Conference Paper

Author

Caldwell, R.; Campbell, D.; Brougham, J.

Title

Australia's first railway and commercial mine: An entrepreneurial adaptation of skill and technology from European collieries

In

From the Past to the Future: 18th Australian Engineering Heritage Conference 2015 [Newcastle]

Imprint

Engineers Australia, Barton, Australian Capital Territory, 2015, pp. 10-20

ISBN/ISSN

9781922107435

Url

https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.695666112340628

Abstract

In 1831 the Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) began operations of its first coal mine in Newcastle. It took over the sourcing of coal from the NSW Government, which since 1804 had been carried out inefficiently. The mine, called the 'A Pit', overlooked Newcastle Harbour and was connected to the wharves by an iron railway. With an official opening date of 10 December 1831, the railway can rightly be claimed as Australia's first. However, little was known about its design to give this assertion substance or credibility. This paper will reveal the historical background to the AACo's coal mine and railway based on new archaeology, research of the mine and accounts from the AACo's extensive archive. It confirms that the mine design and equipment for the railway was of a high standard for that time (c.1826). The opportunity to do this follows the serendipitous discovery of an iron relic of the AACo railway by local historian and co-author, David Campbell. Railway historians from the UK have been surprised that a cast-iron fish-belly rail section reflecting British practice of the 1820s could be associated with a railway in Australia The find also prompted research by British rail authorities on the European origins of the A Pit. It was noted that the imported British engineer, John Henderson gained extensive coal mining skills and was associated with, or would have studied the work of renowned mining identities in England and Sweden. These experiences informed Henderson's adaptation of the techniques and equipment imported by the AACo entrepreneurs to create and manage this first private mine and railway successfully. This enterprise can be said to have successfully pioneered the subsequent mining and railway industries that have sustained Australia's strong economy through to the present day.

Related Published resources

isPartOf

• From the Past to the Future: 18th Australian Engineering Heritage Conference 2015 [Newcastle] (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Engineers Australia, 2015), 230 pp, https://search.informit.org/doi/book/10.3316/informit.9781922107435. Details