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Mining

Subject
Balmain Colliery
Katoomba coal tramway
Agnes Napier
Sydney Harbour Collieries Act 1903
Australian Kerosene Oil and Mineral Company
Balmain Coal Contracting Company
Gladstone Colliery
Glen Shale Mine
Harrington's Clay and Shale Pits
J & A Brown
Natural Gas & Oil Corporation
Ruined Castle Shale Mine
Sydney Collieries Ltd
Sydney Harbour Collieries
Sydney and Port Hacking Coal Company Ltd
Adams, Robert Dudley
Brown, John
Copeland, Henry
Gregson, Jesse
Holtermann, Otto
Huntley, TS
Keegan, Thomas
Kelly, Thomas Hussey
North, John Britty
Balmain Colliery
Katoomba Colliery Ltd
Katoomba coal tramway
Birchgrove Postcard 9: the headframe and engine winding house of Balmain Colliery c1907
A broadcasting party who descended nearly 3000 feet below Sydney Harbour, Balmain August 1926
Balmain Coal Mine 2 August 1950
Balmain Colliery c1920
Balmain Colliery workings to 1931
Bernard Otto Holtermann with the The Holtermann Nugget c1873-79
Coal Reached Under Sydney at 2880ft: Views of the Colliery, November 1901
Coal lumpers at work, SS Bellambi 1906
Coal trimmers Newcastle 1956
Harbor Collieries Coal Mine, Balmain 1897
Howard Smith coal wharf Blackwattle Bay 1922
Katoomba coal mine 1886
Old coal depot Milsons Point 1907
Shovellers in the hold 1930s
The Lady Parkes 1,347 oz gold, won from Bushman's mine, Parkes, NSW
Unloading coal at Katoomba railway station, under snow, 1950s

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Mining

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.

Katoomba coal tramway

Part of the vanished mine heritage of Katoomba, John Britty North's tramway hauled coal and shale from the Megalong valley along an extensive tramway system of which today's Scenic Railway is only a small part.

Agnes Napier

Coal carrier which made over 20 trips from Newcastle to supply Dawson's foundry in Sydney.

full record »

Sydney Harbour Collieries Act 1903

Legislation to allow the company of the same name to drive two headings or shafts under the harbour and Balmain peninsula.

full record »

Australian Kerosene Oil and Mineral Company

Shale mining company in New South Wales in the late nineteenth century that produced kerosene, candles, wax and oil. It operated mines in the Katoomba area between the 1880s and the collapse of the industry in 1903.

full record »

Balmain Coal Contracting Company

Mining company established by the employees of Sydney Collieries to operate the mine at Balmain under agreement.

full record »

Gladstone Colliery

Colliery in the Jamison Valley below the Fairmont Resort at Leura. Engineering difficulties meant it was never very successful. The coal was hauled by a ropeway up the cliff and via aerial ropeway across the Valley of the Waters and on to a siding on the main railway.

full record »

Glen Shale Mine

Shale mine in Nellies Glen in the Megalong Valley which operated in the 1880s and 1890s.

full record »

Harrington's Clay and Shale Pits

Shale and clay mining company at Yarrawarrah.

full record »

J & A Brown

Coal mining company founded in Newcastle by brothers James and Alexander Brown about 1850.

full record »

Natural Gas & Oil Corporation

Mining company formed to reopen the Balmain coal mine in an attempt to extract natural gas. It was plagued by explosions and ceased production in 1950.

full record »

Ruined Castle Shale Mine

Shale mine near Katoomba which operated in the 1880s and 1890s.

full record »

Sydney Collieries Ltd

Mining company which formed as part of a reorganisation of Sydney and Port Hacking Coal Company. It went in to liquidation in 1931.

full record »

Sydney Harbour Collieries

Coal mining company formed in 1894 that had authority to mine under certain lands under Sydney Harbour.

full record »

Sydney and Port Hacking Coal Company Ltd

Coal mining company which became enmeshed in the battle to mine Cremorne Point. Based in London it was to form other mining syndicates to pursue other ventures around the harbour in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

full record »

Adams, Robert Dudley

Businessman and poet who took out mining rights across Sydney in 1874, leading to the establishment of the Balmain colliery. He lived with his family at the cottage they built, Fernlee, at Snails Bay, Balmain.

full record »

Brown, John

Coal baron, ship owner and racehorse breeder who was a ruthless manager and highly antagonistic to unionism within the industry.

full record »

Copeland, Henry

Miner and company director who became a successful politician.

full record »

Gregson, Jesse

Company superintendent who took charge of some of the most important enterprises in Australia including extensive pastoral and coal mining companies.

full record »

Holtermann, Otto

Gold miner, businessman, politician and photography enthusiast who made a fortune on the goldfields and sponsored a famous series of photographs of Sydney.

full record »

Huntley, TS

Managing director of the Sydney Harbour Collieries Company.

full record »

Keegan, Thomas

Miner represented the labour movement at state level for 25 years.

full record »

Kelly, Thomas Hussey

Wool broker and company director with special interest in promoting mining.

full record »

North, John Britty

Stockbroker and mining agent who developed coal and shale mines in the Katoomba area.

full record »

Balmain Colliery

full record »

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.

Katoomba Colliery Ltd

Coal mining company established in 1925 to re-open the mine at the base of the cliffs at Katoomba.

full record »

Katoomba coal tramway

Tramway which carried coal and shale from the Katoomba's steep industrial railway (now known as the famous Scenic Railway) to the Great Western Railway.

full record »

Birchgrove Postcard 9: the headframe and engine winding house of Balmain Colliery c1907

full record »
Contributed By
Leichhardt Council
[BRN: 184518]

A broadcasting party who descended nearly 3000 feet below Sydney Harbour, Balmain August 1926

full record »

A broadcasting party was afforded an interesting experience on Sunday, when, in conjunction with Farmer's broadcasting service, a programme of vocal and instrumental items was transmitted from the depths of the Sydney Harbour Colliery. About 60 people assembled at the pit-mouth at Balmain and were lowered to the bottom of the shaft, a distance of over 2800 feet. Here several selections were broadcast by the 17th Area B Military Band. Members of the Sydney Harmonic Male Voice Choir rendered solo and choral selections from a point near the coal face, three-quarters of a mile from the entrance to the main drive, and nearly 3000 feet below the surface of the harbour. Despite the illumination afforded by the electric safety lamps with which the party had been provided, a certain eeriness was not dispelled until the silence was broken by the lusty male voices. Even then the incongruity of the situation became apparent only when one realised that, far above, busy ferries were plying their accustomed routes.

From the collections of the
State Library of New South Wales
[BN336]
(Sydney Mail 1 September 1926, p 14)

Balmain Coal Mine 2 August 1950

full record »
From the collections of the
State Library of New South Wales
[hood_25569 / Home & Away 25569]
(Mitchell Library)

Balmain Colliery c1920

full record »
By
John Henry Harvey
Image courtesy of the
State Library of Victoria
[H91.300/71]

Balmain Colliery workings to 1931

full record »
Contributed By
New South Wales Department of Industry
[http://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/109307/balmains-own-coal-mine.pdf]
(PRIMEFACT FEBRUARY 2007, 556)

Bernard Otto Holtermann with the The Holtermann Nugget c1873-79

full record »
From the collections of the
State Library of New South Wales
[a474001 / PXD 762, 9]
(Mitchell Library)

Coal Reached Under Sydney at 2880ft: Views of the Colliery, November 1901

full record »
From the collections of the
State Library of New South Wales
[TN83]
(Australian Town and Country Journal , 30 November 1901, p 24)

Coal lumpers at work, SS Bellambi 1906

full record »
Contributed By
National Library of Australia
[nla.pic-an13595532-20]

Coal trimmers Newcastle 1956

full record »
From the collections of the
State Library of New South Wales
[hood_28740]

Harbor Collieries Coal Mine, Balmain 1897

full record »
Contributed By
National Library of Australia
[MAP Folder 13, LFSP 223 (detail)]
(From 'Balmain water frontages, Carieville Estate, White Horse Point adjoining Elkington Park / for auction sale on the ground by Richardson & Wrench Ltd, Saturday 13th March 1897 at 3 o'clock ; J.M. Cantle, draftsman, 90 Pitt St, [Sydney] : Richardson & Wrench Ltd, 1897')

Howard Smith coal wharf Blackwattle Bay 1922

full record »
From the collections of the
State Library of New South Wales
[d1_19708 / GPO1 19708]
(Mitchell Library)

Katoomba coal mine 1886

full record »
By
Samuel Calvert
Image courtesy of the
State Library of Victoria
[IAN16/10/86/172]

Old coal depot Milsons Point 1907

full record »
By
Harold Cazneaux
By kind permission of the
Cazneaux family
National Library of Australia
[nla.pic-an2384426]

Shovellers in the hold 1930s

full record »
Image courtesy of the
State Library of Victoria
[H91.325/1912]

The Lady Parkes 1,347 oz gold, won from Bushman's mine, Parkes, NSW

full record »
From the collections of the
State Library of New South Wales
[bcp_00478]
(Mitchell Library)

Unloading coal at Katoomba railway station, under snow, 1950s

full record »
Contributed By
Blue Mountains City Library
[000\000713]

Primary industry