Kitchener is a small town in the
City of Cessnock
City of Cessnock is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The area under administration is located to the west of Newcastle. The largest population centre and council seat is the city of Cessnock.
The May ...
, in the
Hunter Region
The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...
in the state of
New South Wales
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
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 ...
. Kitchener is located 5 kilometres south of the town of
Cessnock, NSW and is adjacent to
Werakata National Park
The Werakata National Park is a state park, protected national park that is located in the Lower Hunter Region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is located to the north, east and south of the town of Cessnock, New South ...
and the
Aberdare State Forest.
The town is named after
Lord Kitchener, British secretary for War from July 1914.
Mining history
Kitchener was the location of the
Aberdare Central Colliery
Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...
which was developed by
Caledonian Collieries Ltd during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The historic mine site has been preserved as a Heritage Park (including the poppet head structure). A number of the dwellings where originally occupied by mine management.
In 1914, the mine employed 93 people; four years later it employed 287.
In July 1943, a large fire caused the mine to close for 12 months.
The mine was closed in November 1961. The coal holding lease is still retained by
Coal & Allied
Coal & Allied is an Australia coal mining company. Operating mines in the Hunter Region, it is a subsidiary of Yancoal.
History
Coal & Allied was formed in 1960 when Caledonian Collieries and J & A Brown & Abermain-Seaham Collieries merged. H ...
.
In 2009, a Chinese owned mining company, Austar, was granted approval to construct a surface infrastructure site just south of Kitchener. This facility was built to service the company's Longwall Top Coal Caving mining of the Greta Coal Seam (in the mine previously known as the Southland Coal Mine) south of Kitchener.
[.]
See also
*
South Maitland coalfields The South Maitland coalfields was the most extensive coalfield in New South Wales until the great coal mining slump of the 1960s. It was discovered by Lieutenant-Colonel William Paterson's party when they were engaged in an exploratory visit to the ...
*
Coal in Australia
Coal is mined in every state of Australia. The largest black coal resources occur in Queensland and New South Wales. About 70% of coal mined in Australia is exported, mostly to eastern Asia, and of the balance most is used in electricity gener ...
References
External links
Aberdare Central Colliery Summary (Newcastle Regional Museum)* Cessnock City Council area profil
"Rural East Precinct"* Photo of mine in 196
"from Flickr"
{{Suburbs of City of Cessnock
Suburbs of City of Cessnock
Towns in the Hunter Region