The History & Coal Resources of Newcastle from 1830 - 1889

from a series of articles published in the Newcastle Morning Herald covering the period 26th September, 1889 to 21st November, 1889

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THE NEWCASTLE COLLIERIES
MINES BEING DEVELOPED
[No X1V]
The West Wallsend Coal Company
and
The Young Wallsend Coal Company

Published 26th November, 1889
THE WEST WALLSEND COAL COMPANY
The West Wallsend Coal Company was formed in Sydney, in the year 1885, with a capital of £90,000, in 90,000 shares of £1 each. They secured 2972 acres of freehold land, which is hilly and thickly studded with timber, It is bounded on the east by the estates of Messrs. J. and A. Brown, the Newcastle-Wallsend, and the Young Wallsend, on the south by the Teralba Colliery, and on the north and west by the Monkwearmouth Coal Company.

The company having proved the existence of the Borehole seam commenced in the latter end of 1885 to establish a colliery. Although it was opened in July, 1887, yet it can only be classed as an opening mine, as owing to the general strike last year and a dispute between the company and their miners, which is still continuing, the work of developing the mine has been greatly retarded. The winding shaft is 15ft 6in in diameter and 492ft deep, and fitted with double cages which hold two skips each. The main colliery building is very complete, the pit head being of steel, while the poppet-head is 71ft from the ground. No wood has been used in the works except where absolutely necessary, and the buildings are in consequence very substantial. Winding is accomplished by two powerful engines, with 23in cylinders, 4ft 6in stroke, the winding drum being 12ft in diameter, tapering to 10ft at the ends. This machinery is placed in a back building 52ft x 32ft, steam being supplied from four steel boilers, each 30ft long with a diameter of 5ft 6in, placed in a separate structure, which is planked by a smoke stack 80ft high. When thoroughly opened out and in full work the mine will be capable of raising 1000 tons of coal per day, and there is no doubt but for the present unfortunate difficulty between the company and the men, large quantities of coal would be won from this mine. A ventilating shaft has been sunk some thirty yards from the main one, and a powerful horizontal condensing pumping engine is also erected at the surface, which is more than sufficient to keep the workings dry.

The Borehole seam in this colliery contains a very large number of bands, but 4ft 7in of the bottom, only, containing two bands, is worked, the remaining portion being left standing. When the colliery was working good progress was made with the drives and headings, the output in 1888 being 7645 tons. The company then had 90 men at work, but since the beginning of the general strike in September, 1888, no work of any consequence has been done.

For the purpose of getting their coal to the port the company have constructed five miles of private railway, which branches off the Sydney-Newcastle line at Cockle Creek, which is ten miles from the shipping cranes on Bullock Island. The cost of the railway was over £16,000, and for two miles of its length it passes through land purchased for its construction by the company. They haul the coal waggons from the mine to Cockle Creek by their own engines, the remaining distance to Newcastle being done by the Government at a cost of 1s 1d per ton.

The mine was opened in the first place by Mr. Thomas Evans, who, however, severed his connection with the company soon after. The head office is in Sydney, the local shipping manager being Mr. Goldsmith.

THE YOUNG WALLSEND COAL COMPANY
The Young Wallsend Coal Company was formed in 1887, with a capital of £67,000, in 67,000 shares of £1 each, of which 12,000 fully paid up shares were given to the promoter, Mr. John C. Bonarius. The estate consists of 950 acres of freehold land, situated three miles south east

of the township of Wallsend, and is bounded by the lands of the Newcastle-Wallsend, Minmi, West Wallsend, and Teralba Coal Companies.

The work of opening out the Young Wallsend Colliery has been accomplished with a dispatch which reflects considerable credit on the directors and officials. In December, 1887 the work of sinking the mine was commenced, and the shaft has been put down to the Borehole or Wallsend seam at a depth of 530ft. At the bottom, headings are driven north and south, with a height of 7ft 6in, and having a width of five yards. These have been opened thirty-three yards each side of the pit, and timbered every 4ft. At a distance of twenty yards from the shaft, main headings have been driven 20ft each way, east and west, to open out the mine. The pit at present is ready to start work with thirty six miners, and as it opens out more will of course be required. The slides and buttings in the shaft are all ready to receive the cages, which have been constructed on the premises, and are now ready for work. Platform, screens and kickings are also all completed, and only waiting further developments before being used. The main winding engines, having 26-inch cylinders and 4ft stroke, are also in working order. The horse-power of the engines is 80 nominal or 130 effective. An engine house of brick, 41ft by 32ft, is nearing completion, and the boilers are now being roofed. The shaft being sunk to the lowest point of the dip causes a slight rise from it each way, and in consequence the underground haulage in the mine will be effected without much difficulty.

There are two seams in the mine, and the bottom one, which is to be worked, is 7ft 6in in thickness. An analysis of the coal gives:- Moisture, 2.02 per cent; volatile hydrocarbons, 35.05, fixed carbon, 57.00; ash, 5.93; and for coke, 62.93; specific gravity, 1.32; and sulphur, .578. Above this is another seam 10ft deep with 6ft 6in of workable coal. This is driven in 20 yards north and south, and the quality of the coal is stated to be excellent. Stables and paddocks are in the vicinity. The company make their own bricks on the ground, and carpenters' and blacksmiths' shops are also at work preparing the plant necessary for opening out the mine. About 30 men and boys are at present engaged on the ground, and before the commencement of the new year the colliery will be in full swing.

The company have constructed two miles and a quarter of private railway, branching off from the Newcastle-Sydney line at a point nine miles south of the Bullock Island cranes. The culverts, cuttings, and general formation are of a substantial character, and should meet the requirements of the company for a very long time to come. At the end of the line are three sidings and a long dead end, everything being laid out to give the greatest facility in despatching coal to the shipping. Room is provided for about 100 trucks to stand near the pit, and four train loads of filled trucks could be placed there so that they would not interfere with the traffic on the branch line.

Since the commencement of sinking operations the value of the land has enormously increased, many portions of the estate had been bought out and out for £15 per acre having been cut up by the company and sold (surface only) at £200 per acre.

The head office of the company is in Newcastle, Mr. J.C. Bonarius being the chairman, and John Clarke the secretary, Mr. Fairley is the colliery manager, and resides at the township which is fast springing up round the mine.