Bowen Consolidated Colliery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bowen Consolidated Colliery |
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Bowen Consolidated Colliery
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| Location | Station Street and Second Avenue, Scottville, Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1919 - 1930s (interwar period) |
| Built | 1919 - |
| Official name: Bowen Consolidated Colliery, No. 1 Underground Mine; Bowen Consolidated Coal Company Colliery | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 3 December 2009 |
| Reference no. | 601850 |
| Significant period | 1919- |
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The Bowen Consolidated Colliery is a historic former mine located in Scottville, Australia. It started operating in 1919. This site is also known as the No. 1 Underground Mine. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 2009 because of its important history.
A Look Back: The Mine's Story
The Bowen Consolidated Colliery was an underground coal mine. It was located near Collinsville in North Queensland. This mine produced coal until the end of 1962. It was then replaced by the newer, more modern No. 2 Underground Mine nearby. This colliery is one of the oldest and most complete former coal mines in the Bowen Basin.
The Bowen Basin is a huge area in Queensland. It is about 600 kilometers long and 250 kilometers wide. This area holds about 70% of Queensland's coal. The coal found here is very old, from the Permian age. It is very important for Queensland's economy. This coal is used to make steel (coking coal) and to produce electricity (thermal coal).
Coal mining in the Bowen Basin began in the 1890s. At first, most coal came from other areas in Queensland. These early mines mainly supplied coal for trains and local use. Getting coal to market was hard without good railway connections.
People started looking for more coal in the Bowen Basin around 1907. This was because metal prices had dropped. Tests on coal in 1912 and 1913 showed great promise. Many companies wanted to buy land for mining. However, the government decided to keep the land for state-run mining.
Building a railway line to the coalfields took five years. It was finished in 1922. This delay caused many companies to give up. The remaining companies joined together. They formed the Bowen Consolidated Coal Mining Company.
The company started drilling for coal in 1919. They chose a mine site and dug two tunnels. This helped them earn money. In 1920, they dug a deeper shaft into the Bowen Seam.
In 1921, two main shafts were started. One was for lifting things, and the other was for air flow. They built a dam for water and other important buildings. These included a boiler, a steam winch, and a saw bench.
The railway line to Bowen Consolidated was completed in March 1923. It was about 4 miles long. By this time, the mine was producing about 4,136 long tons of coal per year. They had found buyers for all of it.
By 1923, 26 miners and many surface workers were at the mine. They produced about 35 long tons of coal each day. They used steam engines to pull coal carts. A special fan improved air flow underground. They also built an office and a bath-house. By 1925, the main tunnel was 480 meters long. Coal output reached 120 long tons per day.
The tall steel structure above the mine shaft is called a headframe. It is 24 meters high. It has two large pulleys, each 3 meters wide. This headframe was bought second-hand from Charters Towers. It was installed around 1925. This type of headframe is now very rare. Only two other similar ones are known in Queensland.
By 1926, a problem with the coal seam stopped production in some tunnels. A new ventilation shaft was built. This allowed them to switch to mining better coal.
The Bowen Consolidated Coal Mines Limited created its own town. It was about 4 kilometers from Collinsville. They first called it Scotsdale. Later, the name was changed to Scottville. This was in honor of two company directors, Adam Hall Scott and John Dinsdale. Scottville grew slower than Collinsville. This was because the mine was smaller and didn't get government money.
In 1927, the colliery employed 54 men. Seven horses helped with underground work. The mine had electric lighting underground and in all surface buildings. New equipment was bought to help with pumping water and drilling.
New boilers were installed at the colliery in 1929. The coal was sent by train to Bowen. After 1930, some coal was turned into coke. This coke was used at the Mount Isa Mine for copper smelting. By this time, both Scottville and Collinsville were busy towns.
The mine continued to produce a lot of coal through the 1930s and 1940s. By 1943, all the coal went to the railways. In 1946, two more boilers were added. In 1947, an "electric generating set" was installed. This might be the power house we see today.
By 1956, Bowen Consolidated Coal Mines Ltd was part of Mount Isa Mines Ltd (MIM). They planned to dig a new shaft to produce more coal. The mine's profit grew a lot during this time.
In 1962, a new mine entry was made into the Bowen seam. This became the Bowen Consolidated Coal No. 2 Mine. It started production in September 1962. The original No. 1 Underground Mine stopped production in late 1962.
Around this time, large-scale open-cut mining began in the Bowen Basin. Huge machines were used. This changed coal mining in Queensland forever. Small underground mines like Bowen Consolidated Colliery became less common.
By 1980, Collinsville Coal Company took over Bowen Consolidated Coal Mines Ltd. Parts of the old mine site were fenced off.
This former colliery is very special. It is likely the most complete mine of its kind from that time in Queensland. It shows how coal mining used to be done. An expert, Professor Ray Whitmore, says it has "the finest relics of coal mining in the 1920s anywhere in Queensland."
What You Can See Today
The Bowen Consolidated Colliery is a large site. It covers about 5 hectares. You can find it near Scottville, about 75 kilometers southwest of Bowen.
Many important structures from the past are still there. These include the headframe, winding house, and boiler house. You can also see the fan houses, power house, and bathhouse. The mine office, workshop, and sawmill are also present. Remains of old railway and tram lines can still be seen. Some parts of the site are now surrounded by a security fence. Much of the area is covered with grass and trees.
Headframe and Gantry
The headframe is the tallest building on the site. It is made of steel and has four legs. It stands on foundations that are about 15 meters square. Inside the headframe, you can still see parts of the old lift structure. It looks like an open timber tower. There are platforms and ladders inside.
At the bottom of the headframe, there is a small building with a corrugated iron roof. This building has open sides.
Next to the headframe is a partially collapsed gantry. This was a timber structure with a deck. It used to have a weighbridge and an office. Coal chutes were also part of it.
A large steam engine is located next to the headframe. It has two big gear wheels and two cable drums. Steel cable is still on the larger drum.
Number One Shaft Winding House
This building is about 12 meters southwest of the headframe. It is a timber-framed building with corrugated iron walls and a gabled roof. It is about 8 by 11 meters in size.
You enter the building from the side facing the headframe. Inside, you can see two large cable drums with steel cable. A two-cylinder steam winding engine is also located here.
Boiler House
Six large boilers are still at the site of the old boiler house. This is about 28 meters west of the headframe. They are made of bricks and stand about 3 to 4 meters high. Large steel steam drums sit on top of them. These boilers were used to create steam for the mine's machinery.
Next to the boilers are low brick structures. These are the remains of a coal bin and parts of the system that helped the boilers work.
Number Two Shaft and Fan House
The Number Two shaft and fan house are about 50 meters southwest of the headframe. The fan house is a building with several parts.
The eastern part is made of concrete blocks. It has a gabled roof with corrugated iron. The rest of the fan house is made of red and brown bricks. A short brick tower sticks up from the roof.
Power House
The power house is about 10 meters west of the boilers. It is a tall, timber-framed building with corrugated iron walls and roof. It is about 22 meters long and 9 meters wide. A steel chimney sticks out from the roof. Inside, you can find two generators and three diesel engines. These machines produced electricity for the mine.
Bathhouses
The main bathhouse is about 90 meters south of the headframe. It is a brick building with a corrugated iron roof. It has two sections. Inside, it has a concrete floor and white walls. There is a large changing room and a common shower area. An open drain runs along the floor in the shower area.
The foundations of an earlier bathhouse are also nearby. A small corrugated iron bathhouse is next to the boiler house.
Lamp Shed
The lamp shed is about 5 meters east of the bathhouse. It is a small, timber-framed building with a gabled roof. It has ripple iron walls and corrugated iron on the roof. This is where miners would have picked up and dropped off their lamps.
Mine Manager's Residence and Office
This building is about 125 meters east of the headframe. It is a single-story timber house. It has a hipped roof. This was where the mine manager lived and worked.
Workshop and Stores
The workshop and stores area is about 25 meters east of the headframe. It includes a large corrugated iron shed. This shed is about 32 meters long and 25 meters wide. It has a steel frame and a concrete floor. This is where repairs were done and supplies were kept.
Next to the workshop are the remains of other buildings. These include a blacksmith's shop, a carpenter's shop, and storage areas.
Garrick Shaft Fan House
This fan house is about 115 meters south of the headframe. It is a partly broken-down brick building with a flat concrete roof. A brick tower sticks up from the middle of the roof.
Sawmill
The sawmill is about 95 meters south-southeast of the headframe. It is an open timber structure with a corrugated iron roof. You can still see where a tramline ran from the sawmill towards the headframe. A small piece of tramline and a trolley remain inside.
Railway and Tramway
You can still see where the railway siding used to be. The tracks themselves are gone. This siding ran across the site, including under the gantry. There are also remains of a separate network of tramlines. These tramlines connected the Number One shaft to the workshops, boiler house, and sawmill.
Other Remains
You can find other remains on the site. These include a partly broken detonator magazine. There is also a corrugated iron water tank. Three buildings that were once single men's quarters are also present.
Other things you might find are the entrances to old tunnels. There are also foundations of other buildings, water tanks, and ramps. Many other small items from the mine's past are still scattered across the site.
Why It's Important
The Bowen Consolidated Colliery is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. This means it is a very important historical site.
A Glimpse into Queensland's Past
This colliery is one of the most complete old coal mines in Queensland. It helps us understand how coal mining developed in the state. It was one of the first successful mines in the Bowen Basin. This basin is now Queensland's biggest coal field.
The mine also shows how coal mining techniques changed. It is a good example of mines before the late 1950s. After that, large open-cut mines became more common.
A Rare Find
The Bowen Consolidated Colliery is special because it is so well preserved. It is one of only two mostly complete old mines from the first phase of coal mining in the Bowen Basin. It also has many examples of 1920s coal mining technology.
The headframe at the colliery is also very rare. This type of headframe, with weight balanced on all four legs, is an old design. It was later replaced by newer styles.
Learning from the Past
This colliery can teach us a lot about Queensland's history. By studying the site, experts can learn about early underground coal mining. They can also find out about changing technology and how mine workers lived and worked.
The site can help answer many questions. For example, how were mining technologies chosen and used? What were the backgrounds of the mine workers? How did mining affect the environment?
Showing What a Mine Was Like
The Bowen Consolidated Colliery clearly shows what an early 20th-century coal mine looked like. Most of its original buildings are still standing and in good condition. These include the headframe, winding house, boilers, fan houses, power house, bathhouse, mine manager's office, workshop, and sawmill.
Images for kids
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Dray and horses at Bowen Consolidated Coal Mines, circa 1918
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Boilers at Bowen Consolidated Coal Mines, circa 1920
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Miners outside the Garrick Tunnel, circa 1920
