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The city of Newcastle, north of Sydney, has the distinction of being the site of the first coal mines in Australia post settlement. These convict coal mines were sealed shut in 1885 and today remain buried under the concrete ramparts of Fort Scratchley. Newcastle was of vital significance in the development of the NSW mining industry and remains a key player in the industry today.
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It is known that Aboriginal people in the Newcastle and Hunter regions used coal as a fuel prior to European settlement. The first European knowledge of coal in NSW occurred when “a quantity of burng [sic] coal” was found by a group of escaped convicts at the mouth of the Hunter River in 1791.[2] The escapees continued their flight to Timor and the coal discovery was not immediately made known to the authorities. The potential of the resource was realised in 1797 when Lieutenant John Shortland, in pursuit of another group of escaped convicts, collected coal at the river and Shortland gave the river the name Hunter River (otherwise called Coal River) in honour of Governor Hunter.
Primitive coal mines were opened by enterprising traders soon after Shortland’s discovery. There is some confusion as to which ship carried the first coal export out of Newcastle. It was most likely the ‘Hunter’ in 1799 as a letter from Surgeon John Thomson states: “A ship lately returned to Bengal loaded with coals, and it gave no small satisfaction to every person interested in the prosperity of the colony to see this first export of it.” [3] However it may also have been aboard the ‘Earl Cornwallis’ in 1800-01 as Governor King wrote about the export: “I believe this is the first return ever made from NSW.” [4] Whichever ship it was, it is certain that the destination of the coal was Bengal, India, and that coal was indeed Australia’s first export.
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In 1802 Governor King decided to establish a settlement at the mouth of the Hunter River to more effectively and efficiently mine the coal. This penal settlement served the purpose of dividing the rebellious convicts from the main colony. The convicts sent to the settlement were forced into hard labour and subjected to demeaning conditions. By July of 1802 the settlement, headed by Corporal Wixtead, included 12 convicts, a military guard and private soldiers, and the miners were producing 3 tonnes of coal per day.
By October 1802 four extra convicts had been sent to the area and several men were employed to mine the coal whilst the majority of convicts were employed as wheelers to transport it. By November 1802 the mining operations had expanded to encompass four small mines, producing 9 tonnes of coal per day and another mine was opened at nearby Fresh Water Bay. The coal produced at these mines was used as fuel for the prison and barracks at Newcastle, and for other governmental purposes. Surgeon Martin Mason, who became the superintendent of the penal colony after Corporal Wixtead, envisioned that he could “open mines to set 20 men to work in Fresh Water Bay, if there are not miners in the country then many ruffians may be made good miners.” [5] However Mason’s vision was not destined to proceed at that time as the penal settlement was officially closed at the end of 1802 following a mutiny. Despite the closure, many miners remained at the river and mining continued, albeit in much smaller quantities.
In May 1803 The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser reported that “A new mine has been found at Hunter’s River, which is likely to yield an abundance of the finest coal that has ever been witnessed.” [6] This mine was initiated by one of the original miners from the settlement, John Platt, who was then employed by John Palmer.
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In 1804 Governor King decided to re-settle Coal River (as it was then known) and Lieutenant Menzies was given command of the new penal settlement. 30 convicts who had been involved in the Castle Hill convict uprising were sent to the new settlement following the advice of the British Government that the Coal River settlement was; “An eligible place for the most turbulent and refractory characters to be kept...” [7] Lieutenant Menzies gave the settlement the name King’s Town, unaware of Governor King’s order that “the settlement at Coal Harbour and Hunter River be distinguished by the name of Newcastle.” [8] Life for the convicts was laborious, having to contend with food rationing, insufficient clothing and sickness, as well as working long hours at the coal mines. The brutality of Lieutenant Menzies in using the convicts for hard labour did not stop them from attempting numerous outbreaks.
In March 1805 Charles Thorsby replaced Lieutenant Menzies as commander of the settlement. Records show there were 73 men and 18 women convicts residing at Newcastle. [9] Miner John Platt wrote that “The coal-mines on the sea side Government House, Newcastle, are 3 ½ feet thick, solid coal…These coals are of the best quality, and are used for furnaces, malt-houses, &c...” [10] However, the coal mined at the Harbour was of “a bad quality, having as much dirt as coal, and fit for burning bricks, fire engines, &c.” [11]
Captain James Wallis commanded the penal colony from 1815 to 1818 and is credited with laying the foundations for the town of Newcastle, including building the first Church, gaol and streets.
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From 1822 the convict prisoners at Newcastle were sent to a new penal colony at Port Macquarie with 100 convicts remaining behind working mainly on private assignments. The original purpose of Newcastle as an isolated place of secondary punishment had diminished with the settlement of the Hunter Valley as the convicts were deemed to be too close to civilisation and potential escape. With the end of its days as a penal colony Newcastle began to build itself as a free civil settlement.
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In 1828 the Colonial Government reached an agreement with the Australian Agricultural Company (AA Company) for the lease of 2,000 acres of land surrounding Newcastle, which included the coal mines. [12] This agreement ensured the AA Company a monopoly over the coal fields, in exchange for supplying the Government with the amount of coal that they required. In 1831 the AA Company opened Australia’s first railway which was used to transport coal from Newcastle to the wharf. By 1831 both assigned convicts and free settlers were working for the AA Company and by 1932, over 7000 tonnes of coal were being produced per year. [13] The company found that the convict workers were inefficient and began to recruit workers from abroad; in 1838 alone, 100 Irish and 40 Welsh miners were brought to Newcastle by the AA Company. [14] However the treatment of the miners continued as harshly as previously and The Commercial Journal reported in 1840; “Great inconvenience and delay has of late been occasioned, by the Australian company not being able to supply coal in sufficient quantities for the numerous vessels now lying at Newcastle. The chief cause appears to arise from the feeble and worn out state of their assigned servants, occasioned by excessive labour…” [15] By 1842 coal production for the AA Company had risen to 40,000 tonnes, up from 30,000 tonnes in 1840. [16]
In 1846 a copper smelting works was opened on James Mitchell’s Burwood Estate (now the Newcastle suburb Merewether). During the 1840s the Burwood Estate was also home to small coal mines, operating in opposition to the AA Company’s monopoly. In 1847 Mitchell gave evidence to an inquiry into the monopoly, claiming that he was hindered from using the coal on his property and that the monopoly inflated the price of coal. [17] The AA Company relinquished its monopoly before the inquiry was complete thereby paving the way for mining to develop further in NSW. By 1855 coal production had increased immensely to 137,076 tonnes of coal. [18] The quantity and superiority of NSW coal is reflected in it being shipped to the other Australian colonies as well as to New Zealand. [19]
The first organised strike by Newcastle miners occurred in 1850, paving the way for an organised form of trade unionism. The first form of unionism was by the miners from Newcastle Coal and Copper Company in 1856. Various other unions emerged and in May 1860 these were incorporated into a district organisation. However trade unionism was not efficiently organised until well into the twentieth century. The production of coal continued through the later part of the nineteenth century. According to The Brisbane Courier in 1885; “There had been 791,636 tonnes of coal exported from the port of Newcastle to foreign and inter-colonial ports from 1st January to 30th June, 1885, being 25,579 tonnes in excess of the quantity for the corresponding period of 1884.” [20]
Newcastle became a hub for British immigrants who bought expertise from the coal fields back home along with their social and cultural mores; “…In 1891 most Newcastle coal-miners were still British-born and the largest group were the English-born.” [21] The importance of Newcastle to the NSW mining industry is further signified by the fact that; “At any time up to 1914, half to two-thirds of coal miners throughout Australia and New Zealand worked in or around Newcastle…” [22]
The diversification of the minerals industry in Newcastle gained momentum in the late nineteenth century with the establishment of copper works, such as at Broadmeadow by the English and Australian Copper Company, and zinc smelters such as at Cockle Creek.
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In the year 1908, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, production of coal from the Northern District (including Newcastle and the Hunter region) was 6.5 million tonnes. [23]
In 1915 the BHP Steelworks opened in Newcastle, shifting the city from its focus on coal mining to steel production. The Steelworks remained open until 1999 and significantly impacted upon the development of Newcastle by providing a major source of employment for the city.
During the Second World War there was a substantial increase in production rates of heavy industry across NSW and particularly in Newcastle. The minerals industry continued this expansion in the later part of the twentieth century, with a zinc and lead smelter at Cockle Creek amongst other new and improved minerals production facilities. Today the Port of Newcastle is a major player in the NSW mining industry being part of the Hunter Valley Coal Chain, which is the world’s largest coal export operation.
Historical coal site, Newcastle
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Australian Dictionary of Biography, James Mitchell, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition, Australian National University, Retrieved online 03/04/2009: http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020205b.htm
Commercial Journal and Advertiser, 22 August 1840, cited in Early Convict Coal Miners in Newcastle, Free Settler or Felon (2008) Retrieved online 31/03/2009: http://www.jenwilletts.com/Coalminers.htm#
Hunter Valley Research Foundation, Hunter History Highlights, Newcastle and the Hunter Region 2008-2009, Hunter Valley Research Foundation, Retrieved online 01/04/2009:
http://www.hvrf.com.au/images/HVRF_Publications/Newcastle__Hunter_Region/
hunter_history_highlights.pdf
Jupp, J. (2001) (2nd Ed.) The Australian People, Cambridge University Press
Martin, J. (1991) Memorandoms: Escape from Botany Bay, 1791 : being 'Memorandoms' (fl.1786 - 1792), Mulini Press, Canberra
Newcastle Industrial Heritage Association, Coal- Australia’s First Industry, NIHA, Retrieved online 01/04/2009: http://www.niha.org.au/
North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, Transactions, (1858) Vol. VI, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Retrieved online 01/04/2009: http://books.google.com/books?id=23YAAAAAMAAJ&dq=lake%20macquarie&lr=&as_brr=1&pg=PA27&ci=50,386,759,792&source=bookclip#PPA39,M1
The Brisbane Courier (1885) The Coalfields of New South Wales, The Brisbane Courier, 10th September 1885
The Cyclopedia of New South Wales (1907) McCarron, Stewart and Co., Sydney
The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 8 May 1803, Retrieved online 01/04/2009: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article625557
Turner, J.W. (1982) Coal Mining in Newcastle, Newcastle History Monographs No. 9., Newcastle City Council, P.14
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1. Hunter Valley Research Foundation, Hunter History Highlights, Newcastle and the Hunter Region 2008-2009, Hunter Valley Research Foundation, Retrieved online 01/04/2009:
http://www.hvrf.com.au/images/HVRF_Publications/Newcastle__Hunter_Region/
hunter_history_highlights.pdf
2. Martin, J. (1991) Memorandoms: Escape from Botany Bay, 1791 : being 'Memorandoms' (fl.1786 - 1792), Mulini Press, Canberra
3. Letter from Surgeon John Thomson to Schank, 8 September 1799, Historical Records of NSW, (1762-1811), Vol. 3. Pp. 716-17, Government Printer, Sydney, cited in Turner, J.W. (1982) Coal Mining in Newcastle, Newcastle History Monographs No. 9., Newcastle City Council, P.14
4. Letter from King to Banks, April 1801, Historical Records of NSW, (1762-1811), Vol. 4. P.359, cited in Turner P.14
5. Sourced from The Cyclopedia of New South Wales, (1907) McCarron, Stewart and Co., Sydney
6. The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 8 May 1803, Retrieved online 01/04/2009: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article625557
7. Newcastle Industrial Heritage Association, Coal- Australia’s First Industry, Newcastle Industrial Heritage Association, Retrieved online 01/04/2009: http://www.niha.org.au/
8. Newcastle Industrial Heritage Association
9. Turner, P. 19
10. Account given by John Platt, a Miner, of the Coal-mines at Newcastle, in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 5 May 1805, Retrieved online 01/04/2009: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article626755
11. Account given by John Platt, a Miner, of the Coal-mines at Newcastle
12. 1858, Transactions, North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, Vol. VI, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Retrieved online 01/04/2009: http://books.google.com/books?id=23YAAAAAMAAJ&dq=lake%20macquarie&lr=&as_brr=1&pg=PA27&ci=50,386,759,792&source=bookclip#PPA39,M1
P. 39
13. Turner, P. 33
14. Hunter Valley Research Foundation
15. Commercial Journal and Advertiser, 22 August 1840, cited in Early Convict Coal Miners in Newcastle, Free Settler or Felon (2008) http://www.jenwilletts.com/Coalminers.htm#
16. Turner, P. 33
17. Australian Dictionary of Biography, James Mitchell, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition, Australian National University, Retrieved online 03/04/2009: http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020205b.htm
18. North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers
19. North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers
20. The Brisbane Courier (1885) The Coalfields of New South Wales, The Brisbane Courier, 10th September 1885
21. Jupp, J. (2001) (2nd Ed.) The Australian People, Cambridge University Press
22. Jupp
23. Hunter Valley Research Foundation
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