Disaster at the New Australasian No. 2 Mine
The evening of the 11th of December, 1882, was just like any other for the 41 night-shift miners who had assembled at the head of Creswick’s New Australasian No. 2 Mine. Laughing and talking amongst themselves, they descended 250 feet in the lift then walked 2,500 feet to the working face to resume their quest for gold. Only 19 of them would ever see the light of day again.
Around 4.45am on the 12th of December, water from the flooded Australasian No.1 Mine burst through the reef drive the men were working. Following is part of a report by an Age correspondent regarding the tragedy. “The most terrible accident which has yet occurred in connection with gold mining in the colonies took place on Tuesday morning at the claim of the New Australia Co, through the bursting-in of a flood of water from a prospecting drive going towards the workings of the old shaft. Since the reorganisation of the company some years since, a new shaft, the No. 2, was put down, and the old workings abandoned, but leaving about 1,000ft of the gutter between the termination of the old drive and the No. 2 Shaft. On sinking the No. 2 shaft, the gutter was driven north, and at present the washdirt faces are in about 2,500ft. Lately it was resolved by the directors to put in a drive south of the shaft to work the 1,000ft left from No. 1 shaft; and it was in this drive that the influx of water occurred.
“The reef drive had been put in about 800ft, and according to the plan the old working should have been about 250ft away and 38ft or 40ft above the new reef drive, so that there was no danger. “However, as insurance against an accident, the mining manager had caused bores to be put at intervals, for the purpose of testing the accuracy of the plans of the old workings, which had been prepared by a previous mining manager. At the end of last week two bores were put up, and both appeared to be in sound ground. “About 4.30 this morning however, Henry Reeves, the contractor for the sank reef drive, was in the face, and he said the water broke away over the point of the back laths without the slightest warning, increasing in volume every second. He, with his mate, William Mason, immediately ran to the plat, and then made their way to the intermediate level by means of the ladders. In the meantime, the water rushed from the south drive into the north drive, where about 30 miners wore working 2,500ft from the shaft in the washdirt faces. “The platman, seeing the rising water, at once gave the alarm to John Hodge, captain of the shift, and he with a trucker named Henry Polglase, ran along the drive and cried out to the men, “Water is coming. Look out!” At this time the water was rushing from the south drive about 5ft high, and driving the trucks before it, and Hodge and Polglase had great difficulty in finding their way to No. 5 shoot which is connected with an air drive about 30ft up the shaft for the ventilation of the mine. “The men working in the face over the main drive, on the alarm being given, endeavoured to breast the torrent, but the majority were driven back, however several of the trackers who were in the drive managed to reach No. 5 shoot, and were hauled into the air drive by Hodge, who could only manage to clutch them by the hair. Two facemen, named Fisher and Menner, also reached the place of escape and were saved but Menner said he heard Wood and Chegwin coming behind him and the latter cried out “There is no chance. We had better go back to the workings. We can’t reach No. 5.”
Scene at the head of the New Australasian No.2 shaft showing the braceman announcing the death of the miners
“The workings alluded to are about 30ft above the main level where the water was rushing, and as the water was only about 20ft in the shaft at the highest level, it is within the bounds of probability they may have escaped if not suffocated by foul air, but there is reason to believe that several of them were drowned in the main drive. “The water at 11am was 17ft in the shaft, but an hour later it commenced to lower. Several hours will elapse before the water is down and the fate of the men is ascertained, but at 4pm it was gradually lowering. “The greatest excitement prevailed both in Creswick and Ballarat today, and mining business is entirely paralysed. The scene at the shaft was of the most harrowing description. The wives and children and friends of the unfortunate men were weeping and wringing their hands, while stout brawny miners were perfectly overcome by the sad occurrence, and shed bitter tears. Indeed, the women were perhaps the strongest in bearing their sorrow, for they, hoping against hope, appeared to believe that their loved ones would be found alive.
“Strenuous efforts to lower the water were made on Tuesday, and at 9pm the water was down 5ft. On Wednesday two divers attached to HMS Cerberus arrived at the mine early in the morning, but as it was found that their apparatus only provided for 100ft of air-piping, when at least they should have had 700ft, their services were of no avail. “Mr John Hodge, captain of the night shift, who assisted so many of the survivors to escape, gives a very graphic account of the velocity with which the water rushed down the drive. He had been having his morning meal, and was preparing to proceed to work, when he heard a boy running towards, him crying out, “Swamp! swamp!” He at once ran down the drive to see what was the matter, but before he had gone many paces his progress was blocked by a large body of water that, with a loud noise, came rushing onward, sweeping everything before it. There was nothing for him to do but to turn round and endeavour to save his own life.
“There were about 30 trucks in the drive, and over those that were not driven forward by the force of the rushing stream the water bounded with terrible velocity. Fortunately, the No. 5 shoot was near at hand, and offered the brave fellow a means of escape. When he first met the water, it was no higher than his ankles, but before he reached the ladder at the shoot he was battling with it breast high. After securing his hold on the ladder, he waited to help all those who might attempt to make their escape by the same way. He was in complete darkness, but for all that he managed to assist out of the reach of danger no less than six of his fellowworkmen. A man named Menner was the last to receive his help. Following Menner came Hodge’s own son, but the father was unfortunately powerless to extend to the lad the aid he had afforded to the others, and the poor boy turned back and fled with the rest of his ill-fated companions to the doom that has undoubtedly overtaken them in the list of those not saved.
New Australasian Gold Mine
“There are many heartrending cases. One of the most lamentable is that of a poor woman named Bellingham. Her case is indeed a sad one. A few years ago, her husband suddenly dropped dead, and a few years later one of her three sons was killed by a kick from a horse, and now the remaining two, who were her sole support, are entombed in the flooded mine. “The mine is situated about a mile from the North Creswick railway station, and is within a stone’s throw of the line. The workings are exclusively alluvial, and the area, which is considerable, has been pretty well mined. Originally the mine was principally owned by Mr Peter Lalor, the present Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and was carried on with varying success. It however, passed into the hands of the Bank of Australia, from which institution the mine was purchased several years ago by the New Australia Co, the present proprietors.” It transpired that the 27 trapped miners had managed to reach the very small space of the No.11 jump-up. There they huddled together in darkness, singing hymns and praying for deliverance and for their loved ones. Some wrote messages on their crib pails to their families. The Bellingham brothers tied themselves together for fear they would be separated. For almost three days the three engine drivers from the mine ran the engines at more than 10 times their normal speed, in an attempt to lower the water and save the trapped men. When the rescue came on Thursday morning, unfortunately it was too late for 22 of the miners (one body was still warm) and only five men came out alive from the foul smelling mine shaft. Their funeral took place the next afternoon and it was, not surprisingly, the biggest ever held in Creswick. About 4,000 people marched in the procession, including 2,000 members of the Miners’ Association, with 15,000 onlookers. Nineteen of the men are buried in Creswick Cemetery. An appeal was started for the widows and orphans and some £20,000 was collected from towns and villages all over Victoria. Within two years Parliament had changed the fund to “The Mining Accident Relief Fund Act, 1884” for the benefit of all victims of mining accidents. The Fund was finally wound up in 1949 long after the last widow had died.