Far from the haunts of men,
An awful Death to thirteen came,
May I relate it then-
"Get up for dinner , do, please ,dad?
And wake the boys for me,
I would not have you miss a shift,
It means so much for we.
Father and Son, they rise and dress,
Enjoy their midday meal,
Mother now packs them up some snap-
How proud she then must feel.
As each in turn, bids her goodbye,
And then adieu to all,
O' had they known ere close of day
Life's curtain, Death, would fall.
Conductor, will you stop the car?
My mates now all will ride,
With hearts so light, and spirits bright,
They're seated side by side.
Too soon they reach the terminus,
Each to the other talk,
No thought of danger filled their breaths,
As on and on they walk.
Those sinkings they at Rufford reach,
The brave eighteen go down,
Each work and toil for those they love,
O' what will be their crown?
A crash! A crash! seven tons in weight,
This cylinder was hurled,
It thundered in that wall of death,
O' what a death unfurled.
Deep down in that black hole tonight,
Those toilers thirteen sleep,
No more will Daddy dear come home,
Mother and children weep.
Their heads are crowned with glory now,
They're nature's noble men,
They gave their lives for others, too,
And died within their den.
God grant them now a resting place,
In mansions of the blessed,
Whose souls for love have paid the price,
May each from heaven find rest.
One more now joins the stricken band,
Alas we're left but four,
With them, that night will live each day,
Until life's journeys o'er.
Too late for some, two men go down,
To answer calls for aid,
Yet not too late to save four lives,
The hand of death thus stayed.
Those to the rescue who went down,
The bravest of the brave,
A rich reward awaits you both,
Who risked your lives to save.
- - - - - - -
John C Brittain
seldom used today
long ago.
pushing his coal
along the tracks
(supervisor)
The men who died were :
Ross Bodkin, 41, mine manager.
Michael House ,33, Technichal services team leader.
Stuart Osmond,47.
Colin Lloyd-Jones, 41.
Australian Mining Disasters
2001:Swan Incline Mine,Kangeroo Flat, Bendigo Victoria, I dead
2000: Cook Colliery, Queensland, 1 dead.
2000: Bronzewing Mine, Western Australia, 3 dead.
2000: Oakey Creek, Queensland, 1 dead.
1999: Northparkes Mine, NSW, 4 dead.
1998: Wallerah Mine at Catherine Hill Bay, Central Coast, NSW. 1 dead.
1996: Gretley Colliery, Hunter Valley, NSW 4 dead.
1994 Moura: Queensland, 11 dead.
1991: South Bulli, NSW, 3 dead.
1991: Western Main, Blue Mountains, NSW, 3 dead
1986: Moura, Queensland, 12 dead.
1982: Blackwater South, Queensland, 3 dead.
1979: Appin, NSW, 14 dead.
1978: Leichhardt: Queensland, 2 dead.
1977: Agnew, Western Australia, 13 dead.
1975: Moura, Queensland, 13 dead.
1972: Blackmans Flat, NSW 3 dead.
1972: Box Flat: Ipswich Queensland, 1 dead.
1972: Box Flat, Ipswich, Queensland,17 dead.
1954: Collinsville, Queensland, 7 dead.
1921: Mount Mulligan, Queensland, 76 dead.
1904: Charters Towers, Queensland, 7 dead.
1902: Mount Kembla, NSW, 94 dead.
A few of these men were known personally to us.
Coal was one of the major factors in developing industrial greatness, and the men who produced it , along with their wives and families, were, and still are, the salt of the earth! Tremendous progress has been made over the past 100 years: the miners and their families struggled every inch of the way. Henry Ford once said that history is all bunk. No miner can afford to take that view, because the history of the miner is a continuous and continuing story of struggle; and those who forget this do so at their own peril. In 1857, Frederick Douglas, the great American Negro Slave Leader said: "If there is no struggle, there is no progress."
Obviously, leaders cannot be, and should not be, forgotten, but one always has to remember, that Generals without troops are useless, the people who matter most, are those who have spent their lives in arduous toil: The ordinary mineworker and his family.
This page is also dedicated to my husband of 40 yrs, Barry, who has worked in the coal mines for 43yrs, my son Philip, who is also a coal miner, my father, my grandparents, brother, uncles, cousins, and to the rest of the male members of my family in the UK who have been coal miners for Generations, some of whom also lost their lives in the coal mines of England. Also dedicated to good friends who also lost their lives.
In Loving Memory of our son in law Greg
22nd April 1959--29th October 1997
Rest in Peace
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To the men of Thoresby Colliery Nottinghamshire, England, Grose Valley Colliery, Blue Mountains, NSW, and Endeavour Colliery, formerly Newvale 2, Central Coast, NSW, I would like to thank you all on behalf of my husband, for putting up with him all these years, :) and for your friendship over the years. May I wish you all the best for the future.
Dvorak's "New World Symphony," 2nd Movement.
"Going Home"
