Beaconsfield Mine RescuePrint Page

The plaque commemorates the men and women who were involved in the rescue of Todd Russell and Brant Webb who were trapped for fourteen days in the mine and rescued on the 9th May 2006.

It also pays tribute to Larry Knight who lost his life in the cave-in on the 25th April 2006.

The Beaconsfield Mine collapse occurred on 25 April 2006 after an earthquake of approximately 2.3 on the Richter-scale. Of the seventeen people who were in the mine at the time, fourteen escaped immediately following the collapse, one was killed and the remaining two were found alive using a remote-controlled device.

Heat-sensing cameras were employed for five days after the quake, and on 30 April rescuers ventured deep into the unstable mine and found the two men – or at least heard them reply. They were alive, but partially buried in rubble. While the first rescuers retreated to a more stable location, communication was established via a microphone placed near to the rock pile the miners were trapped under. For the next eight days the long pipe was their connection to the outside world. Rescue attempts were hampered by fears of further rock falls, and rock five times harder than concrete made the rescue timeline unpredictable. Kept up-to-date via a constant stream of reports from the media, many Australians sat on the edge of their seats as rescuers inched closer.

On 9 May 2006, Brant Webb and Todd Russell were freed from their underground cage, after spending two weeks trapped in the collapsed Beaconsfield goldmine.

Location

Details

Dedication