Ebenezer Colliery was a coal mine located at
Coal Point, New South Wales
Coal Point is a suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia on a peninsula south-east of the towns of Toronto and Carey Bay, on the western side of Lake Macquarie.
History
Coal mining was performed at Ebenezer Collier ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Reverend
Lancelot Edward Threlkeld
Lancelot Edward Threlkeld (20 October 1788 – 10 October 1859) was an English missionary, primarily based in Australia. He was married twice and survived by sons and daughters from both marriages. Thelkeld is known for his work with Biraban i ...
began mining at the south west point of Coal Point near
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
in 1840, after the failure of his aboriginal mission.
The mine was worked by hand and the skips run on wooden rails. The coal was loaded into vessels from a large wooden jetty. Due to the shallow channel at
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
the coal was taken to a coal loading and storage depot at the head of
Lake Macquarie
The City of Lake Macquarie is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Greater Newcastle and part of the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city from 7 September 1984. The area is situated adjacent ...
, known as Reid's Mistake, where it was loaded upon oceangoing vessels.
Threlkeld's mine pre-dated the
Australian Agricultural Company
The Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) () is a public-listed Australian company that, as at 2018, owned and operated feedlots and farms covering around of land in Queensland and the Northern Territory, roughly one percent of Australia's la ...
(AA Co) monopoly on coal mining, however Threlkeld found it difficult to attract miners, to compete against the AA Co monopoly and the
Governor of New South Wales
The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...
George Gipps
Sir George Gipps (23 December 1790 – 28 February 1847) was the Governor of New South Wales, Governor of the British colony of New South Wales for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship oversaw a tumultuous period where the rights ...
refused to supply convicts. Threlkeld's estate was sold at auction to the mortgagee in 1844 to repay outstanding debts.
The mine was worked further under lease by Henry R. Whittell and later by Ralph M. Robey, although it was often not worked. It was worked as ''South Hetton Colliery'' as late as 1906. The South Hetton Colliery was advertising coal for sale with delivery at Sydney, Newcastle "or at our own wharves at Lake Macquarie" as late as the end of April 1910.
References
{{Reflist
Lake Mac Libraries: Coal Point
Coal mines in New South Wales
City of Lake Macquarie