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E arly Convict Coal Miners in Newcastle(Not a complete list) 'Be for hear is maney one that hav Benn hear for maney year and thay hav thar poor head shaved and sent up to the Coole river and thear Carrey Cooles from Day Light in the morning till Dark at Knight, and half starved, but i hear that is a Going to Be put By, and so it had need, for it is very crouell in ded.' (1)So writes Margaret Catchpole of the miners of Coal River in January 1802. These were possibly Irish rebel convicts who had caused Governor King so much concern, however the records don't reveal their names. Margaret Catchpole's information predicting the Coal River camp would be 'put by' was indeed correct for the fledgling settlement was soon to close.Just a few months previously after receiving favourable accounts of the Hunter (Coal) River, Governor King determined to establish a settlement at the river mouth with the intention of mining coal to contribute to financing the colony (2) and to separate worrying Irish political leaders from the main colony. (29) The expedition included Lieutenant Colonel Paterson, Lieutenant Grant, Ensign Barrallier (surveyor) and miner John Platt. Paterson was instructed to choose a site for a mine and settlement(23) In a letter to King in June, Paterson described the area he had named Colliers' Point.(Select here for for Paterson's letter)A military guard was sent on the schooner Francis and consisted of Corporal Wixtead (in command), five private soldiers and 12 convicts (the abovementioned convicts) who joined those already at the river. Later another miner, Broadbent was sent to assist John Platt. (29) By July the miners were hard at work. Three tons per day were raised however Corporal Wixtead became involved in disputes, and after three months, assistant surgeon Martin Mason, who had been Magistrate at Toongabbie and Parramatta was appointed superintendent at Coal River. Reportedly a cruel man - it was he that Joseph Holt writes of in his memoirs when describing punishment of rebel convicts in 1800 (34) By October four extra convicts were sent, making a total of sixteen men (4). Three of the men were miners and six were employed carrying the coal. They had no wheelbarrows and the tools were badly constructed, needing repairs already. Vessels loaded straight from the beach. Mason suggested to Governor King that a saving could be made if mining were to continue on an extensive scale, by having a path made with slabs from the pit to a wharf 'run out upon a bank of stones and sand'. Mason had noted that the coals were better in quality the further the men went underground and he had intentions of extending the mines further. He requested small candles of the type commonly used in coal mines, large scales to weigh the baskets and six box barrows that would hold two hundred weights each(5) (this is the equivalent of 100 kilograms each barrow).In November Mason would report to the Governor that he had 3,820 baskets of coal at hand. He estimated this amounted to 190 tons (if the baskets held one hundred weight each). With three miners and three carriers he was raising about 9 tons a day from four different mines. One mine was 34 yards under ground; one was 31 yards; one was 27 yards and one was 10 yards. He told Governor King that he could set nine more miners to work immediately and with one man to draw for each miner, could raise 190 tons per week. The strata of coal they were working on was 3 foot high, out of which there was one inch of clay and other rubbish, with 22 inches of neat coal; over this there was a strata of 18 inches of good coal. Mason writes of opening another mine further around in Fresh Water Bay. Hugh Meehan, master of the Anna Josepha had built sawpits in Fresh Water Bay in April (6) and Mr. Palmer's sloop loaded nearby. Here at Freshwater Bay, Mason tells King, 'where there was a strata of three foot neat coal under the above two stratas, the coals were of superior quality'. Mason sent back to headquarters a cask of coal as example and envisioned that he could 'open mines to set twenty men to work in Fresh Water Bay; if there are not minors in the colony then many ruffens may be made good minors'. Surgeon Mason regarded John Platt as a 'good working miner, but criticized his vision - 'he cannot see much further into the ground than his pick cuts'. Mason needed a skilled surveyor to explore the hills and ascertain where to 'conduct mines to save labour and carrey of the water' to the best advantage. Despite these enthusiastic plans, Mason's stay at the River was short - King refers to his 'improper behaviour' and Mason was removed at the end of the year leaving a guard of five privates at the river. (8) Although official settlement was withdrawn, miners remained at the River. Coals were obtained by private vessels and small quantities for government use. Miner John Platt was employed by John Palmer and in May 1803 the Sydney Gazette reported enthusiastically that ' A new mine has been found at Hunter’s River, which is likely to yield an abundance of the finest coal that has ever been witnessed. The discovery was made by J. Platt, a miner in the employ of J. Palmer Esq., and a quantity of coal was brought round by the ‘Edwin’.'(9) Perhaps John Platt had followed Martin Mason's advice after all and examined more closely the land up from Freshwater Bay. (35) In 1805 Platt gave an account of mines then in operation -'The coal mines on the sea side Government House, Newcastle are 3 ½ feet thick, solid coal, and resemble those of Bushy Park between Warrington and Prescot. The same mine is also in Lord Derby’s Park near Prescot called Nozeley Park. The coals are of the best quality and are used for furnaces, malt houses, being free of sulphur. Those (coals) at the harbour by the salt pan called New Discovery from it being like a Delfi in Weston near Prescot in Lancashire are of bad quality having as much dirt as coal and fit for burning bricks and fire engines (19) By 1804, the possibility of establishing valuable commercial enterprise coupled with a desire to remove the worst of the Irish insurgents from Sydney district in the aftermath of the rebellion at Castle Hill, encouraged Governor King to re-settle Coal River. A young naval Lieutenant, twenty one year old Charles Menzies, requested command of the settlement and Governor King thinking him equal to the undertaking eagerly accepted the offer. Governor King and his family made a special excursion to Sydney harbour to farewell Lieutenant Menzies and his little fleet.(11) Over thirty Irish rebels from the Castle Hill uprising formed the convict work party. Under Menzies' directions, the rebel convicts were put to hard labour and at first kept under tight discipline and control. Security at the settlement was strict in an attempt to prevent desperate convicts absconding and to increase supplies of coal for the government. It was some time before Menzies gave the order for leg irons to be removed - not with any particular good will towards the men - but to allow their legs to heal so they could work more efficiently. By June six of the men were sufficiently recovered or desperate enough to organize an outbreak - Bryan Riley and ....Tierney who had been severely flogged in March took to the bush in a desperate bid for freedom - (they had little chance of being out long as Menzies had already befriended the natives of the neighbourhood giving them jackets, caps, blankets and 4lbs of Tobacco each in May) (17) In March 1805, twelve months after second settlement, thirty four year old Charles Throsby took over command. His instructions from Governor King included the hours of work that were required of convicts - they were to haul coal from daylight (sunrise was approximately 6am) till 8 a.m, from half-past 8 till noon, and from 2 p.m. to sunset which in March in Newcastle in 1805 was about 5.50p.m.(21) Huts were built or being built by this time as in 1805 Throsby makes mention of them in some of the many orders he issues. The convicts were almost certainly hungry. Supplies to the settlement continued to be a problem for the remainder of the year; when fly moth destroyed wheat crops in the rest of the colony inhabitants at the River suffered rationed wheat portions too. To make matters worse grain supplied from Sutton, the storekeeper at Newcastle was full of dirt. Throsby permitted convicts to cultivate gardens near their huts, however many of these may have been destroyed in December in the same 'hurricane' that caused such damage to the mine entrances, filling them with earth and other debris. Sufficient clothing was not sent from head quarters in winter and Throsby arranged that those he had personally observed most in need would receive slops first. Oil had also been in short supply for some time obliging Throsby to put everyone, including himself, on short rations. Little wonder the prisoners tried to escape. Throsby was aware there were plots to abscond and he issued orders for all convicts (fifty five men and six women at the July 1805 muster) to be in their huts by 8pm each evening for muster. The proprietors of the private huts (where many convicts lodged as there were no convicts barracks as yet) were responsible for the conduct of all residing in their hut; They were liable to forfeit their hut to Government if they failed to report absentees(22) This did not deter those who were determined to be free. Thomas Desmond an Irish rebel (20) - an 'inflexible and audacious fugitive' possibly sent with the first group in March '04 was one who continued to attempt escape. With great determination he was to try again and again for the next decade or more. There were many hundreds of convicts who over the years toiled in exile at Newcastle. They were employed in cedar getting, making salt, burning lime, and general labouring work around the township, wharf and mines. At the coal mines skilled miners were employed underground, however others were required to wheel coal to the wharf or load it onto the ships. Many of these early miners cannot be distinguished from other workers. Some of those identified as having worked in the mines in the early years follow:
Over the next few decades conditions for the convict miners at Coal River, improved little. Illness and disease plagued them. A building was in use as a hospital however it was inadequate and often unable to provide beds or bedding. Convict Surgeon Richard Horner was in charge until 1811 when William Evans was appointed. Evans reported convict patients to be in great distress. Their rations were inadequate and they suffered dysentery in summer, bitter cold in winter and chest complains all year round. Monotonous drudgery was broken only occasionally by special events such as the Governor's visit (Select here for details) or perhaps one of the many shipwrecks. And of course accidents were not uncommon. In September 1825 it was reported that one of the most useful men in the mines was severely injured with little chance of recovery after a large mass of coals fell on him causing massive head injuries and fractured thigh bone. Convicts came and went but conditions for those incarcerated at the River remained almost unaltered. Select here to read an interesting letter describing their plight in 1825 (36) Workers in the mines over the next few years included:
In 1830 the government handed over its Newcastle coal mines to the Australian Agricultural Company and coal mining became the most profitable arm of the company for the rest of the century. The first mine was located above the Dudley Seam on the corner of the present Brown and Church Streets.(45) (Select here for their location on a map of Newcastle) By 1831 they were in full operation. Select here for an account of the workings. The mines were being worked by convicts until this time however the company found that convict labour was inefficient and insufficient and began to recruit miners from Britain. (40) Although it wasn't for some time that the miners would gather sufficient power to strike for improved conditions, in 1833 there was a glimmer of united hope at least when they jointly applied to Sir Edward Parry for adequate clothing. For an account of Sir Edward's diary for that day select hereThere was a labour shortage in the Company in the 1830's particularly when assignment was severely limited late in 1838. Adequate supply of coal could not be maintained and the company was forced to commence an immigration program because of dislike by colonial labourers of underground work. (45) The Commercial Journal reported in 1840 - ' Great inconvenience and delay has of late been occasioned, by the Australian company not being able to supply coals in sufficient quantities for the numerous vessels now lying at Newcastle. The chief cause appears to arise from the feeble and worn out state of their assigned servants, occasioned by excessive labour and the small allowance of rations awarded them. These miserable creatures have every appearance of "Walking spectres" - such woe begone and wretched objects are scarcely to be met within the colony. An allowance of 3s per ton has been offered these men to perform extra work; but their strength will scarcely carry them through their regular work, setting aside over time labour. They can only be compared with an over worked horse, who, despite all whipping, is unable to job one step farther. We have numerous instances of men belonging to the Company, committing offences for the mere purpose of getting into ironed gangs, in preference to remaining in their service. We consider that if these men were governed by persons disposed to serve the Company instead of themselves, things would go on much better (44) (33)'The northern point of land, which I have call’d “Colliers’ Point,” is composed of two stratas in sight and one which is bare at low water mark only. This is by much the best coal, which you will see by the specimen I desired might be kept apart from the other, which is the middle strata, about 16in. deep; that below is 22 in; the distance between them is about 20ft. The upper strata is too near the surface to be worth working. Upon the island, which I have named “Coal Island”, the stratas are the same as on the mainland. The bed of coal at low water mark is rather better than at Collier’s Point, and might be got very quick, as the anchoring place is close to the coal; but, if the coal work is to be permanent, I should sujest the mines to be on the main which might be sunk with very little trouble, and I have no doubt but that in a very short time Government would find their advantage in it. ...............................Plat, the collier, and his party have done wonders in getting the coals for the schooner so soon. I shall keep them going on, and get the coals laid in a situation where the tide cannot reach them. If they are to continue here they will want more picks and baskets. '(30) Back
(36) Sir, I am a settler in this district; but, being at Newcastle about eight days ago, I had occasion to call at the Police Office. On going there, I was surprised, and, I may say alarmed, at finding the door surrounded by six or seven men, ragged, barefooted, and as black as coal dust could well make them; in fact, they were terrific looking figures. Seeing the clerk belonging to the office, come to the door, I ventured to approach; when I heard these persons who it seems, were miners, ask for shoes and clothing; at the same time complaining, that they had not been supplied with any, since the beginning of last September; and that their feet were in so bad a state ( and which indeed, I could perceive), that they were scarcely able to stand. The poor fellows were told, that there were neither shoes nor clothing, in the stores; but, as soon as any arrived, they would be supplied. They retired on this assurance, peaceably, certainly, but with a very discontented air. Much has been said about the management of the Newcastle coal mines, and the difficulty that exists, of procuring coals, to meet the demand for them, but, if the miners be left without shoes or clothing, what else can be expected? It cannot be a matter of surprise, if men in their condition are driven to desperation. I have been informed, that three of the men concerned in the recent piratical attempt upon the schooner Gurnet are miners; and, it is not at all improbable, that they composed part of the men I saw in front of the Police Office. Back
(39)- The main shaft or pit by which the coal is raised to the surface, is situated on a commanding hill about one fifth of a mile to the Westward of the present town of Newcastle and a little beyond the limits of the town as originally laid down in the intended plan. The pit is 9 feet in diameter, and 46 yards in depth to the working seam of coal; the breadth of the seam being between three and four feet. To prevent the necessity of raising the water to the surface, to keep the mine clear, a tunnel has been driven from the shaft through the side of the hill for carrying it off, at the depth of 16 yards from the surface, so that the water is only to be raised 30 yards. The tunnel also passes through a smaller pit, at a short distance from the main one, which has been sunk for the sake of ventilation. The coal as well as the water is raised by means of a steam engine made by Messrs Hawthorn, of Newcastle upon-Tyne, and equivalent to the power of twenty horses, when worked at the pressure of twenty pounds to the square inch upon the piston. This power is considerably more than these mines can ever require; besides which, a second engine of the same dimensions, and complete in all its parts, is ready to supply any deficiency which may occur from breakage or other accident, so as to prevent any possibility of delay on this account. The coal being raised to the pit’s mouth, is host into a large clean coal yard, enclosed by a substantial brick wall, and capable of containing between one and two thousand tons of coal. From the gates of this yard an iron railway is constructed the whole way to the end of the new wharf; a distance of three hundred and thirty yards, or nearly one fifth of a mile, of which one hundred and thirty yards next to the pit’s mouth are on an inclined plane, and has a double railway, and the other two hundred yards are nearly on a dead level to the end of the wharf. The wagons, each holding exactly one ton, and of which from fifteen to twenty are provided, are lowered down the inclined plains by a rope passing round a very large wheel, the other end being attached to a certain number of empty wagons, which are thus drawn up by the weight of the full ones. The rope is unhooked when they reach the level, and three of them being linked together and pushed to the wharf by one man, the coal is instantly discharged into the vessel’s hold by a long shoot, ingeniously contrived to overhang the vessel, simply by knocking out a bolt, and thus dislodging the bottom of the waggon. Coals may thus be delivered on board as quickly as any ship can receive them, some intervals being requisite for levelling them in the hold. The inclined plane above described is formed by a bank of earth, coated with sods on each side to bind it together; but the level part of the railway is supported on a strong wooden frame of solid timber, elevated from ten to fourteen feet above the ground. As the Maitland road passes under a part of this railway, a sort of drawbridge which one man can lift is so constructed as to enable drays to pass when loaded unusually high. The quantity of timber used in the construction of the railway is estimated at 169 loads at 40 cubic feet to each load. The depth of water in the channel at the end of the wharf, is, in ordinary tides twelve feet at low, and seventeen feet at high water; and to prevent the piles from being eaten by the marine insect, called by the natives “cobra” which have quite destroyed the old wharf, each pile is sheathed with copper, which, it is expected, will preserve them for many years. With the facilities thus afforded for obtaining coals at Newcastle, in any quantity, and at a moderate price we trust that some competition will be excited among our ship owners in bringing them to the Sydney marker. Two or three vessels from 60 to 80 tons each (which is large enough for Newcastle Harbour), might be profitably employed in the coal trace and would soon have the effect of lowering the price of coals an object which becomes almost daily of greater importance in proportion to the increasing scarcity of wood in this neighbourhood (38) Back(41) In 1833 Sir Edward Parry, Commissioner of the Australian Agricultural company describes in his diary a visit by the Governor to the Newcastle Coal works - Tuesday, 16th April – Before 7 the Governor and suite set out for the breakwater, and a few minutes before 8 was at the coal works. I presented Mr. Henderson to him at the foot of the hill, and he rode up to the pit’s mouth, where he dismounted and I took him round and explained every part of the works. We had everything in complete operation, raising coals, pumping the water out, blowing the blast for the casting furnace, and sending wagons down the incline plane and along the railway to the wharf. We were also making coke. After seeing all this, we remounted and rode down to the wharf, to see the role of discharging the wagons into a small vessel along side it. He asked the expense of the first outlay. I told him about £15,000 and about £2,000 per annum now. He expressed himself much pleased to see the works as appearing very complete, and said he hoped they would flourish. In the course of conversation, I took occasion to mention to him that regular miners (by trade) would always be required, as it was as much a trade as that of a carpenter or bricklayer. Before His Excellency left the wharf, I said I trusted he would order the measurement of the coal grant to be completed, and calling Mr. Dangar to me, explained how the proposed grant lay, namely about 85 chains to the south, and about 3 miles westward, and that it would only occupy three or four days to make it out. His Excellency informed me he had brought the papers with him, and that it should be attended to immediately. The Governor then rode up the hill by the church, and returned to the Inn to breakfast. The miners addressed to me a letter complaining of want of clothes. I believe they are what they call ‘trying it on” and I have referred the question to Mr. Henderson for his opinion thereon (42) Back (1) Letter to Mrs Cobbold from Sydney, 21 January 1802. http://www.atmitchell.com/journeys/law/justice/convict/MargaretCatchpole/catchpole.cfm (2) Historical Records of New South Wales. vol. IV. Hunter and King. 1800, 1801, 1802. Edited by F. M. Bladen. p. 205 - 206, Governor King to Sir Joseph Banks (Banks Papers) (3) Rum Rebellion, Memoirs of Joseph Holt (4) Historical Records of New South Wales. Vol IV. Hunter and King. 1800, 1801, 1802. Edited by F. M. Bladen. p620 - 621, Governor King to the Duke of Portland Sydney, New South Wales, 14th November 1801 (5) Historical Records of New South Wales. Vol. IV. Hunter and King. 1800, 1801, 1802. Edited by F. M. Bladen. p 597 - 598Mr. M. Mason to Governor King (King Papers) (6) Historical Records of Australia, Series 1 Vol. III p772 (8) Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, vol. III, p.406. Governor King to the Duke of Portland (Despatch No. 6. per American schooner Caroline; acknowledged by Lord Hobart, 24th February 1803)Sydney New South Wales, 1st March 1802 (9) Sydney Gazette 8 May 1803. (11) Sydney Gazette 25 March 1804 (12) Silver, Lynette Ramsay, The Battle Of Vinegar Hill. Australia's Irish Rebellion, 2002. (17) Historical Records of Australia Series 1 vol. V, pp. 412 - 414Governor King to Earl Camden. Enclosure 5, Governor King to Lieutenant Menzies, Sydney May 24th 1804 (18) Historical Records of Australia Series 1 vol. V, pp. 416 - 417Governor King to Earl Camden. Enclosure 8, Governor King to Lieutenant Menzies, Sydney July 2nd 1804 (19) Sydney Gazette 5 May 1805 (20) http://members.pcug.org.au/~ppmay/ (21) Historical Records of New South Wales, Vol. V, King 1803, 1804, 1805. Edited by F. M. Bladen, Lansdowne Slattery & Company, Mona Vale, N.S.W.,1979. p. 571.Governor King to Major Johnston (King Papers), 15th March 1805. (22) Historical Records of New South Wales, Vol. VI, King and Bligh 1806, 1807, 1808. Edited by F. M. Bladen, Lansdowne Slattery & Company, Mona Vale, N.S.W.,1979. pp. 836 - 841 Throsby's General Orders (King Papers) 3rd April, 1805 to 14th February 1806. (23) Perry, T.M., Australia's First Frontier, Melbourne University Press, Victoria., 1963, p57. (24) The Memoirs of James Hardy Vaux, Edited by Noel McLachlan, William Heinemann Ltd., London, 1964. pp 214 (25) Reel 6066, 4/1804 pp.66, 68 (26) Reel 6003, 4/3490A pp.173 - 29 March 1811 (27) Historical Records of New South Wales, vol. VII, p. 486 (29) D.F. Branagan, Geology and coal mining in the hunter Valley 1791 - 1861, Newcastle History Monographs No. 6. Newcastle Public Library, 1972, p19. (30) Historical Records of New South Wales. Vol IV. Hunter and King. 1800, 1801, 1802. Edited by F. M. Bladen. p. 414 - 415Lieutenant-Colonel Paterson to Governor King (King Papers) 25 June 1801 (31) Historical Records of Australia Series 1 vol. III, p. 172Lieutenant Grant's Journal at Hunter River {Extract} Remarks &c., on board his Majesty's armed surveying vessel, Lady Nelson in Hunter's River 1801 (37) Sydney Gazette 31 December 1831 (40) Gollan, Robin, The Coalminers of New South Wales., A History of the Union 1860 - 1960., Melbourne University Press, 1963 (42) Dungog Chronicle, Early Days of Port Stephens - Extracts from Sir Edward Parry's Diary, Cambridge Press Pty. Limited, (43) Bench of Magistrates, Newcastle & Hunter Region, 6th February 1838. Archives Office of New South Wales Reel 2722. (44) Commercial Journal and Advertiser 22 August 1840 (45) Turner, J.W. Coal Mining in Newcastle 1801 - 1900, Newcastle Region Public Library, 1982. (50) Uebel, Lesley, Port Jackson Convicts Anthology © Free Settler or Felon 2008 www.jenwilletts.com
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