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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Multimedia
Balmain Colliery c1920

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Balmain Colliery c1920

By

John Henry Harvey

Image courtesy of the

State Library of Victoria

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Balmain Colliery

Subjects

Mining

Places

Balmain Balmain Colliery Birchgrove

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Harvey, John Henry

State Library of Victoria

The State Library of Victoria is contributing items from its multimedia collection

Balmain Colliery

Attempts to mine the coal under Sydney started in the 1870s but, despite the efforts of several companies and a miners' cooperative, the Balmain Colliery was never a commercially successful producer of coal or gas and finally closed in 1950.

Mining

Balmain

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Harbourside suburb on a peninsula west of central Sydney, named after the First Fleet assistant surgeon, with a working-class and industrial history. From the 1960s, as industry waned, it became popular with professional and business people who wanted to live close to the city.

Balmain Colliery

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Coal mine established at Birchgrove in 1897 in an attempt to access the rich vein of coal which ran under Sydney from Newcastle to the Illawarra. It was the deepest ever worked in Australia and later produced methane gas, but was not a commercial success.

Birchgrove

Wealthy waterfront suburb located on the north west slope of the Balmain peninsula. It is named after Birch Grove House, home of John Birch, paymaster of the 73rd Regiment.

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