Stanford Main No. 2 Colliery, also known as Paxton Colliery, was a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

located at

Paxton, New South Wales Paxton is a village in the Hunter Region of New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision ...

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 ...

. The mine was named Stanford Merthyr No. 2 until 1 May 1931. The mine was started in the 1920s, by the East Greta Coal Mining Company. The Greta coal seam has been mined using bord and pillar mining methods. Coal was transported from the mine via the Paxton Branch of the

South Maitland Railway The South Maitland Railway was once an extensive network of privately owned colliery and passenger railway lines which served the South Maitland coalfields in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia and were the second last system in Aust ...

1905 Mine Disaster

The disaster occurred on Sunday 29 October 1905. No one was working underground at the time of the disaster. Rumours started to circulated that fire was the work of an

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

ist.·The mine manager offered a £300 reward for information leading to a conviction for

. A

labourer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...

called Charles Libeck was arrested and charged with arson and the case was dropped due to insufficient evidence. Reports of a man lurking near colliery two hours before the fire Work at the colliery had ceased at midday on Saturday 28 October and the men and boys had left the mine.· On Saturday afternoon only a few deputies and shift men engaged in maintenance were working underground and they had left by 3pm.· William Robert Fenn, engine driver and watchman was on duty at the surface on his Saturday 11pm to Sunday 7am shift when at 1.45am he became aware the electric warning bells were ringing.· He did nothing immediately and returned to the engine room with the bells still ringing as he assumed that no one was underground.· Fenn admitted at the inquest that he thought someone on the surface was playing a trick on him.· It was not until a few hours later when he noticed

smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product ...

emitting from the tunnels and realised that the mine was on fire that he raised the alarm.· Joined by a group of deputies , mine manager Henry Morgan William and under manager William Williams. The fire continued to burn from 5am to 8am. Finding a great volume of black smoke emitting from both tunnels they decided to seal off portions of the workings and create an airtight barrier.· Cartloads of soil and clay were deposited and a crew of bricklayers started constructing a temporary brick stopping in the main tunnel.· Approximately 11:30 the first explosion occurred.·Twenty officials received the full stock of the explosion. The second explosion occurred at 2pm.· House from half a mile away felt the explosion and was described as a

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

.· Explosions occurred when filling tunnels and ventilating the shaft with debris to keep flumes down The explosion occurred to due to the main tunnel being blocked by dirt. All

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

s occurred in the second

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

together with members of the Kurri Kurri Fire Brigade and local police officers assisted in the task of rescue and recovery of the injured and deceased.· Doctors were summoned and a special train ordered to transport the injured to West Maitland hospital. Some claimed that it was due to '

spontaneous combustion Spontaneous combustion or spontaneous ignition is a type of combustion which occurs by self-heating (increase in temperature due to exothermic internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self heating which rapidly accelerates to high tem ...

' whilst others argued that a lighted lamp had been left in the tunnel after work ceased.·Another cause canvassed was that a shot that had failed to fire had exploded after workmen. Other believed the cause by

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

catching alight Scottish type open oil lamps, attached to miner's caps, were used throughout the mine. Safety lamps were only used during the inspections made by mine deputies. The disaster made up 31.6% of the death recorded on

and

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

mines in New South Wales. 5 of 6 deaths were

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

. In 1905 the mine produced 630,054 tons of coal and 369 men and boys with 206 of them working underground. Pit horses were used underground and brought to the surface each day The colliery had the reputation of producing superior quality coal suitable for gas, steam making and for household purpose. The mine was owned by the East Greta Coal Mining Company.

Coronial Inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

was held on 31 October at

Kurri Kurri Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the , its population was 6,044. Kurri Kurri is the largest town in a group of towns and hamlets, including Stanford Merthyr, Pelaw Main, ...

Courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

.·27 people gave evidence and were cross examined by the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

.·Verdict was handed down on 10 August that explosion occurred due to

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

distilled Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...

or generated from fire in the mine coming in contract with flame.· No evidence to show how the fire originated but caused the limited use of naked flames. Following a service at the

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

church, the

cortege Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman conquest of England, Norman Conquest, before ...

was led by the newly formed local brass band proceeded to the

cemetery.· The deceased were

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

in a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...

after a combined religious service at the

grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

side.· A marble monument, funded by the local community was erected over the site. It bore the following

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Tuesday 26 June 1906 the mining reopened All injuries made a full recovery. All machinery was intact with only the fans being damaged. The disaster left 415 men and boys with disaster affecting about 1000 people. List of Deaths: * Henry J Adams Director * John Evans mine deputy * James Greener deputy * David Jones shiftman * John W Jones shiftman List of Injuries * O. K Young merchant fractured skull and leg * Will Williams undermanager , serious injuries to hand and foot * Henry Thomas manager injuries to head and body * George Fewin died next day both legs broken burns about the face , hands , head and arms * Walter Jones , deputy manager broken arm legs , and dislocated ankles * George Leitch deputy manager arm

amputated Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indivi ...

* Colin M’Kenzie bricklayer thigh broken * Evan Evans deputy , jaw broken in three places , injury to eye , scalp wounds and burns generally

References

{{Reflist
Stanford Main No. 2 Colliery
Coal mines in New South Wales City of Cessnock