Adversity & Resilience: Mining

Mining in the 1920s
The mining industry had anticipated that demand for coal would pick up after World War I ended, but this was not the case. In 1919, several mines closed temporarily as trade declined even further. The Mt Morgan smelters closed in 1921, reducing the demand for North Ipswich coke. By 1922, there was said to be “a marked depression in the coal trade” and a mining inspector commented that development was ahead of requirements. Mines which had managed to re-open now closed again and, although there were around 1380 miners in Ipswich and Rosewood, many were working only part-time.

Trade improved briefly in 1925 but a dark cloud seemed to be hanging over the mining industry. In 1926, a severe drought reduced the demand for coal in a wide variety of industries and unemployment rose. When the drought finally ended, several mines were damaged by floodwaters and more miners were put out of work. The mines were also plagued by small underground fires throughout the decade. These were difficult and dangerous to control and resulted in loss of coal and lost time.

The need to supply the Hunter River Steam Navigation Company with coal had prompted the opening of the first coal mine in Ipswich in 1843. In the 1920s and 30s, the industry began to lose this traditional market as ships started to change from coal to oil – Blackheath Colliery lost its shipping trade in 1926 and its miners were put onto 2½ days work a week.

The big northern mines were also growing in importance. In 1904, there were 1002 miners in Ipswich and Rosewood, 75% of the state’s total, and they produced 80% of the state’s coal. By 1929, Ipswich region had 1419 miners but this was only 51% of the state total and they produced only 48% of the total output. In spite of the slump, mines tried to update their operation. Some installed coal-washing plants to improve the quality of coal offered for sale. New Aberdare experimented with long-wall mining, installing a conveyor belt at the face of the coal wall and doing away with hand-shovelling. This method also reduced the number of underground roads which had to be left open, resulting in greater productivity. A short railway spur was built in 1929 to serve Rosewood mines which had been hampered by transport problems in wet weather. [1]

Mining during the Depression years
During the Depression, one-third of Ipswich and district mine workers lost their jobs. In 1929, there were 1409 people employed. A long strike in New South Wales in 1930 helped maintain demand for a while, but the number of Ipswich workers then declined to a low of 923 in 1932 before slowly beginning to rise again. The general depressed state of industry had reduced the demand for coal and this was exacerbated by the increasing use of electric power from centrally-generating power stations. Although these power stations also required coal, they were more efficient and the overall demand was lower. Other industries were converting from coal-fired steam engines to the use of fuel oil.

To help save jobs and the mines themselves, a wage cut of 10% was given by arbitration in 1931. This was partly restored in late 1936 and fully restored the following year.