Richmond Main Colliery is a heritage-listed former coal mine and now open-air museum at South Maitland Coalfields, Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by the staff at J & A Brown's Engineering Workshops at Hexham under the direction of John Brown and built from 1908 to 1913 by J & A Brown. The site now operates as the Richmond Main Heritage Park, including the Richmond Vale Railway Museum and Richmond Main Mining Museum. The property is owned by Cessnock City Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
History The Richmond Main Colliery was one of the largest and most important shaft mines of the early twentieth century. It is situated in what was formerly known as the Richmond Vale area because of the large estate "Richmond Vale". This area was part of the more widely known South Maitland coal field. It straddles the land owned by Charles William Roemer, one of the first German immigrant settlers, and Arthur Mackenzie whose land included that granted to Lieutenant John Palmer, a purser on the "Sirius", in 1823.
The area was used for farming and grazing until the 1880s and the discovery of rich coal seams in the area by the government geologist Tannat William Edgeworth David, these coal seams becoming known as the Greta Coal Measures. Reports on the seam were made public on the eve of a mining boom and entrepreneurs were quick to exploit his work.
Formation of the Richmond Vale Coal Company In 1886 a syndicate based in Melbourne was formed, which then established the Richmond Vale Coal Company. This company then purchased the Richmond Vale Estate in early 1887. Boring operations were undertaken in 1887 to prove the coal seam, which was proven to be in thickness at a depth of .
Shaft sinking commenced in October 1888. This shaft was in diameter and was completed in August 1890. The company then attempted to raise the capital to develop the colliery and the construction of a rail line. The company was unsuccessful in this undertaking and a new company was formed in 1895. This new company was also unsuccessful in raising capital and the property was put up for auction in July 1897. The property was bought at the auction held on 15 July 1897 by J & A Brown for the sum of £39,500.
Purchase of Pelaw Main Colliery and construction of the Richmond Vale Railway In 1900 to allow the Richmond Vale Colliery site to be developed, J & A Brown applied for an act of parliament to allow the construction of a railway line from their existing Minmi to Hexham railway line (at a location later known as Minmi Junction) to Richmond Vale Colliery. The Richmond Vale Coal-mine Railway Act was assented to by the New South Wales Legislative Assembly on 20 October 1900. Richmond Vale Coal Mine Railway Act In October 1900 before construction of the line which would be known as the Richmond Vale Railway had commenced the Browns had purchased the Stanford Greta Colliery, which was adjacent to the Richmond Vale Colliery. Work was concentrated at this colliery as it could be developed at a much lower cost due to it being a drift colliery sunk into the seam outcrop. Stanford Greta colliery was also adjacent to the Stanford Merthyr Colliery owned by the East Greta Coal Mining Company, which was also under development this included a rail line to Maitland.
In 1901 The name of Stanford Greta Colliery was changed to Pelaw Main Colliery. In November 1901 Pelaw Main Colliery commenced production with the coal being railed out via the East Greta Co.'s line to East Greta Junction at Maitland. Construction of J & A Brown's own Richmond Vale Railway did not commence until early 1904, with construction of the line to Pelaw Main completed June 1905, with the branch line to Richmond Vale Colliery being completed in August 1905.
Development and construction After the completion of the rail line to the colliery in August 1905, the mine was dewatered and a minimal amount of development work was carried out to the underground workings. Development work commenced in 1910 with the sinking of the main No.2 shaft along with the ordering of major equipment such as the head frame, boilers and power station equipment. John Brown spent large sums to ensure that his mining plant, colliery railways, steamships and engineering works were substantially built and in the forefront of technological development.
In August 1911 the colliery's name was changed from Richmond Vale Colliery to Richmond Main Colliery. Shaft sinking operations were halted for a period in 1912 whilst the permanent headframe was erected over the shaft. During 1912 the power station building was constructed along with the boiler house and chimney. In 1913 the colliery office was constructed. To allow the construction of the other surface buildings a brickworks was constructed beside the Richmond Vale Junction to Richmond Main railway line. This brickworks produced the distinctive "Richmond Main red" bricks use at Richmond Main and many other J & A Brown operations.
In July 1914 sinking of No.2 shaft was completed and was feet in diameter and bricked from top to bottom and has been described as incomparable with any other in the country, even in its final days.Turner 1983:8-9
In 1914 of coal was produced. The mine workings had been opened out enough to allow the installation of seven Ingersoll Rand compressed air coal cutters. In 1915-15 the elevated gantry from the main shaft pit top building to the screens buildings, along with the screening buildings and equipment, along with the rail sidings were under construction. Whilst the mine was nearing completion it was plagued by industrial action by the miners and only produced of coal during 1916. During 1916 the locomotive shed and the small coal bin were built.Hexham Engineering drawing S116 Small Coal Box Richmond Main Colliery The pit top and screening plant was completed by June 1917. In February 1917 the miners had returned from strike and in the period up to August 1917 the mine had produced of coal. However, from August 1917 through to early 1918 the mine was plagued by industrial action. For the remained of 1918 the mine was in full production and produced of coal.
Record production and further expansion The Colliery reached peak annual production in 1928 with 507,000 tons of saleable coal.
Downturn and closure The 1929 Lockout followed by the Great Depression, the 1949 strike, a recession in the coal industry and the change to mechanisation in the 1950s and 1960s were major setbacks which the colliery, and the South Maitland field generally, would not recover from.
On 7 July 1967, the Richmond Collery ceased operation leaving eighty mine workers unemployed. This was a far smaller number than the 1200 who had been employed at the site in the late 1920s. The colliery continued to supply power to the state grid until 1976. Maintenance problems and the salvage value of much of the equipment resulted in the stripping out of the machinery and the demolition of the main head frames.Brooks 1983:27 & 51
Preservation The site was acquired by the Greater Cessnock City Council for the development of the site into a mining park. The Richmond Vale Preservation Co-op Society Ltd was formed in 1979. It has been instrumental in returning some of the buildings and structures to their operating function in order to restore and maintain steam rolling stock and carriages and the rail line has been relaid. The society operate the Richmond Vale Railway Museum at the former colliery.Fenwick 1995:1
Modifications and dates 1908-1913 - initial construction stage - Power House complex and main shaft built. 1914-21 - increase of ancillary buildings on site, including main ventilation machinery over old shaft 1921-25 - expansion of several buildings, including Fan Building. Passenger rail platform constructed. 1926-28 - replacement of boiler installation and the sinking of a third shaft with the attendant pit top structuresCivic & Civic * 1982 1980s - rail line relaid
Description of structures and buildings Administration building Dating from 1913 the building is a free-standing, two-storey building of late Victorian residential design. The building has a simple rectangular plan form with a long central corridor on each floor. External materials consisted of Richmond Main red face brick with some detailing in the form of window arches and sills. The main roof is slate and the timber-framed verandah is a bull-nosed, corrugated, galvanised iron roof. The ground floor consists of offices for the various mine officials and the upper floor had a laboratory, kitchen and 3 bedrooms along with a large lecture room, there is also a large strong room for records storage under the ground floor.Hexham Engineering drawing S47 General Office Richmond Main Colliery dated 24-02-1913
Passenger rail platform Simple concrete retaining wall and earth filled platform.
Cooling tower dam Set into the ground with a brick perimeter wall and sloped wall concrete lining below ground. The dam had a capacity of and was supplied via a pipeline from a dam adjacent to Richmond Vale Junction and Wallis Creek.Hexham Engineering drawing S390 General arrangement of power plant Richmond Main Colliery
Southern cooling towers
Eastern cooling towers Freestanding steel framed structures with lower members encased in concrete and supported on concrete foundation piers. A concrete-lined pool is at the base of the towers. The walls are timber lined with the lower section lining in the form of timber louvres. A series of timber racks and slats are constructed inside the towers for the lower third of the height.
Under manager's office Small, freestanding single-storey structure of rectangular plan and simple pitched roof. External walls are in Richmond Main red face bricks. There are no internal fittings and fixtures remaining from its original use.
Main shaft building Built over the main No.2 shaft with the headframe passing through it, the main shaft building is a twin gabled, two-storey concrete construction with arched openings at ground level and arched windows. Internal and external walls are made of mass concrete with some steel reinforcement. Architectural details include pilasters, gables and arched windows. A metal stairway leads to the first floor which is primarily timber planks on steel. The roof is of light angle steel trusses with timber purlins and corrugated iron sheeting.
Both the No.2 shaft headframe and cages were ordered from Markham & Co of Chesterfield, England in 1910.Markham & Co, unnumbered drawing 90'0" Pit Headgear General Arrangement dated 15/10/1910Markham & Co. drawing 15666 Double Deck Cages Arrangement & Details dated 24/10/1910 The headframe was high to the top landing and was fitted with two diameter pulleys.
The main shaft building was unusual for the period as the walls were built from concrete, as most other mines of the period were constructed from timber, it was also unusual as the pit top building was separate from the screens. The banking level in the building had two levels of skip lines, to allow the full and empty skips to enter and leave the double deck cages. A raised level constructed above the main floor accessed the cages’ upper deck. Construction of the pithead building and the adjoining screens commenced in mid to late 1913.
The headframe, cages, skip lines and associated structures were sold for scrap after the colliery closed in 1967. In 1986-87 the building was reroofed which included placing an additional roof truss over the hole where the headframe passed through the roof of the building, no other restoration work has been carried out on the building.
Screens and bins area Pillars of reinforced concrete
Power Station