A century remembered at Abermain

One hundred years after the first mines rescue station was established in NSW, people gathered at Abermain not just to mark a milestone, but to remember why it was needed in the first place.

Hosted by the Coalfields Local History Association at the Sir Edgeworth David Memorial Museum, the event brought together NSW Mines Rescue, the Mining and Energy Union (MEU), government representatives and members of the community to reflect on the legacy of the first station and the tragedy that helped bring it into being.

For NSW Mines Rescue General Manager Erin Lee, the story of the first station begins with Bellbird.

“Today we are here to mark a remarkable milestone, 100 years of mines rescue in NSW,” Erin said.
“A century ago, our industry stood at a turning point. The tragic disaster at Bellbird in 1923, where 21 people were killed, exposed in the most painful way the dangers faced by those who worked underground and the limits of the emergency response arrangements of the time.”

She said the courage shown in the aftermath by volunteers who went searching for their mates left a lasting mark on the industry.

“From that tragedy came the determination to do better.
“Determination to ensure that there would be trained, equipped and disciplined teams ready to respond should the need arise.”

That determination found force in legislation, with the Mines Rescue Act passed in December 1925 and the first station at Abermain established soon after on March 20, 1926, becoming the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
For the MEU, that history cannot be separated from the broader fight for safer conditions underground.

“During the last 100 years, NSW Mines Rescue has provided a sense of assurance to the mining communities throughout the state,” Northern District Industry Safety and Health Representative Tony Watson said.
“The explosion at Bellbird Colliery is remembered as one of the region’s defining tragedies. A chaotic event with catastrophic and fatal consequences.”

He pointed to the words of Jack Baddeley, the first Miners Federation General President and newly elected Member for Newcastle, who had spoken in NSW Parliament just three days before the Bellbird disaster about the shortcomings of safety standards in mines across the state.

“He stated that, ‘The men themselves are prepared to go into the danger zones and risk their lives in order to save their comrades. All they want is the necessary equipment’.
“Tragically, three days later he would be proven correct.”

That mix of courage, risk and hard-won reform ran through the day’s reflections. The first station at Abermain was not simply a building. It was a direct response to the reality that miners and their communities could no longer be left relying on goodwill and improvisation when disaster struck.

Tony said the contribution of NSW Mines Rescue over the past century has gone far beyond emergency response.

“No one understands mines like miners, and the professionals in NSW Mines Rescue have made immeasurable contributions to our industry.
“Not only does NSW Mines Rescue assist in the case of an event, extracting workers trapped in both surface and underground mines, but they also assist mines to navigate complex issues underground, such as spontaneous combustion, re-entry into old workings and recovery after fire and explosion.
“They also provide expert training for new to industry workers, as well as experienced people seeking to refresh or improve their skills.”

For Federal Labor candidate for Paterson and patron of the Coalfields Local History Association Meryl Swanson, the story was also deeply personal.

“I stood up in Parliament last week and spoke about the long service leave for coal miners and said that I was the daughter and the granddaughter and the great-granddaughter of a coal miner and I couldn’t be prouder,” Meryl said.

She said Mines Rescue was part of everyday life in Abermain long before she understood the full scale of what those callouts meant. She remembered the late Jack Tapp, who ran the Abermain station, and the shock of hearing the alarm at his house as a young girl.

“I’ve been in Jack and Maggie’s house when that alarm went off and it was something to behold, let me tell you.
“It was a military operation to say the least. So, from the eyes of a young girl, I very quickly understood that something was afoot and something terrible likely was happening.”

Meryl said the region owed so much to coal, but that gratitude had to sit alongside an honest understanding of the risks workers faced.

“We have depended upon coal, and in order to extract it, we’ve depended upon those workers going into extremely difficult and dangerous situations.
“We have come a long way since the canary, but the danger is still there and ever present, and that’s why we need to continue to support Mines Rescue.
“I’m also very grateful to organisations like the MEU. We would have lost a lot more people because they picketed, they went on strike, they fought for their rights and their safety.”

State Member for Cessnock Clayton Barr said the history of the Abermain Mines Rescue Station still echoed across coalfield communities, recalling his mother growing up in Neath and describing what it meant when the siren went.

“The whole community would hold their breath knowing, fearing that there’d been a caving or a collapse somewhere and people might have lost their lives,” he said.

Clayton said that while mining has changed, the reason NSW Mines Rescue exists remains the same.

“We have always known that these are dangerous workplaces. For anybody who’s been up to Federation House at Aberdare and seen that memorial wall with over 1,800 names on it, you can see the transition from lots and lots of names down to fewer and fewer as time passed.
“That comes from NSW Mines Rescue and their incredible work making sure the mines themselves are as safe as possible, but also the union holding those industries and business owners to account.”

Erin said that while NSW Mines Rescue has evolved with the industry, the values at its core have remained constant.

“This centenary is a celebration of progress but it’s also a moment of reflection,” she said.
“It reinforces why Mines Rescue exists and why our mission remains the same and as vital as it was in 1926. The heart of the brigade has never changed. It’s built on teamwork, discipline and a deep sense of mateship.”

As the event came to a close, the work of the Coalfields Local History Association was also acknowledged, with President Kim Weller, Research Officer and event organiser Lynette Hamer, and the society’s volunteers recognised for their efforts to preserve the history of the coalfields.

“People gave their lives to give us our history. It’s part of who we are,” Lynette said.
“The sacrifices that our past generations made and the hardships they went through must be remembered.”

Lynette then closed the event by reading A Miner’s Soul by Nick Westwood.

“I sang to tell the story so all could hear and see
of the power and the glory of a miner’s history.”