1943plan.



A compoosite picture showing the interior of magazine No 2. Because of damage to the render andthe masonry, caused by plant infestation, rising damp and neglect, the building is no longerwaterproof. Much the same can be said about the other magazines as well, though this is the worstaffected. The timber floor has been removed and the remnants of its timbers suffer from dry rotThere are wall vents below floor level and it appears that the floor was so positioned as to allowsub-floor air to reach the main chamber.

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Magazine No 3. ILeft: The front, Iwhich shows that itsdoor threshold is abovethe ground at this end;

Ibut the slope of theland is such fhat at theback the earth is abovefloor level. IBelow: A detail ofthe vault brickwork.

IAs in the other vaults,there are wood blocksset into the brickwork.

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9.5 REMNANT STRUCTURES AND FORMATIONS

9.5.1 Historical notes

The colliery in earlier years was a complicated array of numerous related structures inseveral functional groups. After its closure the shafts were capped, the drift was sealed,and most of the structures were demolished and their materials removed from the site. Thebuildings that were left and are still standing have been dealt wi th earlier in this Section.The following paragraphs briefly describe the others, the main traces of which are footipgpads and incomplete baseworks. Some further historical observations, based on availabledocuments including historic site plans and photographs, are given in the brief individualdescriptions.

Those structures of which there are no visible remains are shown and labelled accordinglyon the Site Plans and are not mentioned here.

9.5.2 Description of the surviving fabric

The follmving descriptions list the remnant structures and formations by numbers. They_are identified on the accompanying Site Plans by using the same numbers. They arerecorded approximately in sequence from near the entrance, along the lower part of the siteto the north, returning southwards through the upper part of the site and ending near the. south-east corner. The items are also listed, in the same sequence, in the Tabulation ofZones and Components of Significance in Section 9.5.3 \\'hich follows.

(1) Timber siding sleeper's

One or two railway sleepers, evidently all that remain of the timber siding trackthat was located between the office building and the tippler structure, lie partlyburied just west of the feed loft platform. The track is shmvn leading to the timberstorage area on the 1926 plan of the colliery railway layout.

(2) Feed ioft basework.

The feed loft does not appear on the 1926 plan but is shown on the 1943 layout.It was a gable-roofed structure erected above a standard gauge track whichbranched off the timber siding track to the west of the retaining wall. There was aseparate garage at its south end. Like the building itself, both these tracks havenow gone. What survives is a rectangular floor slab, of concrete, partly on filling~ retained by a low wall of concrete blocks, with remnant column bases. Abutting itand at the same level is the rail platform, also built of concrete and blockwork,\vith a steel kerb.

(3) Remains of weighbridge and shed

This is now only a concrete pit set in a surface slab, \vith a steel kerb and, at thefloor of the pit, concrete bases which presumably once supported the weighingmechanism. Beside it is a disused shed clad in corrugated steel and having a~kjllion roof of the same material. This weighbridge suite replaced one shown onthe 1943 plan between the two large coal tracks leading from the screening plant,none of which now survives.

(4) Railway yard area in general

The railway yard, separated from the upper area of the colliery by a brick retainingwall, is now the most extensive open area at the site. The 1926 plan shows fivesets of track, including two full roads, one slack road and one empty road. By

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)-.

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. .1943 the area was much more crowded, \vith ten sets of track which included fourroads for large coal, one for small coal, one empty road and several branchesincluding two to the boiler area. Now somewhat empty, the yard neverthelessevokes images of busier times and rail traffic movement. Its situation beside theroad and near Mort's Gully Creek, with the steep and rocky hill to the east,provides an extremely important visual curtilage to the sun'iving collierystnrctures. .

Brick retaining wall under scr.eening plant

This wall, which is shown on the 1926 plan, extends from the screening plantarea at the south to the upcast shaft winder house at the north. Its brickwork, laidin English bond, is battered to retain the earth to its west. The bricks are similar tothose of the power house/bath house building. The wall is in sound condition.

Screening plant footirrgs

Two standard-gauge tracks ran under the screening plant in 1926. The buildingwas gable-roofed and steel-framed. By 1943 there were four tracks, with an overhead picking belt serving each. The tippler structure was larger and also

-steel-framed, with four sets of skip track, connected to the retarder and creepersystems which were related-to the downcast shaft. A cOll\"eyor carried coal fromthe tipplers north-east across the road and Mort's Creek to the power stationfurther east. Of the screening and tippler plant only the concrete footing pads andsome remnant holding;-down bolts can no\,; be seen. Some of the tippler fpotingsare strips rather than pads.

The Museum plans to erect a new building on this site for the purpose of storingrolling stock. Notwithstanding \vhat has been said about the significance of theraihvay yard in general and the surviving footings, the erection of a new buildingat this location would be acceptable in conservation terms if it were to be erectedas closely as possible to the form of the original. I~ could be said to be a'reconstruction' in terms of the definition in the Burra Charter, even though thene\\' use would be different from the old.

Brick shed

This is a decrepit rectangular building with a flat concrete roof and a concretefloor. It has double doors in the south wall. Tpe shed is not on the 1943 plan butappears on the 1961 drawing. Its original purpose is unknmvn.

lOO-ton bin footings

The lOO-ton bin was an elevated enclosed structure abm"e the former small coalrailroad, connected by elevator to the screening and tippler plant. It is now onlymarked by a concrete slab, through which one rail track runs, and six columnpads \vith remnant holding-down bolts.

Railway track layout

The extant rail layout consists of only two through tracks, one formerly the slackroad and the other formerly the empty road. Some ten remnant branches survive,eight of them in the northern part of the yard, and there are seven sets of points,most of them inoperative. The surviving track elements are shown on theaccompanying Site Plan. The tracks themselves vary in condition from good tovery poor. The Museum's on-site locomotive and rolling stock stand on thetracks at the northern end in the vicinity of the workshops and stores building.

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'(10) . Substation remnant

The substation is indicated on the 1961 plan and appears in the 1960s photograph.The surviving elements consist only of three pairs of concrete piers with shortlengths of rail embedded in their top surfaces. Each pair is linked by a concreteslaQ..

(11) Skip track formation'.

This formation is at the west side of the workshops and stores building. The skiptrack appears for the first time on the 1961 plan, joining the track that ransouthwards from the drift. The formation now provides a pleasant vista along thecorridor between the building and the hill to its west.

(12) Former toilet block and retaining. wall

This small building was erected some time before 1943, presumably to serve theworkers in the shops and stores building and its vicinity. It.has brick walls, onedoorway with a steel door, nO,windows, a concrete floor and a gable roof covered

. in corrugated iron. It is now a disused store, with some old shelf framing inside.To its \yest there is a length of brick retaining wall.

(13) Former drum stores

It is understood that these two almost-identical structures were originally drumstores, erected some time between 1943 and 1961. Their remaining fabriccomprises concrete floors, surrounded by fairly rough off-form concrete kerbs ahalf a metre or so high, the kerbs being buttressed along their long sides. Theearth to the west is retained by brick walling. On top of each kerb are theremnants of embedded holding-down bolts. A photograph in the Museum'spossession, taken in the 1960s, shows that the buildings were in the form ofwartime'Nissen' huts, i e of semicircular form, probably built ofcqrved corrugated steel sheeting. The floor of the northern base is at the samelevel as the concrete apron outside the workshops and stores building, while thatof the southern base is about 30 cm higher. There are remnant skip tracks alongthe centre of each floor. The remnant structures are decrepit and are currentlyused for storing miscellaneous materials.

(14) Former compound

There is no surviving visual evidence of the compound, which was located east ofthe workshops and stores building, and nothing is known of its use or purposeother than outdoor storage. It first appears on the 1961 plan, with a skip trackrunning through it via two double gates. On that drawing its west fence linecoincides with the edge of the concrete apron along the east side of the workshopsand stores building.,

(15) _. ~pron and skip tracks

This concrete slab, along the east side of the workshops and' stores building,extends from the south end of the building to the northernmost former drum store.Some short lengths of embedded skip track remain towards the south end.

(16) Drift portal

The drift is an off-form concrete structure in the shape of a rectangular tubesloping downwards to the north into the base of the hill. Its floor is now covered

..... "" ..

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with earth between the portal and the concrete':'block plug within. The portal itselfis the vertically finished upper end of the structure, also constructed of off-formconcrete. The drift is shO\vn on the 1961 plan with a conveyor emerging from itand rising overhead, above the boiler suite and the power house/bath house andcontinuing south to the elevated 300-ton coal bin.

(17) Compressor areas

In the original colliery complex the air compressors, serving the undergroundworkings, were located in the power house. By 1943 they were house.d inseparate spaces attached to the north side and east end of what had by then becomethe bath house. The remnants comprise parts of on-grade concrete floors, someevidence at ground level of former brick waIling, and some broken machine andtank bases. Originally the boiler suite and the main chimney stack flue wereadjacent on the north side, but no trace of these is now evident.

.7 - .. -='::~_-_ -:-:,-"'= :;. ...~ ....

(18) Drift conveyor footings

Four pairs of square concrete pads, with remnant holding-down bolts, survivebelow the alignment of the c 1960 elevated steel-framed conveyor that ran fromthe drift to the 300-toh bin. Though they are all damaged, they comprise virtuallythe only evidence of the conveyor itself.

(19) Base of downcast shaft winder house

This rough and partial concrete slab is possibly -but not certainly the remains of thebase storey of the downcast shaft winder house, which 'was a building taller thanbut in the same style as the power house/bath house, with a monitor roof.Though now having no visual appeal the slab is the site of an important collierycomponent.

(20) Downcast shaft capping and headframe footings

The downcast shaft headframe \vas a tall steel structure, originally as prominent alandmark as the boiler complex chimney stack. The surviving footings are ofbrick, and some baseplates of the headframe superstructure remain, though all aredamaged. The four bases immediately adjacent to the shaft are the largest, havingsupported the vertical legs of the frame. The shaft capping is an octagonal slab ofconcrete with an opening, covered by an unfixed steel plate, marking theapproximate centre of the shaft. The water in the shaft is about thirty metresbelow. A steel plate embedded in the slab is marked LSCM SEALED 13.10.64.To the south of the shaft there are rows of concrete pads with surviving rivettedsteel baseplates marking the location of the retarder structure which has been cutaway and removed.

(21) Drive and skip road

Running diagonally to the south-west from the east end of the power house/bathhouse there is a-concrete drive in which there is embedded a length of skip track.

" This was first shown on the 1961 site plan and appears to have been a skipparking road. It possibly once connected to the track leading to the powdermagazines.

(22) Raised lawn areas

There are three of these raised lawns, retained by Iow concrete block walling.One is east of the drive just mentioned (21), one at the west end of the site of thetippler structure, and one on the far side of the road to the west of the office

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buifding. These lawn areas are first indicated on the 1961 site plan and appear tohave been intended as colliery beautification.

(22A) MuIlock dumps

There are two of these: one beyond the road south of the office building and theother further west of the small lawn area \vest of the same bUilding.. The former,shown on the 1961 site plan, is edged with paired vertical studs of steel railsembedded in the ground, presumably to support waling strips which retained themullock. Both dumps are partly overgrown with weeds. "

(22B) Office bUilding lawn

On the 1943 site plan there is a stump cabin to the south-east of the office buildingbut the 1%1 drawing shows the lawn area and the outline of the cabin. The laWll ,is on levelled earth retained bv a Iow concrete block wall and, like item 5.2.22appears to be a deliberate part of the colliery beautification.

(23) 300-ton bin basework

-This structure, which first appears on the 1961 site plan, comprised two elevated.and enclosed concrete bins which reveiyed coal from the drift conyevor. At itsbase were concrete hoppers and a track \\'hich appears to have connicted to the.tippler structure, but this was partly abolished in later years. What survive areparts of the ground-level hoppers and the pedestals of the dual bin structure.

(24) Lamp cabin base'work

The lamp cabin first appears on the 1943 site plan. It \\"as a single-storey buildingwith verandahs. It was altered in about 1961. Its remnant is an incompleteconcrete floor slab with traces of brick wall bases and a timber threshold. Part ofthe surface is marked out in diagonal grooves and there are remnants of wallcoves. Traces of the concrete floor of a yerandah can be seen; according to the1943 drawing verandahs were on the east, west and south sides of the bUilding.

(25) Fan engine house basework

The evasee chimney and fan engine house complex was e\;idently a complicatedand interesting structure, but there is nmv virtually no e\'idence of it other than apartial concrete floor slab and a large displaced and damaged concrete baseelement whose relationship with the structure is not known.

(26) Upcast shaft headframe site

Of this group there are now no remnants apart from some strips of footings orwall bases of the southern and northern air lock buildings, at ground level.Details of its original form and construction are not known.

(27). Electric switch bUilding basework

This remnant is partly buried by fill that has been added to the east of the remainsof the upcast shaft winder house. There is a concrete floor, some edge kerbingwith holding-down bolts and a door threshold. The 1943 drawing indicates thatthe building was of corrugated iron. By 1961 it was labelled 'Compressor'.

(28) Chimney stack footing

This smokestack base, of which only a corner is visible, is built of substantial

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brickwork. The circular stack itself was one of the tallest structures at the colliery.(29) Upcast shaft winder house basework

This is one of the most interesting building remnants and it displays two levels ofwhat must have been a handsome building, similar in scale and style to thedowncast winder house and architecturally hannonious with the pow~r house/bathhouse. What survives is a ground floor concrete slab which incorporates a skiptrack; (which must have been inserted after the winding engine was removedfollowing the opening of the drift) and is edged with a dark border that appear.s tobe slate. Around this there is paving of red and black tiles diagonally laid and alsobordered with slate around the inside of the perimeter walls. A little of the outsidebrick walling is evident at ground level. One visible corner of the floor border iscurved, and there are two semicircular-shaped elements formed of the samematerial at the north end. The concrete slab is broken away at the north-eastcorner, revealing that the slab was reinforced-with'steef- rai-lS:-· - , -- "

Below this ground-level component, portion of the basement can be seen, thoughno stairway is visible. The walls appear to be of painted brickwork and the fl00rof concrete. There is a passage on the east side and at least two rooms at the north.end, but water and deposits of earth prevented any further examination. T,,"ometal pipes enter the basement through the north wall, presumably comingunderground from the fonner boiler suite.

The main features of this remnant are shown on the sketch plan of the pO"'erhouse/bath house. .

(30) 'New' bath house basework

The 1926 site plan does not extend far enough to show this building, but the 1943plan shows that this was at that time a gable-roofed building cont aining stables,with bicycle hangers in the south end. It was a storey-and-a-half high and hadthree appendages: a garage, a stump cabin and an explosive:s canister cabin. The1943 drawing was later amended and identifies the building as the 'new' bath andchange house, constructed of brick. According to that drawing it comprised alarge single change room with showers (and presumably toilets, though there isno evidence of these) in a skillion-roofed addition on the west side; with steps andentrances on the east side. It is now only a series of on-grade concrete slabs atslightly different levels, with some wall bases and at least one floor drain. Theslabs are presently used as part of the community nursery.

(31) Retaining walls

These low thick walls of brick retain the earth on the north and west side of thefanner bath house. The 1943 drawing shows a small building of two rooms,labelled 'canister cabin' and 'distributing capin', at the south end of the wall. Thebrickwork of the wall is in good condition apart from its capping, but there is nosign of the small building.

(32) '. Cable repair shop base

This building appears first, unlabelled, on the 1961 site plan. The survivingbase is constructed of buttressed off-form concrete matching the bases of thefanner drum stores described in 5.2.13. The 1961 dra\ving shows a skip trackpassing through the building and extending westwards towards the powdermagazine area, and the 1960s photograph at the Museum indicates that it was alsoa 'Nissen' type building. It now has a plastic roof covering on a light frameworkand is used as a seedling nursery.

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(33) Steelworks Colliery headshunt formation

This is a remnant of the railway associated with the nearby Steelworks Colliery.The fonnation includes some shallow cuttings but in this vicinity, i e west of State

Mine Gully Creek, it is merely a narrow, more-or-Iess level track, sU,bject to somee~osion and weed growth.

(34) Remains of bridge over State Mine Gully Creek

This is the remnant of a low bridge which provided access oyer the creek to thestable nearby. There are concrete abutments, timber cross members including apiece of telegraph pole - but also incorporating at least one steel rail - and alittle broken timber decking. Its present ruinous state is evidently the result ofwashing away. '

(35) Site and remains of stable building

No stables are shown on the 1926 site plan. At that time there was, however, a-large horse paddock south of the office building, \vhich is still shmvn on the 1943site plan. To the east of the horse paddock there is a rectangular building labelledLAVATORY, which on, the amended 1943 plan is re-designated BRICKSTABLES. It had 18 stalls. Nothing now remains but the le\'elled, partlyexcavated site to the west of State Mine Gully Creek, much oyergro\\'n, and threesmall fragments of walling, none in situ, and a small part of the footings. Thewalls appear to have been half a brick thick with one-brick engaged piers.

9.5.3 Tabulation of zones and components of significance

This commences on the following page.

-.

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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9.5.3 TABULATION OF ZONES AND COMPONENTS OF SIGNIFICANCE:_REMNANT STRUCTURES AND FORMATIONS

Numberon plan

1.

Zone or component

Sleepers on former timbersiding formation east of officebuilding

Significancescaling

4

Conservationpolicy

Conservation shouldbeconsidered

Recommendations/remarks

Retention at this locationmay be impracticable

III

2.

3.

4.

5.

'6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

'.

Basework offormer feed loft,store and platform

Remains ofweighbridgeand shed

Railway yard area in general

Brick retaining wall extendingunder screening plant area

Footings of screening plantand tippler Structures

Brickshed

Footings of lOO-ton bin

Railway track layout

Substation remnant

Skip track formation west offormer workshops and stores

Former toilet block andretaining wall

Former drum stores

3

3

4

4

4

2

2

5

2

4

4

3

Conservation optional


Retain and consen'e

Retain and consen'e

Conservation shouldbeconsidered



Retain and consen'e


Retain and consen'e

Retain and consen-e


"

The platform may be usablefor displays or the base ofa new structure

May be adaptable forticket office

Location of any newstructure in the yard issensitive.See Notes 1 and 3

See Note 3

See Note 1 and commentin Section 9.5.2 (6) onpage 69,

Removal acceptable

See Note 2

Useful fire break ifkeptopen as at present.See Note 3

Adaptation for manyuses possible.See Note 3

May be used as basesfor new lightweightstructures

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-III

14. Former compound area

Tabulation continued on nextpage

2 Retain and conserve Previous use not yetdetermined. Suitable foropen or temporary displays.See Note 3

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II Tabulation, continued

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Number Zone or component Significance Conservation Recommendations/on plan scaling policy remarks----------------------------------------------------------------------------------15. Apron and skip tracks 4 Retain and conserve Should not be used for openeast offonner workshops and

displays so as to maintainstoresvisual curtilage aroundadjacentbuilding.See Note 3

16. Drift portal 5 Retain and conserve Open sight line to fonnerpower house should bekept clear.See Note 3

17. Basework offormer 2 Conservation should Removal acceptablecompressor Structures beconsidered

18. Fqotings of drift comeyor 2 Conservation should Removal acceptablebeconsidered

19. Base of downcast 5 Retain and conserve May be used as base forshaft winder houseopen or temporary display.See Note 3

20. Downcast shaft capping and 5 Retain and conserve Long-term erection ofheadframe footings as remnants symbolicheadfram.epossible. See Note 4

21. Drive and skip road 4 Retain and consen'e Retain present u:se for access.See Note 3

22. Raised lawn areas 2 Retain as open space Useful temporary open displayor stall area

22A. Mullock dumps. The one south 2 Retention optional May be retained or removedof the office building waS partandsitedeveloped~ of the original horse paddock

22B. Office building lawn 3 Retain and consen'e Preferably should not be ~sedfor displays or stalls.See Note 3

23. Basework of300-ton 3 Conservation optional - Potential danger must bebins and associated structuresavoided.

24. -'Basework of 4 Retain and consen'e Useful base for outdoorlamp cabindisplay. New Structureacceptable on footprint.See Note 3

Tabulation continued on nextpage

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Tabulalion. continued I

II

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See Note 3

Ultimate decision mar' ._. ,"-c

depend upon treatment ofone or more of the adjacentremains 28 and 29

Conserve and interpretas remnant


5

3

Site and footing remains ofupcast shaftheadframeandair locks

B~eworkof" _electric switchboard building

26.

Number Zone or component Significance Conservation Recommendations!on plan scaling policy remarks

----------~------------~------------~-------------------~=---=------------------~~1125. Remn?Dtbaseworkof 5 Conserve and interpret See Note 3

Evasee and fan engine house as remnant

27.

28. _ Remnant footing ofchimney stack

5 Conserve and imerpretas remnant

See Note 3 I29.

30.

31.

Basework ofupcastshaft winder 40use

Basework and floor remnantsof former 'new' bath house

Adjacent retaining walls

5

3

3

Conserve and imerpretas remnant

Consenration optional

Consen'ation desirable

Remove soil to exposeremains clearly. ..,See N~tes i & 5

Present nursery useappropriate. Footprint maybe used as basis for newstructure

Should preferably be keptifsurrounding areasre-developed.See Note 3

IIII

32.

33.

34.

35.

Concrete base offormercablerepair shop

Steelworks Collieryheadshuntformation

Remains ofbridge overState Mine Gully

Site and remains of stables• west of creek

4

4

4

4

Retain and conserye

Retain and conserye

Considerreconstruction

Consen'e and interpretas remnant

Present adaptationexcellent.See Note 3

Incorporate into proposedbushwalk track.See Note 3

See Note 3

IIII

NOTES

1. The railway yard is a very important visual component of the complex because of its openness. providing alinking space between the standing structures and also allowing clear views from the Colliery to thelandscape and the power house remains on the east beyond the road. This openness is regarded as crucial to

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the visual curtilage of the Museum. Refer to main text.

Ifa new carriage storage shed is erected on the si te of the former screening plant and tipplers, it should bedesigned and built as closely as possible to the envelope and form of the original buildings. If this is done, itcan be argued in conservation terms to be a legitimate 'reconstruction', even though the new building may beused for a different purpose from that of the original.

2. It is highly desirable to retain the extant layout, yet the conservation of the site as a whole must allow formodifications that might be necessary, for example to suit the imperative indicated in Note 1 above. Thusthe idea of relocating a track or tracks laterally is a possibility. Refer to main text.

3. All areas retained and conserved should be interpreted in some suitable and appropriate manner. This could beby such means as signs (illustrated where necessary), making a guided tour plan, or making a scale model ofthe original.

4. A 'ghost' framework suggesting the form and scale of the original headframe could be an excellent landmarkfeature of the site as well as an attractive interpretive device.

5. The present use as a mixing area for compost is inappropriate, possibly leading to damage of the floor ,materials including the historic tiling.

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Remnants 1 & 2. A view of the feed loft platfonn and, beyond it, the battered base walling of'the feed loft building. In the centre foreground a partly-buried railway sleeper can be seen,

...

'~l..:.•: .~'.,,,,,,, ,-,

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Remnant 3. The weighbridge shed and pit. The double-rail uprights in the foreground mark themuUock dump located south of the offiee building lawn.

Remnant 4. A view looking north in the open space of the railway yard.

IIIIIIIIII

Remnants 5, 6, 7. To the east of the office block is the brick retaining wall separating theupper part of the colliery from the railway yard. Perched beside the retaining wall is the decrepitbrick shed. In the foreground are the foatings of the screening plant/tippler structure.

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Remnant 8. This shows the concrete slab base and column footings of the lOO-ton bin. Beyondis the brick retaining wall, Remnant 5.

Remnant 9. Another view showing some of the trackwork and rolling stock in the railway yard.The surviving tracks are shown on the site plan given elsewhere in this report

Remnant 10. The remnant of the substation, the northernmost structure at the colliery site. Inthe foreground are some of the railway tracks and in the distance, beyond the mesh fence, the base ofthe hilL

Remnant 11. Looking north along the pretty skip track formation west of the workshop andstores building. The narrow drainage channel outside the building can be seen on the right.


Remnant 12. In the foreground is the former toilet block, now a disused shed, cut slightly intothe site with a retaining wall to its right. The drum stores were located in the space between the shedand the workshop stores building (left).

IIIIIIIIII

.... _:;,.. : .. :~. ~·.:~"l .. ~"~ ....:. ~~..~ ...~ ..-,. -"",~~..;i:'~,,: .. _. ..;..-;;.~,

IIIIIIIIII

Remnant 13.

.......

.... -.' .'.

A closer view of the buttressed concrete bases of the former drum stores.

I

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I

II

II

I

I

I

I

I

II

I

I

I

I

I

Remnant 14. The area to the east of the workshop and stores building (left) which was oncc'afenced compOlU1d.

Remnant 15. A close-up view of one of the remnant skip tracks set into the concrete apron ofthe workshop/stores.

_.>0...- '.-"".; --,-~~~.::...-:-:..~;,~

-" ......~;..:;~~~ -. ~-~\.-..;::'t.~....~~~.

• ~;• .;.:'.,- ;'. ~,·r?~..,....,.d~--- .'..... " <' . ."J ....,;..... .' . ,,";' .._. ........ . •• , _ .......,

~~~~~Z;3:{:7j;;'~~:~i2;p~;~I:~~~~~~~~~ ••A • ••~...f.f~.. ~..: '. ~.' .' .. ' ".:- '. ,;,,' '.' ~~l';~::: :.?~ ",,~ ~~ ~ ..~~.... ; ...... ...;.~ ~¥-.,._...:.::.,.~~;~'-~.;.:.,.. t.\.::~:~;_: _ ~........:.;:::-.,.~~~!~. ;: 7 ~~.:..••.; __ : ~~ -:-.-:.::

~.,tr."".....f•• ....,.=..,,;r;1.••., ..,. "......... "';....;r _ ..-.}- .• ~,f.!....-: .. ,. ...'I..,.•.~ ;;..~ ';:.- ,":' -. ..

:;j~~~:-}·.Z-';~:~~·;:'r'2t-~_~~~7\:~ < ~~ ,,,:.'~: ·~:~:'~·.:i:j);1.=~~~~~.~~~~:--~:::- ~~'~?:~~.~':'~~:~ .~:;:~-::>:


Remnant 16. The concrete drift emerges from the hill to the north of the fonner powerhouse/bath house. This view shows the concrete portal.

Remnants 17 & 18. The compressor skillions were added outside the north and east walls ofthe power house/bath house. This view shows the remnant basework of the compressors and, atright, one of the column pads of the overhead conveyor from the drift.

Remnant 20. Tills is a view southwards from the downcast shaft capping (foreground). Thenearest elements are the remnant brick headframe bases, while the footings extending in lines to theleft are those of the retarder structure.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Remnant 21. This section of concrete drive, in which there is set a skip track, runs diagonallyfrom the south-east corner of the power house/bath house. To its right in this view can be seen oneof the raised lawn areas.

II

Remnant 22. Another of the raised lawn areas. This one is east of the office building.

Remnant 22A. In the foreground is the mullock dump located south of the office building (right).

Remnant 23. The basework of the 300-ton coal bin. Any consen'ation work will need toinclude safety requirements because of the below-ground hopper.


IIIIIIIIII

Remnant 24.bricbvork.

The only remnants of the lamp cabin are these concrete slabs and traces of

IIIIIIIIII

Remnant 25. This view shows the remaining concrete slab and base block. which is all thatremains of the fan engine house and evasee chimney.

..,, .-:.,..

.1IO~~~. ::}....,,;,~ ... •~

-.. ..:.\

Remnant 26. These almost undiscernible strip footings are the remnants of the upcast headframeair locks. The shaft capping slab is no longer visible.

Remnant 27. This slab and wall base (foreground) partly covered by earth ftIl, mark theremaining portion of the electric switch room, which later became a compressor rOOm.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII.

IIIIII


Remnant 28. A corner of the boiler chimney stack footing. The corner of the workshop/storesbuilding is on the left.

Remnant 29. The remnant floor of the upcast shaft winder house. The:red and black tiling isedged with slate.

Left. the wallsare mm-ked out insimulation ofashlar.

Right, thepassage on theeast side of thebuilding.

------,----

Remnant 29.Two views takenin the basementof the upcastshaft winderhouse.

----------


Remnant 30. The remnant concrete floor elements of the 'new' bath house. The one in theforeground includes a floor waste drain.

Remnant 31. A view in the nursery showing the retaining walls west and north of thedemolished 'new' bath house.

Remnant 32. A plastic-sheeted nursery shelter has been erected on the buttressed concrete base ofthe former cable repair shop.

Remnant 34. The ruins of the bridge across State Mine Gully Creek. The concrete abutmentsare probably original, but the wrecked deck structme contains miscellaneous elements including alength of telegraph pole.



Remnant 35. The former stables are now no more than fragments of fallen brick walling andfootings, largely engulfed by vegetation.

This view shows some of the recently-formed garden bedding inside the west fence of the site.

79 -


9.6 THE STATE MINE BRANCH

(NSW Department of Railways, Working Time-Table, Western Division, 196:»

380

745

D 50, 53,55

290

570

C32

210

415

C30T

245

480

Z26

From State Mine to Coal Stage

From Coal Stage to State Mine

Loco class

ill The Underbridge at Zig Zag Road (Inch Street)

The railway, on a gentle curve at this point, crosses this interesting and attractive smallcreek at an acute angle. The embankment is retained at Farmer's Creek by extremely thickplumb abutments of brickwork. The flanking walls, tapering and battered, are also verystout and have stone copings. The steel girders of the bridge were reused from a bridgeover Murrimboola Creek. They are simple rivetted steel members, braced together in anarrow format, with web stiffeners, and they rest on cast bed plates.. They support thesleepers of the-track directly on their top flanges. The ensemble, though disused andunkempt, makes a good visual contribution to the already pleasant scene.

The bridge appears to be in good general condition.

The supporting brick structure is similar to, though not quite as heavy or extensive as, that

This single-line branch formation is connected to the former departure road of the OldLithgow Coal Stage. It appears on the 1921 drawing NSWR Extension, State Coal MineCurve & GradientDiagram included in this report, which shows the line only. Otherdetails, including adjacent roads and the two bridges that form the principal remainingfeatures of the line, are shown on the 1922 drawing NSWR lithgow Coal Mine Railwayalso included in this report

No signals were provided on the branch, and the NSW Department of Railways LocalAppendix to the Working Timetable indicates that, in 1944, the line was worked byOrdinary Train Staff, the staff-box being located in the Lithgow Coal Stage Box.

At the time of the closure of the colliery in 1964, 26, 3OT, 32 and the Standard Goodsclasses of locomotives were permitted to work the line, the maximun length of trains beingequal to 50 four-wheeled wagons. Maximum loads (in tons) for each engine class were:


The line formation is 1 mile and 46 chains (2.53 km) long and descends from the main yardon gradients ranging from 1: 150 to 1:80, crossing Inch Street (formerly Zig Zag Road) andFarmer's Creek and then climbing to the former colliery screens on grades of 1:50 and1:80, passing over two level crossings as it does so. Sidings beyond the screens are laid ona grade of 1: 70.

Much of the line has been removed or damaged. The following notes refer to the twocrossings. Original drawings of the bridges and photographs accompany the text.

!ill. The Farmer's Creek Underbridge


- 80 -

of the Farmer's Creek bridge, and the copings are of bullnose brick instead of stone. Thesteel rivened and stiffened girders support lateral steel beams on their lower flanges, thegirders acting as balustrades beside the track and the beams supporting the railway tracksdirectly. The girders are further apart and the spaces between the rails and inside the girdersare floored with steel plate.

This bridge has suffered from corrosion and some damage.



The railway underbridge at Fanner's Creek. Tills crosses the small creek at a sharp angle, and theresulting visual effects are most attractive. The bridge comprises a pair of rivetted stiffened and'cross-braced steel girders, recycled from Murrimboola Creek. These directly support on their upperflanges the sleepers of the slightly curved track. The abutments are plumb but the flanking wallssupporting the formation are not only immensely tbick but are also battered. The handsomebrickwork is capped by stone copings.

The underbridge at Zig Zag Road. Here the railway track is supported on lateral steel memberssupported at the lower flange level of the rivetted and stiffened steel girders. As is the case with theFanner's Creek bridge, the abutments are of handsome and very tbick brickwork, the flanking wallsbeing battered. The are of bullnose bricks.

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~ol. £'-,::Jltn9. RbtJ/rn~nl EJq,d PI,",,-""1l'c::J

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NSWR State Coal Mine Railway: Underbridge at Farmer's Creek. Reduced print of Workingdrawing, 1920. State Rail Authority Archives, courtesy Don Hagarty,

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -NSW R

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NS~ State Coal Mine ~ailway: .underbridge at Zig Zag Road. Reduced print of Workin<>Drilw!np. 1920< Stilte Rill! Authontv Archives. courtesv Don Halmrtv< '"

The site of the former Hermitage Colliery, Litbgow, photof:,'Taphed in 1994.the colliery remains.


Two views of the Blast Furnace Historic Site, Lithgow, showing the visual potential of thesedramatic remnants of an important former industrial complex.


- 81 -

10 MISCELLANEOUS MATTER~

10.1 SUPERVISION OF PROPOSED WORKS

As mentioned in Section 2.1 of this report, a Conservation Plan does not attempt to set outexplicit details of any proposed new works that may be undertaken at a place. It is stronglyrecommended that the Museum Committee engage the services of an appropriately qualifiedconservation architect to supervise the carrying out of any works on the site.

10.2 ARCmVAL MATERIAL"

While considerable effort was devoted to searching archival material during the preparation ofthis report, budget constraints prevented all documents being examined. The biggestdisappointment felt by the study team relates to our inability to locate the original plans andelevations of the extant mine buildings. ,Given that the State Mine was a government operation,and the extent of State archival material held in New South Wales, these plans may well survivein some presently-unknown location.

\

To assist the Museum in further historical research or interpretation of the mine, some archiyalsources are attached as Appendix V (State Rail Authority) and Appendix VI (NSW ArchivesOffice). _ ' "

10.3 NOXIOUS AND INVASIVE WEEDS

The land owned by the Greater Lithgow Mining Museum embraces a significant' area ofregrowth bushland which is infested in with various species of invasive and/or noxious weeds.Although it is clear from photographic evidence that much weed growth has been removed fromthe core of the museum site, in other places weeds obscure some of the interesting remains at themine '(e.g the old stables and the formation of the Steelworks Colliery headshunt). In onelocation, weed growth is having a detrimental effect on the structures themselves _ theexplosives magazines.

Elsewhere the presence of weeds militates against the desirable concept of the Museumeventually incorporating some sort of walk up the gully behind the mine site proper.

The most visually intrusive weed is the free seeding Butterfly Bush (Buddlei davidii), but this isa species easily broken down and removed. Other promiI?-ent and invasive weeds noticed on the'site include Laurel, Blackberry, the yellow-flo",:"ered pea Teline, and various species andcultivars of Hawthorn. The noxious St John's Wort, although less visually intrusive andsmoth~ring than the other weeds, will probably turn out to be the hardest to eradicate in the longterm. '

Removal of weeds is a task that may be undertaken by voluntary labour or specially fundedteams. The sooner weeds are removed the cheaper and easier it will be, and it is recommendedthat priority be given to dealing with the problem at key points, such as around the explosivesmagazines and the site of the stables.

10.4 ,PISTRIBUTION OF TIllS REPORT

This report contains much historical and descriptive material about the Lithgow State Minewhich should be made available to specific groups and the interested public. Accordingly, it isrecOmmended that copies of the report be lodged with: '

Greater Lithgow City Council planning departmentLithgow Regional Library

- 82-

Lithgow District Historical SocietyMitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.Heritage Council of NSW

10.4 REVIEW OF TInS CONSERVATION PLAN

No Conservation Plan should be regarded as a permanently definitive and binding document.

All plans nee4 reviewing from time to time, the frequency being related to the amount ofdevelopment work that has been undertaken on any place since the previous plan had beenprepared. It is. recommended that the Museum Committee consider the review of thisConservation Plan for the former Lithgow State Mine site no later than the year 1999.

"

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II Appendix I

Extract from

II

Coal Mining in Australia

(Elford & McKeown), 1947

ISTATE COAL MINE

The State mine is working the No. 7 or lIthgowseam, having an average thickness of I1 ft., ofwhich only the lower 6 ft. 4 in. is ex~racted. In

The State coal mine, owned by the New SouthWales Government, is situated It miles northof Lithgow, and 96 miles west of Sydney. Themine was acqUired by the Government in 1919and coal production was commenced in 1922.The area of the property is 12,000 acres.

Statistics

Coal production per 8-hr.day 1,650 tons

Actual productive capacity 2,000

Capacity of hoisting plant 2,500

Average output:Per team of 4 men withscraper loader, per shift 48

Per hand miner per shift 10,4

Per total employee pershift 3,4

Employees 490

Proportional output :Bord coal 56 p.c.

PEllMIA.HAGE

!

HAWHSe.u;::ySANDSTONE

TlllASSICA~t

the upper section, the coal has an ash content of25 p.c. is not mined. (See Fig. 142.)

What is known as "the holing band" consistsof 10 in. of good coal that forms the bottom ofthe seam. Above th is is 5 ft. 6 in. of solid coal,free from dirt bands. Above this coal is the"bluestone" band consisting of 3 to 6 in. ofcarbonaceous shale, which is left in situ in othercollieries, but is broken and partly sorted underground in the State mine. Calorific value of the

umoMAP-IMfSEOIES

SANosrO~E_~. .•. • _. ~ ••CO,\lAND ;ANl)S .• .;:4·~L.. •·SiJ..AU WITH CAA.SCNACEOV5MHOS ANJ THIN COAl. 25'~,:;~'_ •..,COAL AND s....\40S~_~ __ .. !:6'ur6'~ ~

SANDSTONE, SHAH AND '""k,'" :>>.1,

COAL ANO &ANOS_. ~ . a' ~o :6'••

SKAtE WH'M THIN MOSOF SANDSTONE ~ • _ 70' ts!C.

SANOSTONE 'NITH Pf5:!L£S. I't.:I70'__ ~ .. 'f.

COAL AND &MiOS_~~_~_._ .r·4uIH;~. \ ...... ;. ',"" UTHGOW

SA.NOSTON! WITH PU&t£S •• _.5·:A"••L .....:::i':~·,,~-- -+

Fig. 142. Section of the Upper Coal Measures atLithgow. The Katoomba. Irondale and Lithgow seamsare worked. At the State mine, the Lithgow seam is minedto a thickness of 6 ft ... in.; the remaining 5 ft. of the seamis high in ash.

85

44 ..

Geology

Pillar coal

Total recovery from seamas mined

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I 162

III

coal underlying this band is 12,590 B. Th. U., andof the overlying coal, IO,7Q.4 B. Th. U.

The seam is 270 ft. below surface at the mainshaft, dips uniormly to the north-east at I in 40and at 5 miles north lies under 1,250 ft. of cover,

The floor of the seam is shale and the roof isshale and sandstone. There are no known faultsin the leases. The seam has been intruded bydykes, which have hardened the adjacent coal.

A typical analysis of the coal is :-

p.c.

Moistu re 2.3

Volatile hydrocarbons 30.6

Fixed carbon 53.3

Ash 13.7

Sulphur 0.7

Calorific value, B.Th.U. 12,590

The coal is essentially a steam coal and producesa good coke, rather high in ash.

Method of Entry

The mine is worked through a downcast shaft20 ft. dia., an upcast shaft 19 ft. dia., both concretelined, and No. 3 shaft, 18 ft. dia., three miles tothe north.

Mining Practice

The mine is divided into sections but is notworked in panels. Bord and pillar is the miningmethod. The dimensions of workings are :_

Headings and main Winning bords : 5 yd.wide by up to 7 ft. 6 in. high

Bords : 8 yd. Wide by 5 ft. 6 in. to 6 ft. high

Cut-throughs: 5 yd. wide

fillars: 44 yd. by 44 yd., or 44 yd. by33 yd. centres.

163

The layout for future working provides forisolation of districts by barrier pillars and. inpreparation for mechanisation, rectangular turnoutswill be abandoned in favot,;r of an angled turnoutSUitable for the movement of mechanical units.

At present all coal is hand mined and grunched.Hand filling is general. except in some developmentplaces. worked With scraper loaders. from which15 p.c. of the total output is obtained.

Scraper loaded places are operated by a team offour men, who bore, fire. timber. and fill the skips.which are hauled by horses to the flat. a distanceup to 200 yd. An output of up to 100 tons pershift is possible, but normal output per team is46 to 48 tons. The time for filling a sk-.ip of22 cwt. capacity is 30 seconds to one minute.

In hand mining. one-man places are worked.Average output per miner cn contract, who bores,charges, fires, timbers and fills. is lOA tons per

man shift. The average time for hand loading is12 min. per skip containing 23 cwt. of coal (heapedcapaCity).

Power boring is used in :hose sections servedwith 415V. current. In a 15 re. by 7 ft. 6 in. face.10 holes are bored to a scandard pattern. Fourparallel holes. directed upward, are bored 18 in.below the roof. Six holes, placed 18 in. abovethe floor. are also bored upward. The two centreholes form a V cut, the holes on either side areparallel to the cut holes, while outside holes areparallel to the ribs. (Fig. 34)

Shots are fired singly by the battery of the miner'scap lamp. Leads from the electric detonator inthe charged hole are plugged into the base of thecap lamp and the shot fired by a push buttonswitch. Leads up to 100 yd. are used. prOVided theresistance does not exceed 2 ohm. The methodis safe and efficient.

Transport

Coal is transported to shaft by endless rope,travelling at It m.p.h., and operated by a 300 h.p.a.c. motor. This hauls skips of 22 cwt. (level) or28 cwt. (heaped) coal capaCity and 9 cwt. tare,


II

I Men are transported underground to and fromthe shafts on a set of 12 trollies, carrying a totalof 360 men. The system is installed in the return

I airway and is operated by reversible endless ropeat a speed of 8 m.p.h. Each fourth trolley isfitted with a lever-operated emergency brake, in

I charge of an official. The set rider can signal theengine driver whiTe in transit by means of signalwires carried on props alongside the roadway.

III

in sets of 12, on 2 ft. 6 in. gauge track. Push-buttoncontrol is provided and re-railing keps are installed.Subsidiary to the main system are five branchend.less rope haulages, -driven by 50 h.p.' motors.

A storage battery locomotive of 275 amp. hr.capacity provides subsidiary transport of coal andmen from the faces to the main rope.

Power Plant

Winding engines and main ventilating fan aresteam-d riven from the mine boiler plant. Electriccurrent is purchased from the Railway powerhouse, 300 yd. distant.

Steam is generated in two Lancashire boilers. "Superheated steam, at 750 deg. F.' and 160 lb.sq. in. pressure, is delivered from the Railwaypower house through an insulated main. Steamis admitted along the full length of the bottom ofeach boiler, in which the furnace and flues areblanked off, through a 6 in. dia. pipe with numerousapertures. The boilers are filled to normalworking level with feed water, which is convertedto steam by the superheated steam. Two boilersusing superheated steam have' displaced sevenhand-stoked boilers which were insufficient forthe load.

IIIIIIII

-,

IIII

AppendiiII

Extract from

Department of IVIines Annual Report 1928 (page 80)

,·1II

]·'irr-S!alc (,.. tli JU}i{.-.\t .:.:,,::: i .m. I:. :1:·:' jtltl1

O<;=to!Jer a ~';~HkU:::!l l;n~:igl": ~\'i;:: u: b :'': ii! ::!C' •. ;". ,'t till!

(If nn nuxjIwry n:dlwgC ('::g'IIHl ~Ul(h: ..~roui .. i l1e:.d' thetlOWJlt:lst shaft llCitit.'('tL a. Hl"0 hu;"niu c1" -ahou: lal! yard:,along the main l'ndh-s; rope huul::ge 1~laill' m:,l g~:,'~ tJ,,'alal'ln.

'rht.' ,,-illcllng (·l1gint'·.lrh9 ('r \\".1~ l!otifi~'''1. :Ull~ ht, :.: Oll('~

COIlYt\n:d tIle infpnnntion tu thl' colI it· rj' 1l1iulagC'r. "'h:1hat! left rh" mine for the day. The sup~rinto:ndent engineer "ho had in~!,eeted the progress of ti,e work of('recting the engin('s about half au hour pre,-ious;:.' andwas still in the c(Jllier~' office ,ms also illform~d,

TIll' latt,'r at ouce descend"d the S!l:,ft Ilnd '\'i:h t1:<·aid 0: the workmen mrntioncd l"Hlple,[ tIll' 1:,.,se k(·nt. inthl\ (~ngine ('hanlher tn a stand pipe (In the wat0f illninnearby an" C·lH1l'a,'olll·._'rl to extinguish tl1l' ;;..'W fi,,·r,·c'I,,burning firr:. Th,:, hose prc.Ying- too shr}rt fllr tliat pu'I"pose ht' <1l''';llc-ll ll) rnt tlte pipc'$ at a point 1.',',11','1' ;ll tIlt·lin' and atrack ir with tit" aid Clt buC'i""t;.

ff!;l" m:uw;:!l'f ~11 -ihIJ llH'fl!i:-:!lll' arl'i\-'~'tl at t::: ll:it:_~. :t111hp (Ill l"l'r!('ldug tllP S('I'JH~ 0: t1p\~r:!ti(iIl::. aft:·:- l·(.!j"::li;ill}!

v.-ith the ellgincl·r. gan' in;.;r:-llctitlllS for the j,-,,~u~'. :tmlmlance an,1 firo briga,ll's to be notified that t!lc'ir sen-iccswcr~ rt'quil ~cl. He :11:'0 directed two (,lTIcia]s to £.J intothe rrturn and 0llen the scpf1.rntion doors si~uatel:l about!l chains on the inb;-e side of the 11re ill orlkr to nre"ent~nH,kC' and fumes 'from being drawn illto the min~ "orkj!ig~ where ther..:· ,,('re fift:=-·eight n10H at 'work (,ll the:l Ft ('moon shift. He then returned to th" surfa·:e andsWjljll'd the fan. The separarion doors were rcaeh:·Q 111\,10pl'nell without difficulty,

The i1cputy in eharge of the aftcrJJ(lon s::ift was it"formed by pholle of the tire and illstrueted to coll~et thewhole of his nWlI at the transport terminus ready to bceony"yed outbye.

The drinr of the transport sot, by means of whieh thoworkmen are com-oyed for a distance of 1~ mile in astraight line to and from the point whero the first work,ings open out) was instructed to procecil inhyC' w:rh thesot in order to bring the men out. ..

Aftor the separation doors were op':llcd, the m:mag"rreturned to tho surface and restarted tho fan at flfteenrevolutions per minute in order to draw the smoke andfumes away' from the men engageq. in fighting the fire.On again descending the milie and sep.ing that the engiueer had the fire well in hand, he, G ccompanied by adeputy who had just arrived at the mbe, proceed.ea inhye via the transport road, the atmosphe:e of which wasslightly hazy, but did not cause them incon'enien':c. Onthe way they met a youth with three mill~rs hurrying'out to the shaft, Th"se he assured that there was x;othingto foal' and continued on his wa,. The ,oulh referrec]to, on reaching the ,ieinity of the downcast shaft} col,lapsed probabl1' owing to shoek and e:.citement. liewas attended to hy th" ffi"mhers of the rescu" crop" wlwhad by Ihat time arri,'ed down the mine nnd who applied artificial l'"spiratioll, aciministere'd ox:-!!,,,n 1.];<.1 r"s~orcrl him in a few. minutes. The' youth, after ab:;entinghlmsl'lf from the' mll1" for olle day} returncr1 to h:s worknone the "'or~e ror his""xpc-rien"".

\\'Ii"n th" mnlln'ger nnd c1l'puty reached th" tr::llsporl.terminus th,,~' found tw"nty-threc miners a:'lrl othe'rwo~km"n ,raiti!lg on the cars. There was ne ~igll ofe'xeltement. TIll' men'~ names were taken all< instru\'tions gh'"u for them to be ('om'e~'ed outb~'''. On arri,aJat thl' terminus ther" they were conducted to the down,('a~t shaft by a road clear of the fin', TIlt' transportdrn'e.r returned inb~'e with the cars. ,\Yh"n h" reached thetermlllUS the roll was called which show"d thnt ther"mai:lder of the afternoon shift. of worknwn w<':e lIO"nssl'~l1blC'<1..Thl' manngc-f 'wllo h[1(1 ju::t nt l!l~t n:nnH:ntrecetn'd a 'phone' m('~~ap:l' from the' l'llgilll'fr tl;:tt tIll'nrn was no", e~-tingni;;h(ld. gave instruc... tions for i!!P m(lnt? board the ~ars and I'roe""d outhye. :llld hl' with rl"pu,tIes accompanIed them.

The ~paration doors W61e then elQlled and the faAspeeded up to the normal.

'.JJt-putles then maill' :::1 insp"ction of the mine and

]'('portl'l: all safe. 'York "':lS resumed the lIext day.

An inspcction or thl' s::·; of the fire discloseil the facttlult a rough caLin, a ;,<·ut 6 fe~t x: 4 feet in extent,formed by removing th,; s:onc debris packeil on the rOIIllside at the corner of tl:(,' pillar at. the entrance to );0. 5stcnton, anel lagging bc:.:nd :hc props set thoro "ith timber aUtI lining it with 1. :'attice cloth, in which were twoscats formcd hy nailiJ'i; Lrattb: doth to props aboutIS inches apart anil il:::i~ICli at an angle of ahout ;;0rll'grees between th·; fiN,: ~mrl ~itl" {,f the cabin, hail beenbumt l·(,tl!l'],,(cly L·ut. j';,:;'r'l!,l this, and slight.Iy cok-ingthc t(trH'~'L' of the l,iB:::' ~.1:,1 \'·::arring a. l.:g of a l-!·inchSl.'t cd (iJllJ:.:"i"~ 1~1) lIt: :.•.1::I1I:q:c: was dllllll,. III thecahin rh.: e]ippel':; ,q.: ;:: .. ; l":'arl,:,' l,ad their i1aily crib:'11.1 k,';,: tl:<,!r cr.~:;~. '.-~.' ,'·.·put:o also k"l't ~"ll\': tnolsth"re. Th" ·Icput:... w~.: :::a,;,_' Ill" :tfter-',"ork il\~jJ('dionfor signs of fir-:-: ~ta~··: ~i:(i t tht;r,:, \\¥l,,-'re no· such signs",hen },,' mac],; hj:: i:'" 'di":1 ~:it(,'r the clippcrs hallh':~~C'cl \':IJrk (In t!:~:t l'~' .:. T!:~::: "l1'kial nisn stat(lu th[lt~('i!leii!~:·.:::; t(l(ds n:'·: I::;.: . :-:: ";~':·;::!:l.:n Oll the afrern<Joll!-::dft i:')lH till.' C:!!:~:l : .. ' :' :;:~. l;-: ..q.·:,(-~iiln js In~:llle. Thl")::(·i.uaI (:1HS{,' uI tiH:: ::n: -: :.::: ::,.: ::s·:~:·tain(l(1. but it is con::iIIPrl'ct to h:1\'c j, .. ':,'1: .• ' ::'-·,1 it.'\.- :;.:·.::~t."ltl!11,.' gui!l~ to i. hl~

c:.hin ,\~th :1 nakf:.j Eg:_: .. ::tl T1rlJ!·~:.blv [L spark tell frlHujt UHll·',:kcd (In t~l t1ie -~-..- !~~~lt.:ri::: Cif whieh thl' C:iJJillaH(l fo'!2:lrs were CL.I:stn:-·- - ':. ~nd tli:s ~Jnoul11ere(1 until it,r:ts f:ul:leQ into a. fi:l:~:-. :.y the n:::ir~ :Jir current.

That this fire on rhe :::;;;11 intake' of onc of the largestc"llieri':s in the ;:;,ate ,::.j not result in a serious colIien',Ii,ast"r is <1 uP. to a s·:r;c'5 of fortunate circumstance's:lIl1ong whi(·h "-Cfl?:-

(i'· The prc'::"'l1(:t' -= "'0rhllH'!: in U'H: ,-ieinity "'hor:li~0tl th(· :11fl:-:': \.~:lrly;

(~. th:lt. the l':q;~::::':':: was> 1)11 the spot aJi~l actedpronlptly ~o ~::: \\-:l,t ..~r t(l (-xtinguish it;

Pi that there was:: g..-,oJ suppi:- of water uI'niluble,

This is anoth"r iI1St(1;:':(,' of the clanger attendant uponthe us'" of naked lights. the aboli:ion of which in coalmill"s ,-..ns so StrellUO\:,::- and successfully opposed by~ome or' th" ach'ocates a~.·:l wimcsscs before th" lute Royal('oJ11mission on Coal a~:! Shr:lc ~Iines, 19~5-~G. •

IIII

IIIIIII

IIII

I~Appendix HI

0, :

:. ,";.'

; ..

. .; ... -

'. ., ~:.

. - -- ,.... .

... !JltfS.: -- '. t)UTIJ'J.3ST

~

(1) 'SWOT' Analysis of Project

STRENGTHS-

Lithgow State Mine Museum Committee

On Site Planning MeetingSunday 4th April

'Romantic' image of coal miners/mining.Miners' 'culture'.Friendliness/Down to earthness.

•

1. Site:

•

••

•

~v'lihe tunnels.Buildings (inc!. earlyRailway designs).Size of site (over 300 acres).Natural setting/surrounding bush/mountain environment..Rail siding/rail stock.

• -Rail links to other significantLithgow sites.'Infrastructure'?Creek & picnic area.Easy coach access.Close proximity to Sydney(Lithgow - gateway to west).

•

••

..

2. History:

• Part of significant early industrial development of Australia.• Unique - only site of its .kind. .., .• Contemporary relevance to Lithgow as a city & community

(Mining still occurring).• Historic photographic collections & artifacts.• LabourlUnion history & association.

3. Community:

• Community based project.

• QUality, sense of vision, and commitment of conunittee & volunteers. .• Conununity interest (e.g. Chamber of Commerce) and links to other local groups.• Developing relationship with Pacific Power.

4. Other:

IIIIiIIII"~!l

IIIIII·1 ·I ·

II

.~

I'--W_EA_K_N_ES_S_ES------''--- -=-- I .1. Site/Physical: .

• Lack of necessary 1000 volt power supply.• Lack of immeqiately available coal face - the "underground experience".• Security challenge. .• No passing trade.• Low level of visitors to Lithgow.• Lack of visitor accommodation in town.

2. Communication/Organisation/Finance:

• Lack of marketing & promotion plan.• Lack of an introductory brochure.• Lack of funds.• Insufficient powerful political connections (state & federal).

3. Communifj/Communication:

• Image problem.• External perceptions of project.• Ac;lverse reaction to railway link• Lithgow's'image'.• Insufficient community awareness of amount of time needed to

launch such projects?• Shortcomings in 'people' based experience (e.g. Miner's Cottage).

IOPPORTUNITIES

1. Great hope for Lithgow tourism.2. Unique city and history - community, culture, industrial

birthplace/industrial past.3. Project as a catalyst for developing Lithgow pride and self esteem.4. Major focus for new appreciation of importance of city - its place in Australia's history etc.S. Revised/more enlightened contemporary thinking on value & beauty of architecture of

the past - including industrial design.6. Accommodation for visitors (on site?).7. Coal/power link.8. Rail link (incl. Zig Zag).9. Increasing Council support.10. Increasing community support.11. Underground displays.12. Linkage to other Lithgow attractions (joint planning).13. Mining merchandising - logo, sticker, posters, caps, t-shirts, etc.

Complied and published by Arts OutWest as a service to the community

?

~~·I

IIIIIIIIIII·1IIIIIII

(2) Goals (with priorities)

(3) Strategies (with priorities)

•

I-II

3

I ITHREATS/BARRIERS TO PROGRESS

1. Loss of project momentum and community interest.I 2. Lack of community information.3. Implications for support of 'user pays' philosophy.14. Image of 'fossil fu~ls'?

I1. Ca) To open up the 'underground experience' (working tunnel needed)

11. (b) Increase public support.2. Install necessary power supply (1,000 volts).• Heighten community's sense of 'ownership' over the project.I· Create the necessary raillin.k:.• Create working displays/demonstrations.• Provide a 'people' experience.I· Pro-vide an experience of the mining/miners' culture.

I11. (b) "Increase Support"

.. Greater 'networking'.• Project 'Update Tours.

I- More first hand experiences down mines and on the site - particularly for key people.(Qualified guides?)

'. Key committee recruitments/co-options. .'.I .A marketing and.action plan with key development stages.

Information & Image Development-

I Logo.History sheet about site. .Pamphlet on the project's history, its vision, how to join and supportPamphlet with lists of developmental tasks/activities that can be engaged in,and types of resources/skills needed ('need lists').Right informationiProperly produced.Good quality newsletters.A marketing and action plan with stages.

(4) Project Marketing Plan

~roduct'?• Coal/Coal mining/Energy.I!: Underground experience.•. Educational experience - heritage/history/people.

I

4. Social history.5. 'People'.6. Culture (labour, unions, entrepreneurs, etc.)7. 'Mateship'.8. Romanticism.9. Uniqueness.10. Authenticity.11. Site/setting.12. Interactive experience.13. Rail experience.14. Industrial.experience & industry.15. Danger.16. Professionalism.17. Mystery destination.18. Sensory/personal experience.

Active Elements of 'sensory Experience':

• Smell... Darkness.• Noise/sound... Temperature... Wet/dry... Smoke/dust... Textures - mud.1.. Sense of danger.

ITargeting Which Markets? Selling Product To Whom?

Preliminary Development Stage 1:

.. Coal Mining Industry. (What's in it for them?)

Later Operational Stage 2:

• Schools/School kids.• Domestic VisitorslTourists.• International Visitors.• Special Interest Groups

(e.g. Social Clubs).

IMarkets Located/Found Where?

• Sydney.• LocallRegional Catchment Area.

4

~·I

I'IIIIIIIIII.IIIIIIII

I11Reaching Market/Promoting - How?

1 0

0 Coach Tour Operators.Schools.

• Sell as a base for visits to the NSW Central West!West.I 0 Offer as overnight.tour/accommoc:jation.

IFunding SourceS/Possibilities?

IIIIIIIIIIII.IIII-

(5) Development & Reviewof Action Plan

[Including determination & prioritising of various key stages for the project'sdevelopment, and where best to apply fmances for the best step by step results]

***

-,

5

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Appendix IV

LITHGOW MINING MUSEUM

PRIORITIES

Sewerage, plumbing, water and electricity proper to site. Prioritybath-house and mine office.

Lighting and heating. Bath-house and mine office.

Public facilities Le. mens and ladies rest rooms. Bath-house and mineoffices.

Restoration of bath-house to enable public access to viewing of coalmining artifacts machinery and paraphernalia. Bath-house tolockable stage with security systems installed.

Restoration of mine office and security systems installed.

Belt drift cleared for public viewing as a first step towards anunderground mine?

Car park facilities and landscaping.

Barbecue and picnic areas for public use and landscaping of theseareas.

Discussions on guides, fees, administrator and security requirements.

Railway line finalis.ation.

~·I

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Appendix V

Lithgow State Coal Mine

List of Drawings in State Rail Civil Engineering Plan Room

Listed under State Mine

IIII DwgNo Title

9th Floor, Transport House, Sydney

Date

Listed under Lithgow Power Station

plus 37 other detailed drawings of equipment

List recorded May 10th, 1994 by Don Hagarty.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

25-919581-11,180762-11,304581-22,238762-14,89948-25,807581-21,362574-14-571761-20,704725-22,406718-22,465M 177-959-14,146 _.959-17,741

Card

1009-10,7371009-10,7381009-10,739726-22,255

1426-38,484183-5012-1292-1802-1822-183

605-17,946525-24,944959-14,152762-11,906

818-41,5061265-43,866954-38,874679-40,992581-38,318897-39,6971245-28,630H 177590-124' _1013-30,890H 138484-501088-24, 961

Survey with spot levelsPlan showing layout of tracks, bdgs etcRemoval of cottages for roadPlan of surface arrgtProposed connection to main lineSite plan and arrgt of underground workingsPlan showing arrgt at pit topProposed extension to sidingsPit timber & fodder sdgSdg for ashesDiagram of sdgs at mineRota mileage list & diagramPlan of lineLayout of line with alterations to sdgs

Drwgs transferred to State Coal.Authority

Working planAmended sectionAmended section and planCurve & gradient diagram and sketch plan

Structure to carry 8" pipe over Farmer's CreekProposed culvert over Mort's Creek3/6" CC for creek diversionUnderbridge at Farmer's CreekUnderbridge at Zig Zag Road

" Steelwork details

Plan showing boundariesPlan showing boundariesRoads and land reqd by CommissionerProposed fencing

Siding serving Power HouseAlterations to trackworkProposed road diversionDetailed survey for handover to Elec CommSite plan showing layout of buildingsLayout of sidings serving PHAdditional sdgTemporary meal roomShed for motor and pedal bicyclesSite for new cooling pondPlan of excavation for new resevoirRadio roomPlan showing sdg

2/2328/12/2625/4/21Rec1/21?/192425/5/3229/1/262/5/249/2517/3/234/271922?22/11/22

App.24/7/56

19221922192214/1/27

25/5/49?6/5/4916/2/2115/2/2019/5/2013/5/21

5/2/2320/1/30?1922

18/1/5419491/506/5/5319373/8/5115/3/38194416/4/359-5-4018/4/419/309/4/27

Appendix VI

Archives Office of New South Wales

Records of the Lithgow State Mine

24

STATE MINES CONTR~~ AUTHORITY

See a1501 MINES, later MINERAL RESOURCES

T:,e ~tate ~oal Mines Act, No.70 of 191~, provided for the esta~:is~7.ent 0

State coal mines on Crown or private lands by the Minister for Hine~ and or~he appointment of a General Su~erintendent of State Coal Hines for a pe: odof five years. In 1912 n~ coal mines were worked by the State but thenorthern State Coal Bore at Aberdeen had been bored to a depth of 1,011 feet.In September 1916 a State Coal Mine was opened at Litngow and ~losed in July1917. The min~ was subsequently taken over by the Railway Co~~issioners ea~ly

in 1921 and transferred to the jurisdiction ot the Minister for Hines on1 October 1932.

The State Coal ~lines C~ntrol Board was incorporated by the Sta:e Coal Mines(Amendment) Act, No.3S of 1932. Control of the Lithgow Hine rassed to theBoard on 16 December 1932. The Board comprised the Under Secretary of theDepartment of Mines, ,an officer of the Departm'er.t of Mines no~.inated by theMillister fOl' Mines and a representative of the Department of Rail-.1aysnominated by the Minister for Transport.

In terms of the State Coal Mines (Amendment) Act enacted in December 1948 theState Coal Mines Control Board was reconstituted and rena~ed the State Mines,Control Authority from 1 March 1950. The Authority consisted of not more thar.seven members appointed by the Governor and including the Director of StateCOdl Mines, an officer ~: the Department of Mines, a represent.tive of theDepartment of Railways and a representative of the employees cf the State CoalMines. The main functions of the Authority were to produce coal for the useof Government instrumentalities, principally the Department of Railways andthe Electricity Commission, as favourably as possible with res?ect to qualityand price. The chief administrative officer of the Authority was the Directorof State Coal Mines responsible for the implementation of the Authority'sdecisions, while oversight of the fiel~ operations of coal production anddespatch was the responsibility of the Superintendent of Collieries.

in 19~0 the Authority exercised control over two operating mines, the LithgowState Coal Mine and the Awaba State Coal Mine, the latter of which was o?enedin 1947 and was in production by July 1949. Operaticns in the Oakdale Mine inthe Burragorang State Coal Mine Reserve commenced in 1950 and came intoproduction in July 1951. SUbsequently, the Liddell, Mu~~orah a~d Wyee StateCoal Minos also became the responsibility of the Authority.

On 1 July 1973, the Authority's head office and the four coal ~ines under itscontrol - the Awaba, Liddell, Wyee, and Munmorah State'Coal Mines - weretransferred to the Electricity Commission of New South Wales, and thence toElcom Collieries Pty Ltd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Co~ission), underthe provisions of the Electricity Commission (State Coal Mines) Act, 1973(No.37).

The members who constituted the Authority as at 30 June 1973 ceased to holdoffice from that date and from 1 July 1973 the Authority consisted of twomembers, the Under Secretary of Mines as ex officio chairman &nd one memberappointed by the Governor. With the transfer of the control of the coalmines, the Authority had no particular functions to perform. However, itretained responsibility for the management of a number of administrativematters relating to accoun"s, permissive occupancies in the Burragorang Valleyand land at Lithgow.

;,,1

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

II

SUle H1nes Control Authority

~cess Conditions: Records less than 30 years old are RESTRICTEU.

CopieR of lett;rs sent, Sep 1932-0ct 1939 (City 9/1922-26).

25

5 vols.

IIIII

2. Miscellaneous correspondence and minutes, 1932-73 (City 5/1170-91;Kingswood 7/4668A-4677, 10/22417-43). 68 boxes.

This mainly comprises co~respondence with departments concerning coalsupplies. These files contatn, in addit1~n, letters and minutes on avariety of subjects including policy matters as well as day to day

- administ:-8tion..

3. Miscellanc0us printed material, Jun 1933-Jun 1972 (Kingsyood 10/22452-56). 5 boxes.

This series contains drafts and published copies of the State Coal MinesControl Board and the State Mines Control Authority annual reports; acopy of the report of the Commonwealth Board of Inquiry into the Cos1mining industry published in 1946; a bound ~opy of the Mining Act 1906 asamended; and an inco~plete bound set of Department of Mines annua:reports 1939-71.

4, Auditor General's Annual Reports, 1953-72 (Kingswood 10/22444-47).4 boxes.

Printed copies of the Auditor General's report given to the State HinesControl Authority.

IIIIIIIIIIIII

5.

6,

7.

8.

Fortnightly mine ~a~agers' reports and cost sheets for Awaba. Liddpll,Lithgow and Oakdale State Coal Mines, 1944-61 (City 5/l192-Y5, 5/7947-50). 8 boxes.

Comprise cost sheets which include the following information for eachfortnight: number of days worked, total output, average daily output,breakdo"71 of total O'ltput into bOtt~ul coal, pillar coal and thepercentage of total output, tons of soluble coal, employees coal andchitter and percentage of total output of each, surplus or deficiencyover Railway weights as well as figures relating to hewing rates andshifts, costs of explosives, number of horses and output, nQ«ber ofminers and others e~?loyed, average output per employee per shift,percentage of miners idle and total quantity of large and s~all coaldespatched and a detailed pay sheet of rates rer ton for the pay pcriodconcerned and inclUding the last pay period and previous half year,

The fortnightly returns sent by the mine managers include thefollowing: daily output, number of days the mine was in production,average daily output, absenteeism and attendance details, total number ofemployees and Miners' Federation Membership, labour turnover, shifts andaverage output per shift, stocks on coal dumps, detail. of the finaldisposal of coal and a brief summary of any unusual occurrences duringthe pay period, for example, fires, strikes, pit top meetings, breakdowns and repairs, changes in demand for various types of coal andprogres s made,

Managers' reports and cost sheets, 1964-73 (Kingswood 10/22448-50).3 boxes.

Statistical summaries prepared monthly by the managers of the State CoalMines, for Awaba, Liddell, Munmorah and Wyee, showing production figuresand costs for the month. Also included with the production figures is abrief resume of work done in the mine,

Ambulance room tre.~ent book for the Lithiov State Coal Mine, 7 Jan1924-30 May 1930 (~ng.vood 3/2973A~. 1 vol.

Thi, volume date, fro= the period wh'n the State Coal Hinl at Lithiov wa.controlled by the 1ailY&y Commi•• ioner.. The inform&tion i. iiv.n underthe following heading., date, name in fUll; ~ccupation; number I natureof injury; trea~t; cla" of ca.e; time; de.tinationl .ignat4re. Thevolume ha, the heading N.S.V. Government ll&ilY&y' and Tramway., Medicalllranch.

Per,onal injury book for the Lithgow'State Coal Hine~ 24 HAy 1943-16 Aui196.3 ~Xing.vood 10/224Sl·part). 1 box (p&~t).

Thi, volu=«.contein: copi•• of notice, of accident., forwarded to theIn,pector of Collierie. under the proviaion, of the Coal Mine. leiulltionAct 1912-41. The,e notice, ,how where and when the accident occurred,the number of per,on' killed and/or injured, the nature of the injurie.,occupation of thOle involved, and the cause of the accident.

Production report I for the Lithgow State Coal Hine, 13 May 1946-17 Jul1964 (~nglvood 10/22451 part). 1 box (part);

Detailed production figure, prepared fortnightly and Ihowingco=prehlnlive 'tatiltic. for the. output of the mine, for each day of thetvo-veek period. In the later volume. there i, a r~rk•• Iction whichia conclrned with daily occurrencll at the mine.

Appendix VII

GREATER llTHGOvY MiNiNG MUSEUM .NC~

BRIEF FOR PREPAR4.110N OFA CONSER1-·:4.TION PLAN

OUTLLVE.Lithgm,,", sitUated just over Two hours from Sydney, has one of the richest national heritages ofAustralia. In an emerging nation Lithgow was the birthplace of Australia's industry over cl hundredyears ago. The first coal rrune in the valley was opened in 1869 to supply the needs of railwayconstruction which was completed the same year. With the railway as ~ell as an ablufdant supplyof coal Lithgow became an ideal location for many industries that depended upon these resources.It was thus that the iron industry was established in Lithgow in 1875 and the 11rst steel to beproduced ill Australia was cast in 1900. Along \vith iron and steel came copper smelting works,breweries, brickworks, a pipe and pottely works. At its peak Lithgow had 12 coal mines operating.Today, not much of the industry is left, except the coal mines supplying the needs of powerstations in the district and the export industly. But what LithgmY has is a rich heritage, which fewtowns can match.

The State :Mine ,\vas fIrst opened in 1916 and was closed down in 1964 due to flooding after 48years of operation. Ausren & Butta Ltd., who had come to own the site, transferred the entire sitecomprising some 135 hectares for the nominal amount of S1.00. to the newly Incorporated bodythe Lithgow ?\/lining l\luseuIll Inc. in June 1990.

L01VG-TERJl OBJECTIT ES

The overriding development objective is to establish a ~fining ?\'fuseum complex, which '\villrestore and retain one of the great heritage sites of Au.<;tralia and one '\vhich at the same time willhave sufficient tourist appeal to be commercially viable from its commencement. It is hoped thatthe Museum will afford the visitors a first-hand experience of 'Wading conditions in the coal minesofyester-year.

The :tvfining Mu.c;;eum is a community project aimed at restoring the old State lvfine and developingit as a ~Juseum not only for the benefit of the Lithgow community but as a national monument tothe efforts of the pioneers of Australia's early industry. The project was made possible by thecontributions of a wide c.ross-section of the people of Lithgow, the City Council and variouscompanies and business houses as well as Government funding.

The entire project is estimated to cost over SI million. Orthis over S200,000 worth of restorationwork and'uuprovements have already been cani.ed out to date (20ill.92) since work started inNov~rnber 1990. While the project is 20 % completed in terms of funding required. as far asactual work on the site is concerned only about 10 !N> of it has been compkted. The balance of thework needs substantial capital inputs.

LONG-TERiV ALl!.)

Tb ~~l~eve the above objectives the aim of the project is. .

To attract 500,000 visitors a year when fully completed. "

To provide Education.Experienc.eEntertainment

·!.·IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

LlfPLElfENTATI01V

RESOURCES REO[;7RED & BUDGET

The to.tal project cost as estimated in the Business Plan ,vas $825,000.00, subsequently revises to$970,000.00. The resources required to undertake work as indicated in the Proposed Plan of Workare as follows :

-The development of the .tY1it'1ing lvfuseum envisages restoration of the old State Mine site includingthe historic buildings, the rni.Tle shafts, machinery and equipment as well as re-opt::ning of therailway line to carry tourists and landscaping of the whole area. The complex '''-till underlineLithgow's historical involvement \\'ith the mining industry, enhance the tourist appeal of the regionand add to its economic base \\'1th the ensuing employment opportunities from a commerciallyviable enterprise.

82,500.00

50,000.00

36,000.00

50,000.00

218,500.00

$22,500.00$60,000.00

S82,500.00

$10,000.00$40,000.00

$50,000,00

$16,000.00$20,000.00

$36,000.00

$20,000.00$30,000.00

S50,000.00

Equipment HireIVlanp0wer

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

Material & EquipmentIvfanpower

Nh1terialManpower

--------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------

On-site Works :

\Vater & Sewerage: Material1vfanpower

To develop an "underground" experience, using "cut & flU" and pre-£'lb walls andconnecting it to the existing vertical shaft.. It \"'v'ill have a graduated historical display,moving through time, st311ing 'with the pick & shovel, horses and skips and ending withmechanised mining. .-\ poppet head with a cage will be restored on the shaft confoffi1ing topresent-cL:1.y safety sdtancL:1rds for entry to the underground expedence.

To establish the connection of the project to the Litthgow community and its culture ofmining, from its beginning to the present day.

To integrate other related industrial heritage sites ofLithgow such "as the Blast Furnace,Eskbank House, L'lke Pillans by connecting these sites to the Mine Museum complex,resurrecting the State Iv.fine Railway.

To develop eco-tourism by introducing bush walks, nature and wild-life tours etc.

To stage special events, organise tours of education groups and senior citizens as well as"mystery" tours.

Site Clearing

Car Parking

Static Display,Picnic Areas Etc.

TOTAL

IIIIIIIIII!~

IIIIII'1III

:Mine Administration Office

TOTAL PROJECr COST

Consultants' Fees & Expenses

Restoration of Railway Materials1\.1anp0wer

~,I

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

31,000.00

63,000.00

69,000.00

60,000.00

90,000.00

31,000.00

407,500.00

S970,000.00

Manpower Cost$ 6,000.00S15,000.00$10,000.00$ 5,000.00

- ~..-

£407,500.00.

$36,000.00

1vfanp0wer$ 5,000.00$ 2,000.00$ 2,000.00

'$ 9,000.00

lVfanpmver Cost

S 3,000.00$20,000.00$ 5,000.00$10,000.00

$38,000.00

£10,000.00$50,000.00

$60,000.00

$50,0'00.00$40,000.00

£90,000.00

S 31,000.00

$27,000.00

1vfaterial Cost$ 2,000.00$10,000.00$10,0.00.00$ 5,000.00

IVfaterial$10,000.00$ 2,000.00$10,000.00

$22,000.00

IVfaterial Cost

S 1,000.00$15,000.00S 5,000.00$10,000.00

$31,000.00

Bath House:WorkGlazingElectricalPlumbing _Tiling

Building Restoration

WorkBuildingGlazingRefurbishing

'Workshop Building

Glazing.ElectricalPlumbingTiling

Restoration of Machinery 1\.1aterialsManpower

Mine Opening(Underground Experience") Estimated Cost

IIIIIIIIII-{~

I1I1IIIIII

I-lERIT.-!GE GR.-l.:VT

The PImming Department of the State Govemment made a grant of S30,000,OO available tor1993-94 to start some of the restoration work on the site and the buildings. TIlis is on a dollar-fordollar basis, with the Mining l\·1useum contributing or raising from other sources in kind or cashanother $30;000.00. If work progresses satisfactorily in the first year, a similar grant ofS30, 000.00 \votdd be made available in the following year (1994-95).

CONSERVATION PL4N

One of the pre-requisites for utilisation of the Heritage Grant is the preparation and SUbmission ofthe Conservation Plan to the Depariment of Planning for its approval. The deadline forpreparation of this Plan is 31st I\tfarch, 1994.

It is c;nvisaged that the Plan, besides outlining the long-tenn objectives and aims and theirimplementation, will detail the work to be undertaken on restoration of the site and builclings underthe Heritage Grant.

The ~Janaging Committee of the ivfuseum at its meeting on 5th February set down priorities fortaking up restoration work during the CUlTent year:

Following completion of the above works this year, restoration of the Administration Building andthe Workshop Building will be taken up next year under the Heritage Grant. The costings for theseare given above under "~esourcesRequired & Budget".

23 March 1994

Appendix VIII

The PresidentGreater Lithgow Mining Museum IncC/- Greater Uthgow Tourism Association Inc184 Mort StreetUthgow NSW 2790

We would like to thank Ms Sue McGregor for arranging our visit tothe former Colliery on 21 March, and for allowing us to meet so manymembers of the IvIining Museum Committee on site. It was a pleasureto discuss the project and to participate in the enthusiasm of yourgroup.


Mr Hemant GupteRe Conservation Plan

Dear Sir,

Attention:

vVe wish to confirm our verbal advice that we would be pleased to becommissioned by the Greater Lithgow l\·1ining Museum Inc to preparea C9nservation Plan for the former Colliery site and structures.

Conservation Plan preparation is work in which we are experiencedand samples of a couple of our reports have already been lent to MsMcGregor for the Committee to inspect. (We would like to get theseback in due course). Copies of our Curricula vitae accompany thisletter.

©[}{]~O®l]'@[P[}{]~~ [p~~uu~lm &3 ~@[ID~OOu OOOWO!m@Heritage & Conservation Consultants

17 Donnelly Street Balmain NSW 2041Telephone (02) 810 4717 or (02) 7988593

Facsimile (02) 8104717

We believe the experiences we have gained as a result of ouron-going work at Lambton Colliery, Redhead, would be of benefit toyour committee. These experiences not only include the preparationof the original Conservation Plan for Lambton, but also ourinvolvement with several court hearings, the preparation ofmeasured drawings of the mine structures, and the development ofguidelines necessary to protect the significance of the place as thel:?uildings are adapted for a new commercial use.

The State Mine site at Lithgow is clearly a place of considerablesignificance. The surviving buildings are attractive in their ownright as well as being tangible reminders of the colliery's formerglory. Spatially, they appear well-suited to museum use, a use that islikely to be very compatible with protecting their significance.Given the almost total disappearance of physical remains of other

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Lithgow Valley collieries, the rarity value of the State Mine builingsis important. As far as we are aware without further investigation,the branch line connecting the mine site with Uthgow Yard is theonly survivor of the several colliery and industrial branches thatserved the Uthgow Valley. The Museum's aim of operating touristtrains- on this branch is commendable. The fact that the Museum alsopossesses one of the 2-6-2 saddle tank locos that were first introducedin 1892 to handle mineral traffic, and which worked in the Valley for7S years, will lend much historical integrity to any future operation _of the branch for tourist purposes, a degree of integrity that is notfound in the Zig Zag- railway, despite its success and popular appeal.

The Colliery clearly also has social and historic importance by virtueof the fact that it was a state-owned operation and because of its closerelationship to the Uthgow Power Station.

If commissioned to undertake the work, our report would be preparedin accordance with the accepted procedures outlined in lames Semple ~Kerr's manual The Conservation Plan. This would include thefollowing:-

(a) a historical outline of the place;

(b) a description of the site and the surviving buildings;

(c) an identification of likely important footings/archaeological sites;

(d) a discussion and assessment of the significance of the place,leading to the preparation of a formal Statement ofSignificance;

(e) preparation of a tabulation ranking the detailedsignificances of zones and elements;

(f) determination and enunciation of the prinCiples whichshould guide the conservation of the buildings, structuresand remnants at the site;

-(g) discussion of the opportunities for and constraints onconservation and development which arise out of thebuildings, structures and other factors; and

(h) specific recommendations relating to the stabilization andrepair of the buildings, especially bearing in mind therequirement on the Museum to match the dollar-for-dollarfunding of the heritage grant.

We would envision that the Plan should deal with at least two aspectsof the overall proposal outside the site presently fenced - the formerexplosive magazines and the branch railway.

We believe that the material contained in a ConserVation Plan willnot only facilitate a programme for building conservation at theformer Colliery, but also assist and guide the Museum Committee intheir deliberations and proposals for the long-term and contextual

future of the place. It is useful that the Committee at this stagealready has ideas about the future use of the site and the buildings.This means that the Conservation Plan can be prepared mindful ofthese options.

As mE;.ntioned to the Committee during our on-site meeting, \\'e wouldlike to ensure that the exchange of ideas between client (you) andcon.sultant (us) can be maximised by arranging an informal seminar,in a form to be agreed, after we have got the report to a draft stage.

As mentioned in our letter to Ms McGregor dated 1 February last, KenWyatt, Consulting Engineer, would be available to work with us as andwhen required, either during the preparation of the initialConservation Plan, or in any further work we may be commissionedto carry out for the Committee. In addition we have spoken with MrDon Hagarty, a former Division and Chief Ch-il Engineer of the NewSouth Wales Railways, who is also prepared to help as and whenrequired. Mr Hagarty is not only an acknowledged railway' historian,but is also currently preparing a manual for use by railway museumsocieties who operate locomoth'es and rolling stock on private andgovernment lines. His knowledge' and e:-.:perience may be helpful inthe Museum's future negotiations with the State Railway Authorityabout obtaining operating rights or ownership of the branch line.

If commissioned by the Museum to prepare a Consen-ation Plan, wewould require (by arrangement) access to all buildings on the site,and,)to any plans, historical information and photographs held by theMuseum, its Committee Members or the Lithgow City Council. Wewould also ask that the Museum or Council proyide as \\'ith a ladder tohelp us in inspection of the buildings.

Our fee for the preparation of a Consen'ation Plan dealing \\'ith theissues outlined above would be 57,200 (seven thousand, n\"o hundreddollars).

If you wish our initial report to include a more detailed assessment ofthe buildings by a structural engineer, and a preliminary report byMr Hagarty giving advice on the issues relating to the operation of atourist railway, there would be an additional fee of 51,500.

. If commissioned to prepare the Consen'ation Plan, we wouldundertake to have a draft ready for consideration by the Committeewithin eight weeks from the time of formal acceptance of thisproposal. The final report would be prepared within nvo weeks of theholding of the suggested seminar which \\'ould folIo\\" the Committee'sconsideration of the draft.

Please make contact with us if we can supply any additionalipformation in. helping you to make a decision.

Yours faithfully,

Christopher Pratten & Robert In'ing

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An early photograph of one of thethe 1892 2-6-2 mineral saddle tanklocomotives which regularlyshunted mine and industrialbranches in the Lithgow Valleyuntil their vvithdrawal from servicein the late 1960s(Department of Railways).

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Curve and Gradient Diagram,Lithgow State Mine Branch(State Rail Authority).

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