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Rhondda Offices and Carport Conservation Management Plan - History, 2016

TXT

[...]RVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT
1041 REDBANK PLAINS[...]
[...]RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT
2. HISTORY

The following history documents the owners and changes to the place from first Titles.

2.1 Land[...]1 RP 147956. The land transactions
described here and tabulated in the chronology are for the “surfac[...]1868 Samuel Pearson Welsby, an Ipswich auctioneer and stock, station and commission agent, selected
portion 283 Parish Goo[...]e all ten annual lease payments from 1868 to 1878 and gained title to the land.

At around the same tim[...](61
acres), 295 (51 acres), 296 (45 acres 1 rood) and 297 (52 acres) – totaling an additional 541 acr[...]tinuously occupy the homestead, the Welsby family and descendants retained ownership of the surface
lan[...]g
company Rhonvale Pty Ltd (later renamed Oceanic Coal Australia Limited). It remained in mining company
hands until its purchase in 1997 by the Ipswich City Council and its lease five years later to Ipswich
Historical Society which still occupies the building.



2.2 Ipswich coal mining history
Queensland’s first coal mine was begun at Redbank during the 1840s by Joh[...]en more or less horizontally into a hillside, the coal dug by hand and
removed by wheelbarrow. As shaft mining replaced these earlier crude mines, more infrastructure was
needed to raise and lower men, equipment and coal.

Underground mining continued for over a century, with the fir[...]
[...]RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT
2.3 Cooneana Coal Estate
In early 1886 a prospectus was issued for the Cooneana Coal and Investment Company, Limited; 12,000
shares at £10 each would be issued for a company formed to purchase and work “that valuable coal
property known as ‘Cooneana’ situated at Bundanba [sic]”.




Cooneana Coal Estate Map, 1886 (courtesy Ipswich Historical Soc[...]made it clear that the intention was to mine the coal under 19 portions totaling almost
1782 acres, and that the surface land could be sold separately, r[...]ne Courier, 27 March 1886, p. 4

MONETARY AND MINING

The Cooneana Coal and Investment Company also is projected to work a pr[...]han a mile south of the main railway to Brisbane, and two and a half miles from
Ipswich. Mr A.C. Gregor[...]that adjoining the property are the Aberdare and Borehole coal mines; while there are several other[...]
[...]PLAN RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT
mines between it and the railway line. The report also shows that the upper coal seam … has a
fine outer crop on t[...]seam also dips
beneath the estate, and Mr. Gregory that, "taken as a whole, the estate offers greater prospects of
being an extensive and profitable colliery than any other in the district."




Coal mines on the Bundamba field approximately 1875 to[...]Rhondda holding
northeast of the Cooneana Coal Estate. (Whitmore, Coal in Queensland: The Late Nineteenth Century)

The company carried out little or no mining on the estate and was wound up in 1892. 1 Some of the
surface[...]mained in the ownership of the Welsby
family and descendants andand small operators mined the coal.

Rhondda No. 1 mine adjoined the north-eastern corner of the Cooneana Estate, and Rhondda Collieries
operations would later expand over part of the estate.



1 Whitmore, Coal in Queensland: The Late Nineteenth Century[...]
[...]RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT
2.4 Rhondda Colliery beginnings
In 1900 five members of the Aberdare Cooperative coal mine banded together to form what would
become the Rhondda Colliery, named after the great Welsh mining valley. The founders of the company,
initially named John Eadie and Company, were Scotsmen John Eadie and David Wright Cochrane, and
Welshmen William Morris, William D. Jones and Thomas Mills. Around a year later the five men be[...]he high-quality, extensively-worked New Chum seam and served by a branch rail line from the
Bundamba loop was the most successful of all the coal mines in the Bundamba area.




The Bundamba coal field showing mines operating 1900 to 1925 (Whitmore, Coal in Queensland: From
Federation to the Twenti[...]Rhondda Collieries


2 Phillips, William Morris and Rhondda, pp. 69-70.[...]
[...]RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT


2.5 Rhondda Colliery 20th century mining
The Rhondda No. 1 mine would become the most enduring and efficient on the Ipswich coalfield, with a
li[...]Pty Ltd in 1996. Early problems, including fires and poor yields, threatened the
existence of the[...]obviated the need to use poor roads to transport coal
to markets, put Rhondda on a sound financial[...]ly 1974 Rhondda Collieries was operating open-cut and underground mines; the following year a
new u[...]1
(closed 1988), Rhondda No. 5 (closed 1986), and M.W. Haenke No. 2 (closed 1987). Their open-cut
mines Blackheath and Wattle Glen continued to be worked; the Wattle Gl[...]building was removed to the proposed
Ipswich Mining Museum at Kholo and the winding gear to the Gympie Mining Museum. 5

By 1995 production at Wattle Glen[...]not renew its 25-year-old contract to buy Rhondda coal, choosing instead Idemitsu South
Queensland Coal to supply coal from its Ebenezer mine at Rosewood. While the Rho[...]would continue to supply export markets, the coal price was always lower. Rhondda struggled during[...]on the West Moreton field, buying
Blackheath and Bonnie Dundee Collieries in the mid-1960s and Box Flat and Westfalen operations (in a
50/50 split with Showa Coal Australia Pty Ltd) in late 1988 or early 1989. 7[...]o Easy Field, pp. 10-11; Phillips, William Morris and Rhondda, p. 70.
4 Murray, No Easy Field, p[...]
[...]LAN RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT
In 1979 negotiations were underway to se[...]erests of Alan Bond, heralding an unstable decade and a half of company restructures and
ownership changes. Rhondda shares had remained largely in the hands of the founders’ descendants
and it was still the largest producer on the Ipswich[...]). 8

In late 1987 Rhondda joined the Ipswich Coal Joint Venture to operate the Wattle Glen Extended and
Wattle Glen North Open-cut Mines – 80% was held by Rhondda Collieries Pty Ltd and 20% by the
Japanese-owned Showa Coal Australia Pty Ltd. 9

Thanks to further restr[...]e of company structure
meant that Rhondda was now operated by Alan Bond’s FAI Mining Ltd. FAI Mining Limited was
incorporated in January 1990 to acquire the operations of Pacific Copper Limited and the underground
and open-cut mines of Rhondda Collieries Pty Ltd from[...]rporation. But Rhondda’s contract to
supply coal from its underground mine to Swanbank power station came to an end in mid-1990 and was
not renewed. This left Rhondda only its o[...]when the operating company became FAI’s Oceanic Coal
Australia Ltd failed to save the company. Oceanic Coal reported that at the price it could obtain for coal,
its economic reserves were exhausted and the open-cut mine and coal washing plant were shut down. 12
Mine surveyo[...], was the last man left to “turn out the lights and lock the door”, in his words. 13

2.7 Const[...]ed at Rhondda
No. 1 as well as the managerial and administrative staff based in Ipswich at 109 Bris[...]the same office. 14



8 Phillips, William Morris and Rhondda, p. 88; Murray, No Easy Field, p. 316.
9[...]mes, 3 February 1996.
13 Phillips, William Morris and Rhondda, p. 88; Hugh Taylor, interviewed b[...]
[...]LAN RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT
The new office building and adjoining carport were designed by Robin Spencer Architects and
constructed in c. 1976-7.




Floor plan of pr[...]2 (including 1976 office building) in relation to mining leases.
(FAI publication “Rhondda Coll[...]
[...]RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT




Sketch of office building 197[...]
[...]RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT




The Rhondda Colliery office, with ca[...]ffice in October 2003, after the addition of ramp and railings. (courtesy Ipswich
Historical Society &[...]nistration Office, 1990s Local history and mining displays occupy space
(courtesy Hugh Tayl[...]
[...]RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT



2.8 Ipswich City Council acquisition[...]saw the creation of the
Cooneana Heritage Centre and the move of additional buildings to the site, inc[...]fice which had been removed to the proposed Kholo mining museum site in c. 1988. It
returned to the site[...]unknown dates have been received to erect toilets and install a sewerage system, and
upgrade the building’s electrical system. A Co[...]the Ipswich Historical Society’s local history and mining museum and
provides space for the Society’s meeting and administrative functions. The office of Taylor Mining
Services is also within the building.

Some original furniture has remained in the building and is used by its occupants.

At the rear of the building is the former reception and administration area (above left). The reception desk
and some desks still used in the building were designed by the architect Robin Spencer. The large table
and chairs here are the original board room furniture; the chairs in the adjoining film and media room
(also above left) are the original of[...]An original bar remains in the former board room now
occupied by Taylor Mining Services, albeit with the associated sink and plumbing fixtures removed.[...]
[...]RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT


2.9 Timeline of Sources and Documents

Documentary evidence pertaining to construction and alteration of the Rhondda Office building is tabu[...]building sites only, and a large area of the Cooneana Estate,[...]worth the whole sum now asked for the property.”

BC, 27 Mar 1886, p. Prospectus of the “COONEANA COAL AND INVESTMENT COMPANY,
2[...]formed to purchase and work “that valuable coal property known as[...]281, 283, 286, 291, 292, 294, 295, 296, and 297, containing an area of



15 Dates f[...]
[...]MENT PLAN RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT
1781 Acres 3 Roods,[...]e main
railway to Brisbane, and two and a half miles from Ipswich.”

3 May 1906[...]resub 1 sub 4 portion 283; 94a 3r 17p; rental and royalty payable

19 January 1910 Transfer o[...]ey plan subdivisions 1, 2 & 3 of portions 278-281 and subs 1-6
RP 22540 portion 283[...]
[...]RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT
7 August 1940 Death[...]2
RP 144444 (14.32 ha) and easement A in Lot 2 [to depth of 15.24 m; below 1[...]Registration of subdivision into Lots 1 & 2 and easement A in Lot 2 RP
CT 11689030[...]y 1994 Change of name to Oceanic Coal Australia Limited (incorporated 1989,
CT 15[...]Lot 1 RP 147956
CT 15391205


16 “Oceanic Coal Australia Limited engages in the exploration and production of coal and consumable fuels. The

company was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Killingworth, Australia. As a result of merger of Xstrata plc into
Glencore Xstrata plc. Oceanic Coal Australia Limited becomes a subsidiary of Glencore Xstrata plc” in Company
Overview of Oceanic Coal Australia Limited,
http://www.bloomberg.co[...]
[...]RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT
19 November 2002 Lease to I[...]moved from the defunct Kholo mining museum site to the Cooneana[...]rection of toilets
and installation of sewerage system, and upgrade of electrical system.


2.10 Histo[...]
[...]RHONDDA OFFICES AND CARPORT
2.10.2 Other references
Architecture Aust[...]lication
no. 204, 1907
Dunne, E.F. (Chairman, Qld Coal Board), “Brief history of the coal mining industry in Queensland”, Journal
of the Royal H[...]3, pp. 313-339
Newspapers as listed in footnotes and chronology
Qld Department of Environment & Resource Management, Certificates of Title and Survey Plans as
supplied by Ipswich City Council[...]direct retrieval from the NRM system)
Grubb, Ken, Coal Castle and Choirs: The Story of Blackstone in Queensland, The author, Ipswich, 2014
Ipswich City Council, Coal Mining: Then & Now, ICC, 2007
(http://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/9811/mining.pdf)
Ipswich City Council Library, Newspaper clip[...]ty web pages
Murray, Alan, No Easy Field: Ipswich Coal Mining 1920 to 2000, UQ Press, 2010
Phillips, Joyce Ann, William Morris and Rhondda, The author, Ipswich, 2005
Queensland Tre[...]beghen, Ken C. “A History of Cooneana Homestead and its Occupants”, Ipswich Historical Society, 2016
Whitmore, Raymond Leslie, Coal in Queensland, the First Fifty Years: A History of Early Coal Mining in
Queensland, UQ Press, 1981
Whitmore, Raymond Leslie, Coal in Queensland: The Late Nineteenth Century, 1875 to 1900, UQ Press,
1985
Whitmore, Raymond Leslie, Coal in Queensland: From Federation to the Twen[...]

MD

Rhondda Offices and Carport Conservation Management Plan - History, 2016
[...]ch a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use and reproduce this work.

Under the Fair Dealing ex[...]work for research or study, criticism or review, and parody or satire. Moral rights remain and the work MUST be correctly attributed to i[...]
[...]servation Management Plan for the Rhondda Offices and carport was prepared by professional freel[...]
Rhondda Offices and Carport CMP
Cooneana Coal and Investment Company Limited
Oceanic Coal Australia Limited
Aberdare Cooperative Coal Mine
Coal Mining
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