Coal Mining in Newcastle, 1801-1900
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COAL MINING IN NEWCASTLE, 1801-1900 by J.W. TURNER Newcastle History Monographs No.9 NEWCASTLE REGIO"\J PUBLIC LIBRARY THE COU;-.JCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWCASTLE. EW SOUTH WALES. AUSTRALIA 19B2 TURNER. John Wi lliam. 1933- Coal min mg m Newcastle. 1801 -1900. Newcastle. Newcastle Region Public Library. 1982. 179 pp .. illus .. maps, 23cm. (Newcastle history monographs. no.9) Ser ISBN 0 9599385 9 I Newcastle Region Public Library Coal mining - Newcastle Coal District Coal mines - Newcastle Coal District Australian Agri cultural Company The Author J W. Turner. M.A. Ph.D. Dip Ed .. 1s Senior Lecturer in the Department of Community Programmes. University of Newcastle. and is one of the editors of this series. He 1s the author of three earlier items m this series and various articles relating to the history o f Newcastle. In 1977 he submitted a Ph D thesis entitled Coalmining and Manufacturing in Newcastle. I 797 -1900, on which this and monograph no.8 are based ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When in 1962. I began the study that led eventually to this book. the University of Sydney was my employer and I will always be grateful for the opportunities it provided for historical research. However. from 1972 it was the support of the University of Newcastle that made possible the completion of the work. Professor A G. L. Shaw gave generous encouragement over the years ancl Professor R. A. Gollan's 'The Coa l miners of ew South Wales· contributed greatly to my understanding of the coal industry. Inspiration came. too. from Professor G. N . Blainey whose various business histories are a model for all. Associate Professor W. G McMinn gave guidance in research and wa s most helpful in the actual wnting of the manuscript. It WdS one thing however. to wnte a thesis but its transformauon into a book was another maner altogether and 1l was C E Smith. the Director of the Newcastle Region Public Library. who made that possible. My thanks go also to E. Fl owers. J. E. Murray and D. J. Rowe of the University of Newcastle Library and to many, many other libraries in Australia and the United Kingdom who responded so patiently to my queries over the years. Without access to the record s of the Australian Agricultural Company. now stored in the Archives of Bu siness and Labour at the Australian ational University, I doubt whether this work would have been possible and I am rnosc grateful for its support J . W. Turner CONTENTS Acknowledgements ...... ............. ........................ .. ....... 3 Contents. .. ......... ... ............... 5 Illustrations. maps. diagram ... .................. ................ .. .... 7 Tables. .. ... .. .. .. ... · · · · · · 8 Chapter I The ong1ns of coa l mining, 1797-1821 . .......... ...... 13 Chapter 2 Government and private monopoly in coal mining. 1822- 1847 ...... 23 Chapter J The development of competition in coal mining. 1848- 1866 .... .. 53 Chapter 4 Towards a regulated industry - the coal vend. 1867- 1880 . ........ 75 Chapter 5 Prosperity and depression. 1881-1900 . ............... 99 Chapter 6 Conclusion ....... ........................... .............. 129 Appendix The terms of the 1828 agreement between the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Austra lian Agricultural Company . ... ............................. ..... 133 Notes and references ...... ....................................... 135 Bibliography. ............................................. 165 l ndcx .... ......... .................. ........ .................. 17 1 ILLUSTRATIONS The great coal staiths of the Australian Agricultural Company. Newcastle, in 1833 ........ ....... ............................................. 34 James Brovv 11 •.•••••••••••••••••.•.••••••••••••••••••••.••.•••••••••••• 4 7 Alexander Brown ....................................................... 58 James Fletcher ............ ... ......................... ....... ....... 6 1 Newcastle Harbour, 1873 ................................................ 74 Edward Christopher Merewether .................................. ....... 77 Jesse Gregson . .............................. 91 Shipping coal at Newcastle. 1973 . ........................................ 97 J. and A. Brown's Minmi Colliery in 1885 .................................. 98 Soldiers at New Lambton during the 1888 coal miner"s general strike ......... I 02 Miners going home from work at a Lambton pit. 1900 ...................... t 16 The Scottish Australian Mining Company ·s· Pit at Lambton ................. 122 Burwood Colliery. c 1885 ............................................... 123 The Newcastle Coal Mining Company's 'A' Pit at Merewether. c l890 .............. 124 The Stockton Colliery in 1887 ........................................... 125 The A.A. Company's Sea Pit. ......................................... .. 126 Wa llsend Colliery. 1885 ............................. ... ............... ... .. 127 MAPS AND DIAGRAM Map I Early coal industry sites in the Newcastle District ...................... 9 Map 2 Port of Hunter's River surveyed by Lieut. Jefferies in 1816 ............. 10 Newcastle coal measures: vertical section ............. ... .................. I I Map J Plan showing the position of the collieries in the Newcastle District ..... 12 7 TABLES I . Coal raised at and shipped from Newcastl e. 1805- 1820 . 17 2. Convict population of Newcastle, 1804-1821 . 19 3. Output. Newcastle coal mines. 1822- 1831 . 25 4. New South Wales coal output, 1831- 1847 . 33 5. Coal exports from Sydney, 1839-1847 ................... .. .. ..... 36 6. Assignments to the A.A. Company's collieries. 1835- 1841 . 39 7. A.A Company colliery establishment, 1839-1847 ....... ................. 40 8. Output, Newcastle coal mines. 1848- 1866 ... ..... .... .... .. .. 54 9. Output. Newcastle coal mines. 1867- 1873 ............ ..... ........ ... 76 10. Allocations to members of the Vend. 1873. 86 11 . Output of Newcastle coal mines and the southern and western coalfields. 1872- 1879 . 86 12. Number of employees and productivity in Newcastle collieries. 1869, 1875 and 1879 . .... .... ................. .. .... 89 13. Output of Newcastle collieries. 1881 - 1900 . .... .. ........ .... .. .. .. .. .. 100 14. The interstate market for Newcastle coal. [18941 ......... .... ... .. .. I 09 15. Distribution of New South Wales coa l exports, 189 1- 1900 ...... ... ........ 11 0 8 ( / I f l I ~ /lfap I Ldrl'' coal met ustr\ snes m the '\l'\I( d~t l l' f) 1 ~ tn t1 9 P• rt of J.lv,.,t•r S IVvrr (or fftc C.• I A,,.,.) 1urvcy•d '1 Lt•"t C .l•llcnt1 C°'"m•nde.r of J.I /"f c a rt/ ·l<ant~roo "' M • rch Il l ~ £ ~t •n" n Jo" s 1..,,,.... 41. Jo· •' A"cJw"/«- ==~~~~,..;,~~~~=====-~ M~ l ow (\ ,-..... ..! J)I (\ (If'.,\ 1) ' ,~ i · ~ J I;•I I I ! ., tIi ( I l/ , I I ' ./ii ! I \I ,! ij) ~) y :1. ·.1~ m;,.: ~ I '--· ~..-...- .. ~ t Oo. • ~'~ ,.... \\.~! IJ ':.,~Jo C, O ~C "••• • OP L.:rl& st,,.u Map 2 Part of Hunter's Ri\er. or rhe Coal River. surveyed bv Lieut C Jeffenes Commander of H \1 G Brig Kangaroo. March. I 816 Redrawn by D Ba1rscow from a copy of the ongma/ m PRO London 10 w,..,~,.,., r.,rr 4',.~,. r~:":;·c:.. p~~~~::; .v,.'""' "'-"r A><,,, ~~' .s"_.. .,,. I ., I' 41(1' y,. ,. ~ • t.-.... , ' " r _,, ~·" -!'I' .... j}" ' ..... ~ NEWCASTLE COAL MEASURES After 1'/f•-Aenr,,. P B"IP Coa' Geclof/y S«v, n • 11 ,'.fop J Plan sho11 mg thl' pos1t1011 of rhe tolhC'ne\ at l\Orlo..anrl open mg Olli 111 tlw :'\('\1castle D1~tm t, n <I Government Prmcmg Office Sydner· 12 Chapter I THE ORIGINS OF COAL MINING, I797-1821 Coal for export News of further discoveries of coal twenty miles south and sixty five miles north of Sydney reached the British Government in I 798 not long before the convict rransport Hillsborough was to sail with 600 tons of coal for the Cape Colony and 300 convicts for the settlement in New South Wales. The cost of providing this coal for use on naval vessels and in the forges of the garrison at Capetown was heavy and the possibility of a cheaper source of supply caused the Duke of Portland to enthuse:, I have great pleasure in Leaming from your letter of 6th July. 1797. that strata of coal have been discovered in various places in the neighbourhood of Botany Bay I trust this circumstance will afford you constant means of employing a considerable number of the convicts in a manner equally advantageous to the settlement and to the interests of the community at large. As the exportation of coals from hence to the Cape of Good Hope is attended with a very heavy expence to the public. I cannot but thinh that a great saving may be made by sending them to the Cape from New South Wales in the Government vessels on that station. which are under your command. You will therefore dispatch the Buffalo and Porpoise, loaded with coals. to the Cape as soon as possible after the receipt of this letter. directing them to return with as large a supply of live stoch for the use of the settlement as they can conveniently stow. Concerned about the cost of supplying its colony in New South Wales. the British Government welcomed any development which would provide return cargoes and so lessen the cost of freight. So Portland wrote immediately to Henry Dundas, Secretary of Sta te for War, to make arrangements and directed Lieutenant Governor King to enquire into the needs of the Cape Colony while en route to New South Wales in Porpoise. Portland hoped that the first cargo of 600 tons of coal would arrive at the Cape by Chri stmas, 1799. thereby saving between £5,000 and £6.000, and it was his keen interest which led to the founding of a senlement at the mouth