On The Homefront: Mining

Coal mining was long a mainstay of the Ipswich economy. In 1939 Ipswich mines produced an estimated 548,000 tons of coal. Over the war years production of this vital resource rose by around 60%. But even so, production, much using outdated manual handling, could not keep up with demand. Mr T. Millar, president of the Queensland Colliery Employees Union explained to the Queensland Times on 23 September 1943:

More coal would be produced if the antiquated wheeling equipment in the West Moreton and Rosewood coal mines was replaced by modern mechanical appliances and if the mines were better ventilated...

 

Some miners had to push truckloads of coal 300 yards ... West Moreton and Rosewood were probably the only coal mining districts in Australia where antiquated production methods still existed.

Consumption continued to outpace supply, and consumers (especially factories) were urged by government to "do everything they possibly could to save coal". By 1949 the Moreton coal field was still Queensland's largest producer, its 67 small (mainly underground) mines yielding 47% of the State's output. This was not sufficient to meet demand in southeast Queensland, and coal began to be railed from central Queensland, despite higher prices and freight charges. Morale amongst mine workers was also low, culminating in the bitter strike of 1949.

In addition to the larger Moreton region mines, the small City Colliery on Denmark Hill (opened in 1912) continued its operations until problems including fires and an unsafe roof, caused closure in 1952. Denmark Hill also saw quarrying around the mine area.

An important Ipswich industry from the mid-nineteenth century onwards was coke production, essential for the ore smelting and iron making industries. By the 1940s the Klondyke Colliery was one of only two Queensland collieries still producing coke. Its new beehive ovens were constructed during the war years to meet an increasing demand for coke for iron smelting. The bricks were manufactured by local brickmakers, Rylance (later known as Claypave). Production ceased in the early 1950s when the pit's coal supply was exhausted.

Underground mining posed many dangers, including catastrophes such as fires, explosions, flooding, and cave-ins. In 1949 a new Mines Rescue Brigade building, costing just over ₤6,000, was opened at Booval by the recently appointed Minister for Mines, Mr W.M. Moore.