© ATOM 2012 A STUDY GUIDE BY MARGUERITE O’HARA
http://www.metromagazine.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-74295-159-1 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au ‘We knew one thing … we were in it together’
Day 21: Brant Webb (Shane Jacobson) and Todd Russell (Lachy Hulme) write a note to their families.
Introduction
On Anzac Day 2006, Todd Russell and Brant Webb, along with fellow miner Larry Knight, were trapped deep inside the Beaconsfield gold mine in Tasmania. Todd and Brant were enclosed nearly 1000 metres underground, caged in a space so small they could neither sit up straight nor fully lie down. It was five days before they were found to be alive. Most Australians know that Todd Russell and Brant Webb survived a horrifying mine collapse that killed their colleague Larry Knight. However, they don’t know much more than that. Beaconsfield tells the whole story. After the discovery that Todd and Brant had survived the mine collapse the search became a rescue mission. Working in conditions that could see another cave-in at any moment, colleagues worked tirelessly to get them out alive. It was an event Australia and the world watched unfolding with bated breath. As every news outlet in the country scrambled to cover the story, the frantic work of the rescuers continued. SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 Beaconsfield recounts the story of these two very different men who were trapped together for fifteen days while their wives, families and friends waited anxiously above ground, hoping and praying for good news. It tells how Matthew Gill, Pat Ball and their teams rescued Todd Russell and Brant Webb. But most of all, it is the story of how two men, who had nothing in common, kept their heads together and their hope alive for fifteen days and nights.
2 Curriculum Relevance Contents between two very different men. They really were the odd couple. Nothing Beaconsfield would be an excellent in common, men who wouldn’t be film to show to students at second- friends in other circumstances, yet for ary and tertiary levels in English, Film 15 days they only had each other and and Media Studies, Australian History PART A they needed each other to survive. and Society (SOSE/HSIE), Geography, Beaconsfield, Environmental Studies, Values the film Lachy Hulme, the actor who plays Education and related subjects. Todd Russell in the film, explains how it felt to be in the cage, the perspec- This is a survival story of triumph tive it gave about what the two men against the odds, of what happened in Questions in this guide went through. He says: a small country town when the people are designed to encourage were confronted with a disaster and a close focus on the film – No-one, except Todd and Brant, can came under the spotlight of mass what happened and how the ever understand what it was like to be media coverage. filmmakers tell the story. trapped in that mine. Even being in that space isn’t the same. However, Telling stories of our history in an en- being packed into the cage really gaging and exciting way is an impor- brought home a bit more of an idea tant challenge for historians, authors PART B about what these very real people had and filmmakers alike. Dramatising true Background to deal with. stories from recent history is especially information challenging and requires sensitivity Shane Jacobson, the actor who plays and skill from the filmmakers, particu- Brant Webb, acknowledges how larly when most of the central figures truly awful it would have been to be in the story are still alive. As 2006 is trapped in such a small dark space for Materials and questions provide very recent history, many viewers are such a long time in this way. background material. This likely to have their own sense of what includes a map of Tasmania happened at Beaconsfield. They can You can say that being in that cage is showing Beaconsfield, probably still recall the news cover- like it was for Brant and Todd down background information age and have their own images of the that mine, but really it wasn’t. We about the town and its history, people involved. could get out whenever we wanted; information about underground if we needed food or air or to go to mining methods and graphics The challenges the toilet we got out. Brant and Todd of the cage site and a glossary of didn’t have that. mining terms used in the film. Beaconsfield is a dramatisation of There is also information about what happened in a small northern These observations suggest some the global mining industry and Tasmanian town in 2006. The mine col- of the challenges for the filmmakers, mining accidents. Teachers may lapse and rescue of the two men was to make ‘darkness visible’, to allow choose to use this material either widely covered by the media over the viewers to feel something of the fear before or after students have 15 days from April 25th to May 9th when and uncertainty for the trapped men, responded to the material in the two survivors of the rock fall were their families and friends and the mine Part A. brought to the surface. Given that most rescuers. viewers of this film will know the es- sential facts of the rescue, how could The film tells the story of how this filmmakers create a suspenseful drama Judi McCrossin, the writer of the script extraordinary rescue happened. It of what happened, how and why? outlines some of the aspects of the is a story about the horror of being story she wanted to explore in the film. entombed alive, of fear, risk, courage, Despite the blanket media coverage, hope, faith and survival, of a rescue there were many important aspects What was the plan? Why did it take that was carefully conducted at every of this event that were not able to so long? How did Todd and Brant stage to get the men out alive. be shown on our television screens, support each other emotionally for 15 principally what it was like for the men days, let alone survive physically? Locations SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 trapped underground in a small cage for 15 days and nights waiting to be Writing Beaconsfield gave me a Beaconsfield was filmed on loca- rescued. We were also not privy to the chance to have my questions an- tion in Beaconsfield, Tasmania and in details and planning of the rescue and swered. As I wrote draft after draft, I Melbourne and Mansfield, Victoria. how this difficult and delicate opera- discovered that what I was writing was tion proceeded. a screenplay about the relationship
3 PART A Beaconsfield, the film PRINCIPAL CAST
The Miners
BRANT WEBB Shane Jacobson
TODD RUSSELL Lachy Hulme
LARRY KNIGHT Simon Lyndon
Family Members
RACHEL WEBB Sacha Horler
CAROLYN Michala Banas RUSSELL
LAUREN Tessa James KIELMANN (Knight’s 19 year- old daughter)
The Mine Workers
MATTHEW GILL: Cameron Daddo mine manager
GAVAN Syd Brisbane CHEESMAN (Cheesy): shift boss on the night of the rock fall
PAT BALL: Anthony Hayes underground manager
TONI GRIFFITHS: Fiona Harris human resources manager
DANIEL Richard Davies PISCIONERI: miner
Day 17: Pat Ball (Anthony Hayes) and Cheesy (Syd Brisbane) search for the trapped miners DARREN GEARD: Eddie Baroo miner
BRETT Angus Sampson STUDENT ACTIVITY 1 A. BEACONSFIELD CRESWELL (Cress): miner
As you watch Beaconsfield, There is a very sombre mood around MIKE LESTER: Christopher take notes about what you see the community today and … it’s going mine media Bunworth and hear before responding as to take a lot of resilience on behalf liaison a class group to the questions of all members of the community to overcome this disaster. Local man in REX JOHNSON: Oscar Redding about what we are shown in family liaison Beaconsfield the film. You might choose to The Media
work in small groups, focussing • What do we learn about Brant SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 on one of these aspects of Webb and Todd Russell in the HOWARD SACRE: Stephen Hall the story as told in the film. opening scenes of the film as the producer, 60 Later, you could share your credits appear on screen? Minutes responses. • Describe the town of Beaconsfield RICHARD Steve Vizard as it is shown in the film. CARLETON: • In what season is Anzac Day in reporter, 60 Australia? What is the weather Minutes 4 1: Day 23: Carolyn Russell (Michala Banas) and Lauren Kielmann (Tessa James) 2: Day 10: Brant (Shane Jacobson) tries to tunnel out of the mine 3: Day 10: Brant Webb (Shane Jacobson) and Todd Russell (Lachy Hulme)
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in this part of Northern Tasmania usually like at this time of the year? • How is the gold mine shown to be a central feature of the landscape and of the town? • What are some of the practical assistance and contributions the locals are able to make to the rescue effort? • Where would members of the media have stayed during the two weeks some remained in Beaconsfield?
B. FAMILIES 3
They’re not going to need it [Brant’s clothes from his locker] later on be- • How are the children of the miners Can I have a minute’s break from your cause there is no later on, because my presented in the film? whinging fuckin’ voice? Todd husband’s alive. Rachel Webb • What are Brant and Todd able to share about their families • The cage in which Todd and Brant They [reporters] can talk to the dog as during those days and nights are trapped by the rock fall was long as they like. Carolyn Russell underground? 1.2 X 1.2 metres, like a dog kennel. • How is the tragedy for the Knight Describe how the film shows some • What would have been the worst family presented? of the physical difficulties for two fears of the miners’ families during men in such a small space. those five days before it was de- C. BRANT AND TODD’S • Chalk out a 1.2 X 1.2 metre area termined that two of the three men SPACE on the floor under a table in your had survived the rock fall? classroom. Cover it with a drape.
• How is the down to earth stoicism I’ve been on the rescue team for five Settle into it with another person SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 and even optimism of Carolyn years. I know how it works, mate. Hey? and see how long you can com- Russell and Rachel Webb shown They’re going to get us out. Okay? fortably stay there. Is it dark, hot, as the rescue efforts continue? Todd to Brant cold, damp, quiet or noisy? • What would have been the major • What were some of the injuries the concern of the families as the days I’m stuck here with the laziest prick in men suffered during the rock fall? dragged on after the two men had Australia… Brant • What essentials did they have to been found alive? keep them alive until the rescuers 5 TABLE 1 EXAMPLE – OPENING SCENES AS CREDITS APPEAR ON SCREEN
What do we see? What do we hear – dialogue, How does this scene or sequence music, sounds? advance the story?
Night at the mine. Miners exiting and placing tags on Establishing setting hooks
Showering after shift Banter between miners Establishing relationships and mateship culture
Todd Russell trying to sleep in early morning. Son Brief conversation between family Family connections. Shift work Liam wants him to play members
Todd out shooting with his father in bush Gruff conversation Showing family
Brant and Rachel at home cooking with friends Brant telling jokes Family at home
Brant and Rachel in spa Laughter Marriage
Setting up for Anzac Day ceremonies in Beaconsfield The day the collapse occurred
Anzac Day march Band music Beaconsfield community – life goes on
Todd at home with son talking footy. Todd asks about Family affection Prefiguring a later scene in cage his bracelet
TABLE 1 – SCENES
What do we see? What do we hear – dialogue, How does this scene or sequence music, sounds? advance the story? SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
6 were able to pass food, drink and other things down the tube to them? • List some of the other things that are sent down the tube to the min- ers as they wait to be rescued? • What would be some of the most difficult psychological aspects of being entombed in a small dark space with one other person? • What are some of the things the trapped men talk about during their time underground? • Describe their different tastes in music. • How does a sense of humour allied with a stoic temperament help the two men get through the long days Above: Day 4: Matthew Gill (Cameron Daddo) speaks to the media 2: Day 19: The rescue team including Matthew Gill (Cameron Daddo) and Pat Ball (Anthony Hayes) discuss their strategy and nights waiting for rescue?
• How does the film present the men as temperamentally different but emotional stories? equally committed to sticking it • Do any of the townspeople dem- out? What are some of the main onstrate a desire to be media stars memories that keep them going? as the drama unfolds? How are • Describe the qualities of each man. they shown to be concerned to How do their differences provide protect the families at this time? both mutual support and mutual • How do the conversations of the irritation? 60 Minutes producer and reporter • How do the two men assert some illustrate the difficulties the media control over their rescue in the final 2 may create in a situation such as stages? this one? • How does Carleton ‘find a story’ to D. THE RESCUE Cress’ proposal to cut through the put to air? Has the assertion from mesh to reach the men? the old miners about over mining Are there any safe spaces down there • How does the film show the ten- been corroborated? … any cuddys they could have taken sions amongst the miners, the refuge in if they had some warning? mine management and the rescue F. LIGHTING, COSTUMING, Matthew Gill – Mine Manager workers? PRODUCTION DESIGN AND • What does the film evealr about SOUNDTRACK Safety is paramount. We cannot skills, care, experience, patience rush this; we cannot risk more lives. and consensus as the main factors Comment on the following important Matthew Gill that will result in a rescue? elements in this film: • What do you think has been learnt • Once the rescuers were able to from the complex way in which this • Lighting, both above and below establish that two of the miners rescue was conducted? ground. were alive, what were the dangers As natural light is not something and challenges confronting the E. THE MEDIA that is part of an underground rescuers? What were the stages mine, how do the filmmakers man- they needed to follow to bring the If the mine is doing something dodgy, age to make the scenes filmed un- men out alive? someone will talk about it. We just derground seem quite naturalistic? • After two of the miners are found have to work out how to get them to • The costuming and how an au- to be alive, what becomes the talk. Richard Carleton – journalist thentic look was achieved
guiding principle of the rescue • How the look of the different SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 effort? • Why is waiting for something to settings from underground mine • What are the physical conse- happen such a difficult situation for scenes to office areas and family quences and the psychological journalists to find themselves in? homes contributes to the sense of boost provided by the packet of • What do we learn about Carolyn authenticity teddy bear biscuits Cress pushes Russell as she manages both her • How music and sounds are used in down to the trapped men? family (including the dog) and the film to create different moods • What is the dangerous flaw in the media desire for action and - I.e. what is the song Todd and 7 1: Day 17: Pat Ball (Anthony Hayes) and Cheesy (Syd Brisbane) search for the trapped miners 2: Day 24: The Beaconsfield Mine at night 3: Day 22 : Rex Johnson (Oscar Redding) breaks the news of the rock fall to Rachel Webb (Sacha Horler)
KEY CREW 1 John PRODUCER Edwards Edwards recently produced Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo. 2
Jane PRODUCER Liscombe Liscombe worked on Glendyn Ivin’s debut feature film into the film. These include shots of Last Ride. Beaconsfield town, the miners at home with their families, the mine site and Glendyn DIRECTOR Directed rescue efforts, reconstructed scenes of Ivin Last Ride and recently the miners in the cage, scenes of the the second season of the television series media activity and how the rescue was Offspring. planned over the 15 days. Actual tel- 3 evision footage from 2006 (documen- Judi WRITER McCrossin was tary news sequences) showing some McCrossin principal writer on the of the activity filmed as the rescue award-winning series Brant sing at one point while unfolded is sometimes hard to pick The Secret Life Of Us. waiting for rescue? as ‘real’ or re-staged as some of it is - What emotional impact does Toby DIRECTOR OF shown with a grainy overlay to suggest the song Midday Sun have Oliver PHOTOGRAPHY Oliver it is from television footage. Indeed when Carolyn Russell is com- has won several we do see real figures from the time, ing to terms with the discovery cinematography awards. including Bill Shorten, now Federal His feature films that two men are alive and one include Beneath Hill Government Minister for Employment has died? 60, Last Train to Freo, and Workplace Relations and in 2006 - How is the final songNeeded The Combination and National Secretary of the Australian Time appropriate at the end of Looking for Alibrandi. Workers Union (AWU), the union rep- the film? resenting miners. Using Table 1, select - List some of the various sounds Jon Rhode PRODUCTION a two- or three-minute sequence from DESIGNER Rohde’s we hear during the film, from credits include art the film and list the scenes and sounds musical background to fall- direction for the Sydney in the order they appear on screen. In ing rocks, strategically placed Olympics as well as column 3 indicate why you think each songs, running water, blasting production design for was included in the film. and drilling, echoing voices and several telemovies, including Heroes rumbling in the tunnels. Mountain, The Postcard As an example, here are some of the Bandit and Murder in scenes shown in the opening minutes STUDENT ACTIVITY 2 the Outback. of the film which establish the mine, the town and the two families’ do-
Fiona COSTUME DESIGNER mestic worlds. Your selected section SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 Crombie Crombie has worked may include quite different scenes and Watching and listening – with most major close viewing Australian theatre sounds. companies as well In constructing this narrative, the as on short films and The Film Crew filmmakers incorporate a number of features, most recently Snowtown and Dead different scenes, both dramatised and As the final credits show, there were Europe. what looks to be 2006 media footage, an enormous number of people 8 2
1: Day 23: Todd Russell and Brant Webb walk free after being rescued from the mine 2: Day 17: Shane Jacobson as Brant Webb 3: Day 17: Lachy Hulme as Todd Russell 4: Day 24: Todd Russell (Lachy Hulme) is 1 attended by paramedics after being rescued
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working in different capacities on this 4 film shoot. The chart on this page identifies just a few of the key people. Here is part of his statement about shoot. This involves finding a balance Challenges for the film crew how he did this. between recreating the truth of what happened and using artistic licence to One of the major challenges for the The design requirements on tell the story. crew was to recreate what was hap- Beaconsfield were challenging due to pening deep underground as Todd the huge scale of the drama, the scope I worked with Glendyn Ivin (director) and Brant waited, first for contact and of the sets, and the level of scripted and Toby Oliver (director of photog- then for rescue. For obvious reasons action that had to be achieved within raphy) on the look and how we would this was unseen at the time and could the scheduled shooting time … achieve this, based on the scale only be imagined by viewers follow- and complexities of what the script ing the television coverage from the There was media saturation of what required, sometimes in the most low- town in 2006. What was it really like was going on above ground at the tech way possible … down there? is a question only Todd time of the rescue but the public didn’t and Brant can fully answer. It was always have a clear idea of what was Beaconsfield was not your everyday SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 the filmmakers’ task to recreate this actually happening below the surface. I design job. It required reconnais- experience. saw my role as recreating the environ- sance of the actual mine; descend- ments that you didn’t see during the ing more than 925m underground to Jon Rhode was the Production rescue. I also had to support the narra- research the look and feel of a working Designer on the film, responsible for tive requirements of the script as well gold mine. The design process itself getting ‘the look’ right. as the logistical requirements of the needed to be organic in form and
9 nature due to a compressed sched- responsibility he felt in playing a real Michala Banas, who plays Carolyn ule and finding a mine location that person. Russell, talks about the time she spent would allow us to film. The sets had with Carolyn ‘to tell the right story … to be engineered to allow for camera I’ve had the honour of getting to know as it is important that we pay tribute to movements and to incorporate special Todd Russell and his wife Carolyn all those affected by the disaster’. effects. It was extremely challenging quite well and that adds an extra ele- for the crew to film in an actual mine. ment. They’ve opened up their home • How did you respond to the Because of this, many of the scenes to me and Michala Banas and we’ve scenes of Todd and Brant in the had to be split between the mine loca- become great mates. I owe them a cage, often shot in darkness with a tion and the studio set. This meant the great deal of respect. I’ve given Todd tiny amount of light? How effec- sets had to be a pretty good match for my word that I won’t let him down, and tively were these claustrophobic the real mine. you can be sure that Todd will hold me conditions conveyed on screen to that. through camerawork, lighting and The scope of the sets varied from the sound effects? small cage and associated tunnels to Shane Jacobson, who played Brant • Did the fear, despair, joking, the main 925m tunnel, as well as do- Webb, agrees that it is a huge respon- squabbling, faith and essential mestic interiors and the actual mine in sibility playing a living person. optimism come across as both Tasmania. Visually the sets had to feel convincing and revealing of how cramped and claustrophobic … … especially with a story like this, very different these men are? you want to tell it right and you want • In what sense is the film a fitting It was important to get the cast ac- to do it justice. To be asked to tell a tribute to the three miners and customed to the confined space, while story that is part of Australian history, a their families, the rescuers and the making it look dangerous yet comfort- headline event, is very special. people of Beaconsfield? able to work in. During pre-production • Why is it important for stories such we had the size of the cage marked up We’ve spent a week together and I’ve as this one to be told while many on the floor and asked the actors to gotten to know him and got a good of the main figures in the drama lie down inside the perimeter. We then understanding of the type of guy he are alive? put tables over them so they would is. We’re similar, Brant and I. Playing a • How is it that stories where we understand the height restrictions fun-loving guy hasn’t been too much know the basic facts (what hap- inside. of a stretch for me. pened) can still move us emotion- ally when they are re-told on film? So, how do the actors prepare for their Cameron Daddo, who plays mine Name three other films where the roles playing the two men at the heart manager Matthew Gill, says that facts of the story are known but of this story? working in the darkness of a mine has the characterisation and interpreta- given him ‘a new-found respect for the tion still move and surprise. Lachy Hume, who played Todd men and women that work in mines. It Russell, explains the sense of takes a lot of guts to stay down there.’
FINAL ON-SCREEN TEXTS
Brant Webb and his wife Rachel still live at Beauty Point near Beaconsfield.
Brant currently works as a manager at the local hardware store. He has never been down the mine again.
Todd Russell now works selling explosives in the mining industry. He still lives in Beaconsfield with Carolyn and his three children.
A week after the rescue, Todd took his father down the mine to show him where he was trapped.
A government investigation determined the 2006 rock falls occurred as a result of an unexpected seismic event induced by mining activities.
In 2009 the Tasmanian Coroner concluded that the Beaconsfield mine could not have predicted the Anzac Day rock SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 fall, nor could it be held responsible for the death of Larry Knight.
Over 280 people participated in the rescue.
‘They put their lives on the line to save me and Brant. That’s something we’ll never forget.’ – Todd Russell
‘There’s no bigger gift than the one they gave us, reuniting us with our families. Thank you.’ – Brant Webb
10 PART B Background information
1. GLOSSARY
Many industries and workplaces have their own distinctive language and terms, some of which may be unfamiliar to outsiders. Mining is no different. Here are some of the words and expressions used in the film.
CRIB ROOM: Room on mine site where miners eat ADIT: A passageway or opening driven horizontally into the side of a hill generally for the pur- pose of exploring or otherwise opening a mineral deposit. An adit is open to the atmosphere at one end, a tunnel at both ends. STOPE: Tunnel coming off the slope or shaft to give access to the ore being mined. TELEHANDLER OR TELELOAD- ER: A vehicle with a telescopi- cally extensible boom, which http://www.tchange.com.au/regions/tamar_valley.html can be fitted with various lifting or manipulative devices such as pallet forks or grab mechanism. This is the vehicle we see Larry 2. MAP OF WEST TAMAR At the peak of the gold rush 700 men Knight operating in the film. REGION IN NORTHERN were employed in the gold mine and Webb and Russell were trapped TASMANIA SHOWING 26 tonne of gold was recovered. in part of the vehicle in which THE LOCATION OF they had been working at the BEACONSFIELD An early settler at the time, Mr time of the collapse. They were Campbell wrote that, ‘the blacks were in a basket at the end of the Launceston is the biggest city in here in those days … On each side telehandler’s arm, where they Northern Tasmania. Beaconsfield was nothing but thick tea tree scrub had been applying steel mesh is about 40 kilometres NW of and snakes … When the rush for gold to a barricade prior to backfill- Launceston near the Tamar River. was discovered there was only two ing a stope shops, drapery and grocery but soon TAGS: As each miner leaves the Brief history of gold the little township swarmed with peo- mine they place their identity mining at Beaconsfield ple. More shops, hotels, dance halls tag on a board to indicate their and hall were built for plays to come safe exit from the mine Gold was first discovered in to the town which they did in plenty. A SEISMIC: Waves of energy that Beaconsfield in 1847, then called There came circuses and the children travel through the earth and Brandy Creek. When the gold rush hit got excited and followed to see the are the result of an earthquake, Victoria and New South Wales in 1851, horses and elephants going through an explosion or a volcano the Tasmanian Government offered a the town to get somewhere to camp
that emits low-level frequency reward for the discovery of a payable and build their tents. Those entertain- SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 acoustic energy goldfield. In 1877 the cap of a pay- ments came very often because there CUDDY: Refuge spaces able gold reef was discovered on the was plenty of money about.’ underground eastern slope of Cabbage Tree Hill by BOGGER: Loaders used for brothers William and David Dally (near The town began its early life as transporting ore and rocks in the current Beaconsfield mine site). ‘Brandy Creek’ because of the col- underground mining This became known as ‘The Fabulous our of the water in the creek where Tasmanian Reef.’ the gold was originally discovered. 11 a) Simplified diagram of the Beaconsfield mine b) Graphic showing area where the miners were trapped by the rock (Source: http://www.news.com.au) fall (Fig.3b. Source: ABC TV News)
The growing civic consciousness of gold. In 1982, The Grubb Shaft Gold after the inquiries concluded, but in found voice in the demand for a new & Heritage Museum was established 2011 the mine management decided name for the town and in March (now called The Beaconsfield Mine to close the mine as the price of gold 1879 Brandy Creek was renamed & Heritage Centre (http://www. made the mine uneconomic. It is ex- Beaconsfield, after Lord Beaconsfield, beaconsfieldheritage.com.au) with pected to close in June, 2012. (See the (Benjamin Disraeli), then–Prime displays relating to the former gold news report in this guide on page 13.) Minister of the United Kingdom. mining era and a recreation of the 2006 rescue. 3. DIAGRAMS OF MINE In 1903 an English company bought The Tasmanian Gold Mining and During the 1970s exploration drilling On this page are some of the graphics Quartz Crushing Company and formed confirmed that the reef continued at used by news organisations in 2006 to The Tasmanian Gold Mining Company least another 200 metres below the present the situation in visual terms. Ltd. As water had become such a old workings. By 1991 the old Hart huge problem at Beaconsfield, a Shaft collar had been re-established For a number of more complex graph- substantial injection of capital was and water pumped out to 160 metres ics of how the rescue took place see: required to purchase and operate deep. The project was suspended
53 companies working the field. These each year, making mining one of the SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 were all absorbed by the owners of In the financial year 2004/05, 240,685 world’s most dangerous jobs. Many the Tasmania mine. The gold mine tonnes of ore was produced from which of the worst mining accidents occur in closed in 1914 due to regular flooding 3890 kilograms of gold was extracted. China. Below is a list of recent survival of the shafts but re-opened in 1999 stories after workers were trapped with mixed success. Until 1914, the In 2006, after the rock fall that killed underground. mine was worked to a depth of 450 Larry Knight, the mine suspended metres and produced 800,000 ounces operations. It re-opened in April 2007, 12 Jobs to be lost with Beaconsfield closure December 01, 2011 11:17:35 nine days after a thunderstorm flooded a mine in Western Tasmania’s Beaconsfield gold mine nearby Lefroy. Australia. Herbert Hoover, later to is facing closure more than five Community shock become United States president, years after it became the scene of Rock fall survivor Brant Webb says was a mining engineer nearby and one of the country’s most dramatic the closure will have an emotional was involved in the rescue. rescues. and financial impact. The owner, BCD Resources, has • In 1963, David Fellin and Henry ‘Todd and I are really, we’re announced it expects mining to wind Throne survived fourteen days tied to that mine. It’s got lasting up by June, with the loss of up to trapped in the Sheppton Mine in scars that will last forever and it’s 150 full-time jobs. Pennsylvania following a cave-in. got good times. We’ve got a lot of It blames the low gold price • Nine miners were rescued after great friends from that mine so it’s and says it is not profitable to mine being trapped in a limestone mine going to be a real impact when those below the current depth. near Champagnole in France for people leave. It’s definitely going to CEO Peter Thompson says the eight days in 1964. impact the community greatly. There decision will only be reversed if • In July 2009, three men were res- are a lot of people who rely on the there is a dramatic rise in the price cued from the Xinqiao Coal Mine in mine; there’s mechanical workshops, of gold. Qinglong County, China after being there are people who are indirectly ‘The reason the mine is closing trapped in the flooded mine for 25 employed by the mine. They are the is that it’s an economic decision, we days.1 ones who will be really touched in are down mining at a depth of 1210 this event.’ metres below surface and the ore is West Tamar Mayor Barry Easther While mining safety standards in most of diminishing quality below us and says the news came as a shock and countries have improved over the past it’s not feasible to continue below the council had hoped the mine 50 years, mining remains a danger- that depth.’ would have a longer lifespan. ous industry in which to work. This ‘We’ve mentioned an expected ‘It is a blow; it’s been really should be apparent from what we see closure date of June 2012 but we great to have that old historic mine in Beaconsfield where unpredictable will be closely monitoring the gold reopen and working satisfactorily seismic activity can trigger rock falls. price in the interim and should for a number of years now. The However well run the mine, how- the gold price increase there’s the fact that it will be closed and most ever stringent the safety regulations, opportunity of extending mine life,’ likely decommissioned is a sad day the nature of the work is inherently he said. because it is part of the heritage and dangerous. Last year, Beaconsfield was the history of the Tamar Valley’. facing closure until it secured an Local publican Chris Rundle says • List some of the dangers in any $8 million loan from investor, it will be a financial blow for the form of underground mining. Minemakers, and another $6 million town. • How have machines made deeper from new investors. ‘It’d be pretty devastating I BCD Resources shed 85 jobs in mining possible and even less reckon for me personally, as a September last year and recorded hazardous for workers? local business and for surrounding a $20 million net loss this financial • Why do people choose to go down businesses as well’. year. mines and work underground or in The Premier Lara Giddings says A rock fall on Anzac Day in open-cut pits? the government will work closely 2006 killed miner Larry Knight but • Look at a Mining Jobs site online with unions and Beaconsfield mine two others, Brant Webb and Todd and check what jobs are offered, workers. Russell, were rescued after two where they are located and what ‘We must now galvanise our teams weeks trapped underground. they pay. together to work with those workers The company says it will evaluate • Is it possible to adequately com- so that we can assist them in this other processing and mining options, pensate people for working in re- time of difficulty for them.’2 including an open pit gold mine at mote and often dangerous places? Closing the Beaconsfield • Brant Webb and Todd Russell Mine Famous escapes walked out of the Beaconsfield Mine in Tasmania on May 9, 2006, Read the transcript of an ABC news
• Chilean rescuers brought 33 after spending two weeks trapped story concerning the planned closure SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 trapped miners to the surface nearly a kilometre below the of the Beaconsfield goldmine. one-by-one in a rescue capsule on surface. Mr Webb and Mr Russell October 13, 2010. The miners had were found alive using a remote- • What does this article suggest spent a record 69 days under- controlled device five days after about the economic viability of ground. An estimated one billion the initial mine collapse. mining certain minerals such as people watched the rescue live on • In March 1907, gold miner gold? TV. Modesto Varischetti was rescued • What are the crucial economic, 13 1: Day 24: Todd Russell (Lachy Hulme) at the Beaconsfield Mine 2: Day 24: Todd (Lachy Hulme), Brant (Shane Jacobson) and the other miners begin their shift
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011 -11-30/20111130-beaconsfield -mine-to-close/3704554 Tasmanian newspaper report of bravery awards being presented to some of the rescuers at Beaconsfield http://www.examiner.com. au/news/local/news/general/ beaconsfield-mine-disaster -bravery-recognised/2265411.aspx An article about the use of media 1 graphics in telling a news story http://reconstruction.eserver. org/083/holmes.shtml and sometimes environmental, fac- Timeline of first five days of the tors that can affect the decision to disaster Book close a mine, or not start mining in http://www.smh.com.au/news/ an area? national/timeline-of Tony Wright with Brant Webb and • How do the local communities suf- -beaconsfield-mine-disaster/ Todd Russell, Bad Ground: Inside fer as a result of workplaces such 2006/04/30/1146335609775.html the Beaconsfield Mine Rescue, as a local mine closing? Todd Russell and Brant Webb talk Murdoch Books, 2007. This is an • Why is the mining industry in about their time underground in authorised retelling of the story by Western Austvralia enjoying such relation to a report about the 2010 journalist Tony Wright. boom financial times? Chile mining disaster and rescue http://www.guardian. Endnotes Further information, co.uk/world/2010/aug/26/ 1 http://www.abc.net.au/ references and surviving-being-buried-alive news/2010-11-20/factbox resources Encore story about the making of -mining-accidents-disasters-and Beaconsfield by reporter Colin -escapes/2344332 Web resources Delaney who spent time at the 2 http://www.abc.net.au/
Yarraville warehouse where some news/2011-11-30/20111130 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012 Information about the Beaconsfield of the film was shot. -beaconsfield-mine-to Mine and Heritage Centre which http://mumbrella.com.au/ -close/3704554 includes an interpretative experi- beaconsfield-telemovie-coming ence of the 2006 disaster and -up-for-air-71503 rescue 2011 newspaper report about the http://www.beaconsfieldheritage. decision to close the Beaconsfield com.au/ mine 14 Day 21: Brant Webb and Todd Russell write a note to their families
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