Rev 1

Corrimal Colliery
1870 1986


1870 circa commenced operations
1870 ->1885 owned by North Illawarra Mining Co., the Brokers (sic) Nose Colliery Company and the Corrimal Coal Company. Output 200 t. p. d.
1884 Capt. Osborne (Mt. Keira Colliery) instrumental in obtaining 500 acres of coal bearing property from Major Owen and D. Griffin at Mt. Corrimal (Brookers Nose/Brokers Nose) and leasing it to the Brookers Nose Coal Company.
1885 July Brookers Nose Colliery opens working the 7 ft. seam under the control of Thomas Bertram.
1888 ? Colliery forced to close due to delay in connecting the Govt. railway line to the Mt. Keira railway to Wollongong Harbour.
1888 Connected to Govt. Railway with siding.
1888 taken over by Southern Coal Company. Output raised to 1,000 t. p. d.
1889 Brookers Nose and South Bulli Companies combined and colliery name changed to Corrimal Colliery.
1889 November Corrimal coal being transported to Southern Coal Companys Port Kembla Jetty, the collier SS Kurrara receiving the first load on 9/11/89.
1890 January Southern Coal Company purchases Corrimal Colliery.
1890 May 60 men working at Brokers Nose Colliery (Corrimal Colliery)
1890 June 200 tons per day transported by rail away from mine.
1891 taken over by the Corrimal Balgownie Collieries Ltd. (becoming Corrimal Coal & Coke Pty. Ltd. in 1937)

1906 a 91 ft upthrow fault encountered in workings at Brokers Nose so a new entrance one mile south commenced called the Corrimal-Balgownie Colliery.
1907 company holdings were 1,254 acres freehold and 8,117 acres mineral leasehold. Granted a further 7,423 acres plus a lease of 604 acres partly worked by Mt. Pleasant Colliery.
1910 Corrimal No 1 Ventilation Shaft sunk on western boundary of freehold land, 2.78 km from the mine pit top. The shaft was 14 (4.27m) diameter with a depth of 791 8 (241.3m) to the roof of the Bulli coal and 8329 (253.8m) to the roof of the Balgownie coal. A wooden headframe was utilised and is still in place today.
1911- Corrimal No. 1 Shaft fitted with a 91 Sirocco double inlet, 150HP electric motor, rope driven fan
1923 Construction of a surface tramway west from Corrimal No. 1 Shaft to site of proposed Corrimal No. 2 Ventilation Shaft (used to supply materials etc via the underground workings and No. 1 shaft).
1924 Sinking of No. 2 shaft commenced at the beginning of year. To be brick lined surface to seam.
1925 Corrimal No 2 Ventilation Shaft sunk near most westerly workings, 17 ft (5.2m) dia 1,126 ft. (343.2m) to the Bulli coal continuing to 1,172 ft (357.22m) that is 12ft below the Balgownie coal. .
1927 Corrimal No. 2 Shaft was supplying 100,000 cfm (47 m^3/s) of air to the mine
1939 Electric Coal Cutter and electric Borer installed.
1945 a new sub-station at the mine site was built and all power requirement taken from P. W. D. supply via a 33,000V line.
1949 circa Corrimal No. 2 Shaft converted to upcast by the installation of a 96 (2.43m) Hi Flow fan with a 250 HP electric motor. No. 1 shaft converted to a downcast shaft.
1955 new 3-6 self acting incline installed from Corrimal - Balgownie pit top eliminated the need to haul the coal north to Brokers Nose Colliery then down a 2-0 incline.
1964 March A. I. S. Pty Ltd. purchases Corrimal Colliery. Endless rope haulage system replaced by 1.07 m gge track with diesel personnel cars for man transport.
1965 all coal diverted to Mt. Kembla via the Kemira Tunnel eliminating the need for the old surface railways and inclines.
1966 -> 1969 conveyors installed to transport l coal via Kemira Tunnel.
1970/71- Corrimal No 3 Shaft sunk for D/cast ventilation. 5.5m dia. concrete lined, 388.5 m to the Bulli coal floor with a total depth of 436m (16m below the Wongawilli coal floor).
1975 Corrimal No. 3 Shaft Bulk Coal Winder commissioned utilising road haulage.
1980 Longwall mining replaces shortwall.
1981 Corrimal No. 2 Shaft fan replaced by a Davidson centrifugal driven by 2 x 500 HP electric motors from Appin Colliery.
1982 Roof bolting as sole support in newer districts.
1984/5 record coal production using a Mitsui Miike Shearer, Dowty face conveyor and stage loader, Klockner crusher and Dowty electro-hydraulic chocks.
1985 10.58 am November 8th Corrimal Colliery is holed by Flinders 2 Panel, Cordeaux Colliery.
1986 January Corrimal Colliery pit top closes, the mine having been amalgamated with the new Cordeaux Colliery
1986 A production crew from Cordeaux Colliery commenced the driveage of a Tourist Mine some 40 metres inbye the Corrimal Colliery transport portal abandoned after 75 metres due to poor roof conditions.
1990 Corrimal No 1 Shaft capped and the colliery portals sealed.
1992 Corrimal No 3 Shaft converted to an U/cast shaft for Cordeaux Colliery by the addition an Aerex 218WZ centrifugal fan ex Kemira Colliery.


Sourced in part from The Corrimal Colliery Railway by K. McCarthy [Light Railways No. 60]
ISBN 0 909340 06 4 April 1978

Additional data from Corrimal Colliery No. 2 Ventilation Shaft Heritage and Archaeological Assessment B. Rogers 2003
 

See also:

Cordeaux Colliery