Mount Lyell Underground Disaster.
One
Of the heaviest losses of life in the history of Australian mining
occurred at
the
North Lyell mine in October, 1912 in a tragedy that will be forever
remembered
as the "Mt Lyell Disaster."
It
claimed the lives of 42 men and very nearly took a much higher
toll.Unlike
most
mine disasters it was not an underground cave-in nor an explosion of
inflammable
gases. The Mount Lyell disaster was a smouldering fire in the timber
pumphouse
and supports on the 700ft level of the mine. On the surface the fire
could
have been easily extinguished or left to burn itself out without
endangering
life.
But in the confines of the underground mine the smoke, fumes and lack of
oxygen
were deadly.
First miner emerging
from tunnel
The victims among the
170 miners who went underground in the North Lyell mine
on Saturday October 12th,
1912 were not killed by flames or heat, but a dense
pall of smoke in the main
shaft prevented escape or rescue for 42 men. Some
who did escape had their
lungs damaged by smoke and fumes and did not live long.
The loss of life would
have been much higher had it not been for the acts of
bravery both underground
and on the surface by miners and non miners alike.
Memorial Stone for the
victims, located at Lyell cemetery.
Rescue efforts
continued for four days. Skilled firemen and rescue equipment
were rushed to Queenstown
by rail from Hobart and by ship from Bendigo and
Ballarat. The last of the
survivors were brought to the surface on Wednesday
October 16th, more than
100 hours after they had descended into the mine
for an eight hour shift.
The final search for the living was made on Thursday,
by then it was known that
none of the 42 men still below was alive. The news
was broken gently to the
anxious group of women waiting at the entrance.
Memorial Plaque listing
the victims, located at Lyell cemetery.
The question to which
there was no conclusive answer and to which there never
will be,was "what caused
the fire?" A Royal Commission examined 54 witnesses
and returned an
open finding. There was strong circumstantial evidence to
suggest, however, that
the fire was deliberately lit by a union agitator,
not to cause death or
injury, but to discredit the company
A recent article by Peter Schulze on the Mt Lyell Disaster which was published in The Advocate Newspaper.
1912 was not a good year. More than 1500 people perished aboard the Titanic
and 42 West Coast miners died in the Mt Lyell disaster. It was the largest mining tragedy in Australia's history. The families devastated
by the North Mt Lyell Mine shaft fire had further pain to endure.
The Royal Commission that followed the event judged the fire was deliberately lit by a worker in the underground pump station.
Ninety seven years later, Devonport electrical engineer Peter Schulze (pictured) is determined to set the record straight. "A review of
the evidence found in the commission's transcripts show a miscarriage of justice took place," Mr Schulze said at a public meeting.
After trawling through records at the state library, Mr Schulze discovered most of the evidence provided to the commission by the mining company
was false and misleading.
Several 'expert' witnesses managed to convince the Royal Commission that electricity 'could not cause the fires'. They also completely
misrepresented how electrical pumps worked. "The company told the hearing there was more than one exit to the shaft when there was not, and none of the evidence provided was ever tested".
Mr Schulze said the commission instead turned on surviving miners of the disaster, blaming and naming a man without any evidence.
Mr Schulze's knowledge of the disaster runs deeper than most, He worked as an electrical engineer with Mt Lyell for 26 years and his grandfather
was awarded for his acts of bravery in helping miners escape in 1912. "At first I didn't want to delve too deeply into this in fear of opening old wounds but history needs to be corrected for the descendants of those who lost their lives. My mother always told me that the truth should come first."
Mr Schulze hopes to publish a book on the Mt Lyell disaster and is currently working on a publication for the Australian Mining History Association.
Mr Peter Schulze J.P.
