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"At the Coalface"Print Page Print this page

2006 (Diane Watson)
2006 (Diane Watson)

Photographs supplied by Diane Watson / John Huth
"At the Coalface" commemorates miners killed in Blackwater Pits and the importance of the coal industry to the region.

The first person to discover the Blackwater coal deposits was Ludwig Leichhardt who travelled through the district in 1845 on his way to Port Essington in the Northern Territory. Twenty-seven kilometres from the present site of Blackwater Leichhardt observed `beds of coal indistinguishable from those on the Hunter at Newcastle. It wasn`t until the early 1960s that the town really started to develop.

In 1959-60 coking coal was found to the south of the town. A mining lease was granted in 1965 and in 1967 the first mine in the area started operating. It is claimed that in 1962 the town`s population was only 25. Twenty years later it had grown to over 8000.

Location

Address:MacKenzie Street, near Ambulance Station, Blackwater, 4717
State:QLD
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -23.582269
Long: 148.879753
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Monument
Monument Theme:Technology
Sub-Theme:Industry
Artist:Anton Bruinsma

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Saturday 3rd December, 1988
Front Inscription

"At The Coalface" by Anton Bruinsma

Excel                Cambria Bluff
Yarrabee O/C   Windsor
Old Mammoth   New Mammoth  Leichhardt  Cook               Sirius Crk No.1  No.w
Currach O/C     Blackwater         Balmoral     B`Water O/C   Laleham No. 1
South B`Water O/C 
Tolmies 

This memorial was erected by the late Blackwater Mine Workers Memorial Trust to pay tribute to the important role the coal industry has played in the development of this region and is dedicated to the memory of those whose lives it claimed.

It was unveiled by Mr. Adam Salzer O.A.M. Chief Executive of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust

3 - 12 - 1988

Left Side Inscription

Deceased  Date  Colliery

[ Names ]

Right Side Inscription

Deceased  Date  Colliery

[ Names ]

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au