Rev.0

Nth. Bulli Colliery
aka Coledale Colliery
1878 - 1973?

Opened: 1878 Closed: 1926

Reopens: 1927 Closed: 1927

Closed: 1972 (Clutha) Reopens: 1973 (purchased?)

The North Bulli Coal & Iron Mining Co. was formed in 1876 to open a mine on the North Bulli Estate.

In 1878 the Bulli seam (4' thick) was opened and proposals to construct a jetty on Long Nose Point were made. The jetty was never built and the mine lagged.

In 1902, North Bulli Colliery Ltd finally opened the mine immediately above the Coledale Railway Station with a rail siding connected to the Government Railway.

The company was under the control of Hyde and Cater. Cater was a large shareholder and had previously managed South Bulli.

Owing to the thin seam Longwall was resorted to and Sullivan coalcutters were installed.

Coke ovens were added in 1905.

In 1909 production was some 900 tons/day, however in 1910 a large fault was encountered.

Areas of inferior coal and the large downthrow fault of 180 feet to the south west and a short distance from the outcrop restricted the mine. Finally the fault was penetrated and a large size mine developed to the west by bord and pillar methods.

The company owned 2 Locomotives and 150 x 10 ton wagons which were used to head coal to Red Point (Pt. Kembla) where the jetty and connecting railway had been leased from the Southern Coal Company. Ships of large size were coaled at this jetty (4000 ton).

Sellers, G. 1976. The Illawarra Coalfield - A Brief History to 1905. A paper presented to The AusIMM. Conference, Illawarra, 1976.

Harper, L. F. F.G.S. Geology and Mineral Resources of the Southern Coal-Field, Part 1 - The South Coastal Portion, Dept. of Mines, 1915.

See also:-

• Coledale Colliery