South Waratah Colliery
Encyclopedia
The South Waratah Colliery was a coal mine located at Kotara South
, in New South Wales
Australia
.
The Waratah Coal Company sank its first shaft in 1873 to mine coal from the Victoria Tunnel Seam. A colliery branch line, known as the Gully Line or Raspberry Gully Line, was opened on 24 October 1876 and extended from the Scholey Street Junction to the Colliery for the transportation of the coal from the mine to coal loading facilities at the Port of Newcastle
.
A town of grew from the influx of miners from the mine to the south and was named after Charles Smith, the manager of the Waratah Coal Company in the 1870s, and became known as Charlestown
.
During a strike at the mine in 1888, eight houses were built in Charlestown for strike breakers. The houses became known as Scab Row. During a confrontation with strike breakers, Alfred Edden, president of the Waratah colliery lodge was arrested. He later became member for the electoral district of Kahibah
in 1894.
The Borehole Seam was mined until 1906 and the Wave Hill Seam commenced in 1951. The colliery was closed in 1961 and demolished in 1969.
Lake Macquarie City Council has created a short heritage trail depicting a brief history of the former Waratah Colliery and rail corridor which carried coal from the mine to Port Waratah, with interpretative signage located along a multi-use pathway.
Kotara South, New South Wales
Kotara South is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area. The public school in Kotara South opened in 1960.-External links:*...
, in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The Waratah Coal Company sank its first shaft in 1873 to mine coal from the Victoria Tunnel Seam. A colliery branch line, known as the Gully Line or Raspberry Gully Line, was opened on 24 October 1876 and extended from the Scholey Street Junction to the Colliery for the transportation of the coal from the mine to coal loading facilities at the Port of Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
.
A town of grew from the influx of miners from the mine to the south and was named after Charles Smith, the manager of the Waratah Coal Company in the 1870s, and became known as Charlestown
Charlestown, New South Wales
Charlestown is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, and the largest town within the City of Lake Macquarie. It is located approximately west-southwest of the central business district of Newcastle....
.
During a strike at the mine in 1888, eight houses were built in Charlestown for strike breakers. The houses became known as Scab Row. During a confrontation with strike breakers, Alfred Edden, president of the Waratah colliery lodge was arrested. He later became member for the electoral district of Kahibah
Electoral district of Kahibah
Kahibah was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales created in 1894 with the abolition of multi-member districts from part of the electoral district of Newcastle and named after the Newcastle suburb of Kahibah. It was abolished in 1920, with the...
in 1894.
The Borehole Seam was mined until 1906 and the Wave Hill Seam commenced in 1951. The colliery was closed in 1961 and demolished in 1969.
Lake Macquarie City Council has created a short heritage trail depicting a brief history of the former Waratah Colliery and rail corridor which carried coal from the mine to Port Waratah, with interpretative signage located along a multi-use pathway.