Mt. Kembla Mine Disaster 1902

Date: [unknown]
Location: Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Surnames/tags: Disasters Mining_Disasters Australia

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Disasters Project | Mining | Australia | Mt. Kembla Mine Disaster 1902

Mt. Kembla Mine Disaster, 1902

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Map Co-ordinates: 34° 26' 31.20" S and 150° 48' 32.40" E
GPS Coordinates: Lattitude -34.442 and Longitude 150.809

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Summary

On 31 July 1902, an explosion at Mount Kembla Coal Mine took the lives of 96 workers, when a large section of the unsupported roof in a goaf collapsed with considerable force, pushing air and methane gas into the main tunnel. The rush of air and gas stirred up the coal dust clinging to the roof and walls of the mine. The coal dust made contact with an exposed flame light. The gas ignited and, combined with the now airborne coal dust, set off the initial explosion that blew down the main tunnel with such force that it destroyed everything in its path. This initial explosion set off a series of explosions throughout the mine, giving the miners no warning and no chance to escape. The explosion produced odourless carbon monoxide gas that filled the tunnels, accounting for more loss of life than the explosion itself.^[1]

At the time of the explosion, 261 men were in the mine. By the final count, 96 miners – some as young as 14, had been killed, including two rescuers who succumbed to the gas during their attempt to rescue mine workers. A Royal Commission stated that only the substitution of safety lamps for flame lights could have saved the lives of the 96 victims.^[1]

Table 1: The Victims - Age, Marital Status, Occupation and Burial
(Underscored names have profiles; boldfaced names are connected to the Big Tree. )

The Victims	Age	Marital Status	Occupation	Place of Burial
Henry Aitken	23	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
John Aitken	47	Widow and 8 children	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Prosper James Annesley	32	Single	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Richard Bellis	62	Married	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Thomas Sylvester Best	48	Married, father of 7	Miner	Old Bowenfel Cemetery
Alfred William Blackett	22	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Robert George Blackett	24	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
William Brasher	55	Married, Father of 3	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
William Varcoe Bray	38	Married, Father of 8	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Presbyterian Section
Michael James Brennan	19	Single	Wheeler	Body not recovered
John Bryson	53	No next of kin	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Arthur Carter	28	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Charles Church	67	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
George Henry Dixon	22	Married, father of one	Wheeler	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
William Doherty	29	Single	Miner	Albion Park Catholic Cemetery
Francis Dungey	46	Married, father of 7	Day Deputy	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Frederick Dunning	19	Single	Wheeler	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Thomas Reed Dunning	45	Married, father of 3	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Joseph Dunning	24	Single	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Denis Egan	20	Single	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
Edward Egan	19	Single	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
Michael Egan	29	Single	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Thomas Egan	32	Single	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
William Filby	49	Widower, father of 7	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
J Daniel Gallagher	50	Widower, no family	No details known	Body not found - uncertainty about if he was actually involved in the disaster
Edward Gallagher	38	Married, Father of 4	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
Michael Gallagher	45	Single	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
Edward Gill	28	Single	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
Stephen Gleeson	33	Married, father of 5	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
George Oliver Hartley	22	Single	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
James Head	32	Widowed, father of 1	Miner	West Dapto Catholic Cemetery
Daniel Healey	32	Single	Miner	West Dapto Catholic Cemetery
Alfred Hewlett	28	Single	Shiftman	Windy Gully Cemetery
William Hewlett	21	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Jehu (Hitchens) Hitchins	60	Married, father of 2	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Thomas Howell	36	Separated, 1 child	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Thomas Hughes	35	Married, father of 1	Fitter	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Reynold Hume	27	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Percy Alexander Hunt	42	Married, father of 7	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Percy Spencer Hunt	18	Single	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
William Hunt	18	Single	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Henry Robert James	33	Married, Father of 4	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Presbyterian Section
John Henry James	32	Married, Father of 3	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
John Jeffrey	47	Married, Father of 3	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Robert Jones	21	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Thomas Kindred	69	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Richard Charles Lane	17	Single	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Richard Lane	44	Married, Father of 3	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Henry Osborne MacCabe	45	Married, Father of 2	Mining Engineer*	Wollongong General Cemetery, Anglican Section
Patrick McCann	33	Married, Father of 3	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
James McDill	47	Married	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Hugh McLister	24	Single	Wheeler	Windy Gully Cemetery
James McLister	22	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
William McMurray	47	Single	Night Deputy*	Windy Gully Cemetery
Henry Meurant	20	Single	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
William Meurant	22	Married, Father of 1	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
George Morris	34	Single	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Alexander McMurray Morrison	15	Single	Clipper	Windy Gully Cemetery
Henry Morrison (1885-1902)	17	Single	Clipper	Windy Gully Cemetery
Thomas P Morriss	26	Single	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
Walter Joseph Morriss	52	Married, 8 Children	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
John Muir	18	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Peter Muir	41	Married	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
John Murphy	49	Married	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
John George Nees	34	Married, 6 Children	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Jacob Alexander Nelson	15	Single	Engine Shed	Windy Gully Cemetery
William Nelson	39	Married, 5 children	Engine Shed	Windy Gully Cemetery
William Nixon	21	Single	Wheeler	Helensburgh General Cemetery
Matthew Peace	38	Married, father of 1	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
William John Price	26	Father of 2	Wheeler	Windy Gully Cemetery
James Purcell Sr	64	Married	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
James Purcell Jr	38	Married, Father of 3	Shiftman	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
John Purcell	33	Married, Father of 3	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
Patrick Francis Purcell	45	Married, Father of 7	Engine Driver	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
Thomas Purcell	39	Married, Father of 6	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
Henry Rich	67	Married	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
James Henry Rich	37	Married, 6 Children	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Edward Robson	63	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
George Russell	20	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
John Ryan	33	Married, 2 Children	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
Daniel Scott	39	Married, 7 children	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
William Silcock	14	Single	Clipper	Windy Gully Cemetery
Albert Skilling	15	Single	Clipper	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Frederick Smith	14	Single	Clipper	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla (nephew of George Morris)
Claude Ramsay Stafford	17	Single	Clipper	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
David Kembla Stafford	17	Single	Wheeler	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
William Stafford	25	Single	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Francis Stewart	38	Single	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Catholic Section
Richard Thomas	26	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Thomas Edward Tost	30	Single	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
John Walker	16	Single	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Richard Walker	43	Married, father of 6	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
William T Walker	18	Single	Clipper	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla
Joseph Wilkinson	26	Engaged	Miner	Windy Gully Cemetery
Charles (William) Woodroof	33	Married, died on 08/09/02	Miner	Wollongong General Cemetery, Presbyterian Section
George Youngman	37	Married, father of 3	Miner	Soldier's and Miner's Memorial Church Mt Kembla

• Died during the rescue operation.

Research Notes

Table 1 above combines the two separate working tables formerly included on the Free Space page in a format consistent with other Australian Mining Disasters.Sarlin-3 03:02, 19 January 2024 (UTC)

{{Mining Disasters|text=died in the [[Space:Mt._Kembla_Mine_Disaster_1902|Mt Kembla Mine Disaster]]|date= 31 July 1902}}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} “1902 Mount Kembla Coal Mine Explosion Case Study”, NSW Government, Resources Regulator, Safety, Safety events and education programs, Learning from disasters, Learning from disasters timeline.

• Safety in Mines Testing and Research Station, link
• Illawarra Mercury, link
• Kembla Jottings, link
• Mount Kembla Wikipedia