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The Mt Kembla 1902
Mine Disaster
Thursday the 31st of July 1902 has gone down as this mountain's most tragic of days.
It began as any other up in the crisp and clear mountain air on a mid winter's day. The shrill of the pit whistle had announced to the people living in the company owned village of Kembla Heights and below in Mt Kembla that the pit would be working that day. On their way to work, the men would have lifted their eyes to glimpse the most spectacular views out to the east, where the sun was rising on the horizon over the wide Pacific Ocean. With birdsong ringing in their ears and the scents of the ancient forest they descended into the dank and dark tunnels of the coal mine for eight long hours of back breaking work. Their metal crib tins and water bottles clinked and sharpened picks and shovels rested over their shoulders as they trudged through kilometers of narrow tunnels to their working places. It was all cold, hard surfaces down there, with the smell of coal dust mixed with metal and burning oil from their coffee pot lamps that filled their nostrils. In the silence they listened out for the creeks and cracking of the coal, ever mindful of the dangers.
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Mt Kembla Colliery pit top and workers circa 1900, from the collections of Mt Kembla Mining Heritage Inc.
The pit ponies were collected early from the stables where the hostler (groom) had readied them for their long day of endless pulling with their collars and harness, checking their shoes were in good order and attaching a bag of chaff to their collar for a well deserved break later on. Often the wheelers, who worked the horses all day using only voice commands, would take in a treat for their four legged mate, a piece of fruit or slice of bread. Horse and man formed close bonds working in the darkness and relied upon each other for safety and companionship. Horses seemed to have a sixth sense, but probably just better hearing, every now and then refusing to enter certain places that later proved dangerous with an unexpected roof collapse.
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There were 28 pit ponies at work in the Kembla pit that day.
Mt Kembla pit pony ready for work circa 1970
from the collection of Graham Bartholomew
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The miners were working in pairs at the coal face, one of them had started on the front shift (7 am - 3 pm) to ready the working place and give the wheelers and their horses enough time to get the "empties" (empty skips) to the miners working places for filling. Later the wheelers would collect the skips full of coal from the miners and take them to the endless rope road. There the clippers would clip the full skips onto the moving rope which would pull the skips out to the surface. The other coal miner in the pair had started work two hours after the first on the back shift (9am - 5 pm), he would finish up by filling the skips with coal they had won from the mountain. They had both been working hard, sometimes on their knees or laying on their sides to undercut the coal seam with their picks, they had then hand drilled holes into the hard wall of coal, filled the hole with explosives and blasted the coal off. With their picks they broke up the coal and then shoveled tons and tons of the black rock into the skips. Black coal dust caked their sweaty bodies as they sat down for a bite to eat.
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Two miners working underground with coffee pot lamps attached to their caps. From the collections of John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
Miner drilling a hole into the coal face for the charge. Miner lying on the right is undercutting the coal face to allow the coal to fall away once fired. Wyoming State Archives department of State Parks and Cultural Resources undated
Two English miners hand drilling the coal face. Image from Dailymail.co.uk
Two miners working underground with coffee pot lamps attached to their caps. From the collections of John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
Clippers, usually young 14 - 17 year old boys just getting their start out working at the coal mine, were working at the entrance clipping the full skips off the moving rope and onto the weigh cabin to be weighed. Patrick Brownlee, the check weighman and William Wilson, the weighman, were noting down every ton allocating it to the pair of miners who filled the skip. Their skips were identified by a token attached to each skip. Contract miners were only paid for the coal weighed in the skip, not the time they had spent extracting the coal or making their workplace safe, so every bit counted. After the skip was weighed and the coal tipped out, the clippers would clip the skip onto the endless rope again to send it back into the mine for refilling.
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The skips themselves were simply wooden or metal buckets on wheels that rolled along a rail system either pulled by the endless rope or the pit ponies. There was no breaking mechanism to stop or slow the skip down. On slopes the skips could pick up speed so sprags, which were metal or wooden lengths, had to be jammed into the wheels to prevent them from turning. Sometimes one sprag was used sometimes three or four depending on the slope. If a sprag broke or was missed the skip would take off crashing into anything in its path, sometimes injuring or killing the horse.
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A clipper spragging a coal skip
From the collections of Illawarra Images
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At 2 pm that day, everything was as it should be...
Patrick Purcell was driving the engine that turned the endless rope haulage wheel right above the mine entrance. George Western, the boiler fireman was in charge of the three Cornish boilers in the boiler room adjacent to the engine house and mine haulage entrance. Like a well oiled machine all parts of the mine, from the clippers, wheelers and horses to the miners and surface workers were working to capacity. Even the mine inspector Thomas Bates, had arrived and was in the process of doing his rounds with underground manager William Nelson. The front shift was just about ready to finish work for the day and the back shift had three more hours to go. At three minutes past 2 pm, suddenly and without warning, a huge explosion reverberated across the mountain, and a flame shot out the entrance burning anyone and anything in its path. George Weston the fireman escaped with a cut on the hand and bruises on his body, the blast struck him insensible for quite some time (The Manning River Observer 6.8.1902:2), but young Nelson who was standing close to Weston was killed, his clothes torn from his body. Patrick Purcell found the floor dropped out from under him and the building came down on top of him, he escaped with serious burns but eventually died from his injuries 18 months later. The inspector was rescued alive, but the under-manger lay dead beside him.
In the village, people fell to their knees as their houses shook, and children terrified by the tremendous sound of the blast ran crying from their class rooms. It was the kind of unfathomable noise in that remote village for which there was only one possible explanation, the pit had gone up. Dogs howled as thick black smoke billowed into the skies debris strewn in every direction. Mt Kembla Colliery, had exploded, with 243 workers underground, some instantly killed or wounded by the flying debris and fire, the majority now trapped.
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Images of the disaster published in newspapers August 1902, see images below.
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Underground with their naked lights blown out and in darkness, miners tried to grasp what had occurred. Some thought perhaps it was an earth quake or the boilers had burst, others in the far reaches of the mine heard no sound at all and continued on working until knock off time. These only realised something was amiss when they noticed abandoned tools and crib tins. Others who had seen gas blowers in the mine before knew exactly what it was 'Run for God's sake! She's fired!'. The majority of the men who weren't killed in the initial blast, now tried to escape through deadly carbon monoxide filled tunnels. This gas, known as afterdamp, when inhaled would make the men feel drowsy and appear as if almost drunk. Sitting for a smoko or lying down to rest for a spell they were soon suffocated by the gas which was thickest at the bottom of the tunnels. Panic struck, some ran straight into the gas, groups of men dying together. Others realised they needed to find an escape route against the direction of the gas filling the tunnels. Most of the trapped miners rescued themselves, relying on the experience of miners familiar with old workings to find a way out through shafts and audits. In one case 70 men survived crawling through old tunnels in a route that took almost 3 hours, all the while hoping against hope they'd be able to get out at the other side alive. In all 261 men and boys were at work at the pit that day, most working underground with 22 on the surface, 94 were to lose their lives along with two rescuers. Eighteen pit ponies were killed.
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The cause of the explosion was found to be that firedamp had ignited upon reaching the naked light of a young clipper working in the No. 1 Main Level Rope Road. Unknown to the miners or managers, this gas had been collecting in a disused goaf area, that is, an area that had been mined out with all the pillars removed and left to allow the roof to naturally cave in over time. There was no requirement in 1902 to check gas levels in these areas as they were dangerous to enter with a roof fall possible at any moment. The colliery managers maintained that Kembla was not a gassy mine, despite evidence of burns caused by small pockets of gas igniting over the previous years and the fact that they were mining the exact same seam as the one that had exploded causing the Bulli mine disaster 15 years earlier taking 81 lives. The gas seeped out of the coal seam and collected in the void undetected, a time bomb waiting to happen. When the roof did cave in that day, the rock fall pushed the collected firedamp out into the tunnels where the men were working. Young Henry Morrison, just 17 years old with only the flame of his coffee pot lamp lighting his way wouldn't have known what hit him when the gas reached the light attached to his cap and ignited instantly. The tremendous blast whipped up the coal dust that lined every surface in the tunnels into great clouds that themselves ignited sending a series of explosions raging towards the tunnel mouth intensifying and blasting the surface buildings to splinters. Tons of earth were blown out and fell back on top blocking the entrance.
Young man with a coffee pot oil lamp. Library of Congress image.
The noise like "Thunder in a Cloudless Sky" was heard from Wollongong, to Helensburgh and Jamberoo. Looking up towards the mountain they could see a huge black smoke cloud above the coal mine. Wollongong was deserted as everyone rushed to the mountain village anyway they could. It is said that horses were ridden so hard that day that some were never fit to be ridden again. Huge crowds converged at the pit top as families and friends desperately sought news of their loved ones.
Almost every house in Kembla Heights, where most of the men lived, suffered the loss of a father, brother, husband or son. In some homes fathers and sons died together, in another four brothers never came home. The grief was inescapable. This sad and terrible tragedy is marked to this day by headstones in local cemeteries, most of them with the same date, 31st of July 1902.
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Image of the Village of Kembla Heights two days after the disaster. The men with no work to do, sit in groups talking.
The community still in process of burying its dead is in shock.
'Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, NZG-19020816-424a-1 '
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Compiled and written by G. Element with information from:
PIGGIN, Stuart and Lee, Henry, The Mt Kembla Disaster, 1992
Mt Kembla Colliery Disaster 31 July 1902 The Report of the Royal Commission 1903
TROVE National Library of Australia historic newspaper articles, search for Mt Kembla Disaster
President of Kembla Lodge personal communication 2017
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This rare recording of Mt Kembla Mine Disaster survivor and rescuer Eric Hunt was taken in 1977 by Stuart Piggin and Glenn Mitchell. Eric was only 17 years old and a clipper working underground at Mt Kembla colliery at the time of the disaster. He helped save the lives of several men, showing them a way out through a daylight heading. His father and brother died in the disaster, another brother was rescued. "Eric describes the scene of women identifying their loved ones at the mouth of the mine, and, even 75 years later, he struggles with the horror of what he heard and saw." From the Stuart Piggin: Faith of Steel & Mount Kembla Mine Disaster Research Collection at the University of Wollongong Library Archives.
THAT DAY IN 1902
This short artist film is designed to draw the viewer into the events of 1902. You are encouraged to fill in the black spaces using your imagination with the aid of a detailed soundscape. Described as poetry with sound, the film makers focused on every mention of sound in the historical accounts to create an emotional rather than analytical response to the disaster, bypassing the spoken word. Short moving images are deliberately dispersed through darkness flooded with sound. For best results use headphones to hear all the subtle sounds, but be mindful of the explosion that was designed to shock to provide an inkling of what the real shock of the sudden gas explosion might have felt like at Mt Kembla on the 31st of July 1902.
The Mt Kembla Disaster in Images
For those unfamiliar with coal mines and the landscape at Kembla Heights, the words above can only impart a portion of the story of the Mt Kembla Mine Disaster. These pictures provide more information to understand this catastrophic event. The images below have been compiled by G. Element sourced from various public collections with the help of Jotters on our Kembla Jottings Facebook page. Special thanks to Phil Hartley, Helen Upton, the late John Stafford and Dr Joe Davies for their contributions.
Click on images below to be taken to original online sources.
 Mt Kembla Coal Mine Pre 1902Everyone in the company owned village of Kembla Heights was connected to the coal mine. They either worked for the coal mine renting their homes from the company or rented their businesses from the company. If you no longer had a family member working at the pit you were evicted. Most local boys left school at fourteen to work at Mt Kembla Colliery. Auckland Weekly News 21 August 1902 p 9 Courtesy of Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19020807-9-1 |  The Mt Kembla Mine Pit MouthDiagram of the Pit Top After the Explosion. The Daily Telegraph, 2nd of August 1902, page 9 from TROVE |  Rubble at the mine entranceThe huge gas and coal dust explosions wrecked the surface buildings to splinters and sent tons of rock and earth out the tunnel mouth blocking the entrance. Inside the tunnels filled with black damp, deadly carbon monoxide gas from the incomplete combustion of fuel. Courtesy of the University of Wollongong Library Archives Stuart Piggin Collection D158_8_36 |
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 Main drive blocked by earthMen had to crawl through pitch black tunnels, choked by black damp, feeling their way, trying to find a way out. The gas made some men drowsy appearing to be intoxicated. They'd lie down for a minute, never to wake again. Auckland Weekly News 21 August 1902 p 10 Courtesy of Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19020821-10-4 |  Ruins at the mouth of the mineThis rare image shows the haulage entrance adjacent to the boiler house. Just behind the opening tons of rock and earth caved in and blocked the tunnel. The engine room which sat on the first floor of a two story building in front of the haulage entrance has collapsed. Photo by W. Hall, Castlereagh-street Sydney published in Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925) Thu 7 Aug 1902 Page 14 from TROVE |  Wreckage at the Pit TopPit top buildings were blown apart. The Boiler house on the left is gone, the engine haulage room powering the endless rope on the right. The rope wound itself around the wheel, the pull being on the bottom and the return on top. It then went through a series of guide wheels and a tension trolley which was a safety device. Photographer R Baxter Milo Studios Wollongong |
 The Wrecked Engine HouseThe engine house with the haulage wheel was directly in front of the mine mouth and was completely blown away. The boiler room on the left had the pipes torn from the boilers, steam poured out. Patrick Purcell working in the engine room said "Down went the floor and all the house on top of me." He later died of his wounds. Tippler gantry top left. Kerry & Co Photo Auckland Weekly News 21 August 1902 p 10 Courtesy of Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19020821-10-2 |  General View of the WreckageTipler Gantry on top right. Slack heap in centre. Boilers on left, Wrecked engine house bottom centre. Published in The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946) Sat 9 Aug 1902 from TROVE |  Wreckage looking northThe wreckage of the weighbridge in the foreground, boilers exposed on the left. Crowds gathering outside the temporary morgue, the blacksmith's shed, one of the few buildings still standing after the explosion. Stuart Piggin Collection, University of Wollongong Archives, collection D158/8/43 |
 View of the mine after the explosionLooking north across the pit top with the work shops on the right. Photographers Kerry and Co. Published in The Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 - 1934) Fri 15 Aug 1902 Page 21 fro TROVE. |  Wreckage looking southTimbers and tin have been blown out and down the edge of the mountain side. Looking south towards Mt Kembla with the weighcabin in front and tipler to the left. The mine entrance is off the image on the right. Image sourced from Illawarra Mercury |  Crowds Converge at the PitCrowds wait for news outside the temporary morgue. They called it the Dead House, laying the men in rows toe to toe. Relatives walked up and down the rows trying to identify their loved ones. Stuart Piggin Collection, University of Wollongong Archives, collection D158/8/44 |
 Searching the debrisA Kerry and Co photograph published in The Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 - 1934) Fri 15 Aug 1902 Page 21 from TROVE |  General View of the ruinsPhoto by W. Hall, Castlereagh-street. Sydney. Published in Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925) Thu 7 Aug 1902 Page 14 from TROVE |  Clearing the ruinsKerry and Co photo published in The Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 - 1934) View title info Fri 15 Aug 1902 Page 21 from TROVE |
 Waiting for newsWomen waiting in front of the boiler room on the right. The haulage entrance on left. Courtesy of the University of Wollongong Library Archives Stuart Piggin Collection D158_8_37 |  Stretcher party bringing in bodies.A recovered body is being carried on a stretcher towards the temporary morgue for identification and processing. The Critic (Adelaide SA) 9th of August 1902 page 6 from TROVE |  Scene on Thursday NightOutside the intake tunnel, wives, mothers and families waited for news of their loved ones. As the stretchers were brought out with the dead, they'd plead with the searchers for news. The Daily Telegraph 2nd of August 1902, page 10 from TROVE |
 Bringing out the deadThe Australian Star (Sydney NSW). 4th of August 1902, page 5 from TROVE |  Outside the Temporary MorgueWomen console each other outside the temporary morgue after hearing the inevitable news of a loved one's death. The Sydney Mail 9th of August 1902 page 346 from TROVE. |  Australia Grieves for Her DeadThe disaster was a national catastrophe that received world wide attention. Benefits and fundraising events were held throughout the country in support of the bereaved windows and children. Yet little practical help reached them at the time it was needed. This disaster remains Australia's worst industrial accident, yet the mine site where it occurred is still waiting 6 years after nomination to be placed on the heritage register. The Chronicle Adelaide 9th of August 1902 TROVE |
 Coffins on the coal trainNewspapers of the day reported that the colliery put in an order for 60 coffins with that number likely to increase. The sight of all the white pine boxes making their way up the Mt Kembla Colliery incline was one that Kembla people never forgot. Image from New Zealand Graphic 16 August 1902, p424a 'Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, NZG-19020816-424a-1 ' |  The pine wood coffinsSuch a quantity of coffins were required that local suppliers could not keep up with demand. In the chaos and confusion of dealing with so many dead, some with all facial hair burnt off, making identification difficult, some bodies were mislabeled in their coffins. University of Wollongong Library Archives Stuart Piggin Collection D158_8_60 |  Outside The Engine HouseWhat remains of the boiler room with what appears to be three Cornish boilers on the left. The mine workshops where the temporary morgue was situated on the right. Coffins are still stacked up waiting for bodies. Punch 7th of August 1902 |
 Major MacCabe's coffinHuge crowds converged at the mine site, there was little anyone could do but wait for news. Major MacCabe was a respected former Mayor of Wollongong and the leader of a rescue party who succumbed to the deadly gas. His elaborate coffin moves through the crowd as people raise their hats in respect. Auckland Weekly News 21 August 1902 p 10 Courtesy of Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19020821-10-3 |  Bringing home the deadThe women, in shock followed their dead husbands and sons home, where they would wash and dress them ready for burial. Auckland Weekly News, 21st of August 1902. From the Sir George Grey Collections, Auckland Libraries. |  Some of the rescuersIn this photo rescuers are holding their safety lamps, however, at the time of the disaster, there were so few safety lamps or stretchers on site that search parties were delayed until some could be brought from nearby mines. No doubt this cause the loss of many more lives than need be. Town and Country 16th August 1902 page 22 Courtesy of the State Library of NSW |
 Sunday MorningA plain pine wood coffin is carried from the coal mine towards the village of Kembla Heights. A downcast woman follows. The Sydney Mail NSW, 9th of August 1902 page 346 from TROVE. |
WIN News Illawarra - Mt Kembla Mine Explosion 110th Anniversary
For the 110th anniversary of the Mt Kembla Mine disaster in 2012, WIN News produced a five part series special about the disaster and its effect on the community. Watch them all below.
COMMUNITIES IN DISASTER circa 1980
Documentary film on the Mount Kembla mining disaster 1902 and the Appin coal mine disaster of 1979, with commentary by Dr. Stuart Piggin of the University of Wollongong. The documentary also features extracts of interviews with Eric Hunt and May Eckford. 16mm colour film See related article about the proposed documentary in Campus News, University of Wollongong, June 1980.
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Source YouTube UOW Library channel published 2 September 2012.