Kitchener is a small town in the
City of Cessnock
The 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 ...
, in the
Hunter Region
The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...
in the state of
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. 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 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 (the park is separat ...
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 which was developed by
Caledonian Collieries Ltd during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. 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 Valley, it is a subsidiary of Yancoal.
History
Coal & Allied was formed in 1960 when Caledonian Collieries and J & A Brown & Abermain-Seaham Collieries merged. Ho ...
.
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 (explorer), William Paterson's party when they were engaged i ...
*
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 gene ...
References
External links
Aberdare Central Colliery Summary (Newcastle Regional Museum)* Cessnock City Council area profil
"Rural East Precinct"
{{Suburbs of City of Cessnock
Suburbs of City of Cessnock
Towns in the Hunter Region