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 (Brooker’s Nose/Broker’s Nose) and leasing it to the Brooker’s Nose Coal Company.
1885 – July – Brooker’s 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 – Brooker’s Nose and South Bulli Companies combined and colliery name changed to Corrimal Colliery.
1889 – November – Corrimal coal being transported to Southern Coal Company’s 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 Broker’s 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 832’9” (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 Broker’s 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