down the mine

Finally before returning home we went down the mine in Springhill. Here are some of the deepest coal works in the world. Three disasters hit, the last being a bump, an underground local earthquake, in 1958 in which 174 miners in No. 2 colliery were trapped. Of these 74 were killed and 100 eventually rescued. I can remember my family being glued to the radio at each hourly newscast. It took five and a half days before they reached the first survivors. We had a television then, and I vividly remember the scenes at the pit head. My parents were so caught up in it all. The grief and the relief are vivid memories. After this disaster the mine was closed. The works are flooded, but a small shaft is open to the public and retired miners are the guides. The picture of us with the dummy was taken by our miner guide. The flooded shafts are used for geothermal energy for the nearby industrial park. The children I trudged through the tunnel with our guide past the pipes pumping up the water. Of course the lights were turned off for a few seconds so we could experience absolute dark. It was an experience for the children, but they could not put their minds around conditions in which eleven year olds went down to work in the mines lying down in narrow tunnels picking and shovelling the coal. Also the extent of the 3 Springhill disasters was beyond their comprehension, but the experience in the mine was immediate and I am glad this excursion finished up our time together.