South Waratah Colliery
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Kotara South at 32°57′25″S 151°41′39″E / 32.95694°S 151.69417°E |
| State | New South Wales |
| Country | Australia |
| Production | |
| Products | Coal |
| History | |
| Opened | 1873 |
| Closed | 1961 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Waratah Coal Company |
The South Waratah Colliery was a coal mine located at Kotara South, in New South Wales Australia.
The Waratah Coal Company sank its first shaft in 1873 to mine coal from the Victoria Tunnel Seam. A colliery branch line, known as the Gully Line or Raspberry Gully Line, was opened on 24 October 1876 and extended from the Scholey Street Junction to the Colliery for the transportation of the coal from the mine to coal loading facilities at the Port of Newcastle.
A town of grew from the influx of miners from the mine to the south and was named after Charles Smith, the manager of the Waratah Coal Company in the 1870's, and became known as Charlestown.
During a strike at the mine in 1888, eight houses were built in Charlestown for strike breakers. The houses became known as Scab Row. During a confrontation with strike breakers, Alfred Edden, president of the Waratah colliery lodge was arrested. He later became member for the electoral district of Kahibah in 1894.
The Borehole Seam was mined until 1906 and the Wave Hill Seam commenced in 1951. The colliery was closed in 1961 and demolished in 1969.
Lake Macquarie City Council has created a short heritage trail depicting a brief history of the former Waratah Colliery and rail corridor which carried coal from the mine to Port Waratah, with interpretative signage located along a multi-use pathway.
References
- Looking Up the Gully Line - A History of the Waratah Colliery 1993
- City of Lake Macquarie Heritage Study
- "Raspberry Colliery". NSWrail.net. Retrieved 2009-03-21.