Ringwood Colliery

Rev.0

Ringwood Colliery
(aka Collins and later Federal)

1884 1912/14

Opened: October 1884
Location: Bundanoon
Original Owner: Thomas Saywell of Sydney
Seam:- Wongawilli ?
Closed: 1912/1914

Employed twenty miners.

Spent 20,000 pounds establishing a railway and other works.

A History of the Berrima District 1798 1973, James Jervis. 2nd Ed. 1973.

April 1884 - Great Bundanoon Coal Mining Company issued their prospectus.

Exploratory drilling near the Great Southern Railway intersected the top seam at 300 feet plus 2 more seams.

October 1884 T S Huntley, Atchison and Thomas Saywell & Sons of Sydney established an adit in a 121 thick seam (Wongawilli seam?) some 280 below the cliff line T. S Huntley became the business manager.

Ringwood Colliery worked the same seam as Erith Colliery

The platform established out from the cliff top and fitted with winding gear to the adit below was designed and built by mining engineer Thomas Bertram (arrived in Australia 1883 and was later to layout Mt Kembla Colliery)

Some 20,000 pounds were expended on machinery, ancillaries and an associated tramway.

1883 1884 the mine produced only 70 tons by 22 miners

1885 The mine was abandoned and the plant sold. The freehold belonged to a Martin Larkin who would not sell, the company going into liquidation. Saywell purchased the plant and erected it at Bellambi Colliery on the coast.

1896 Ringwood (Collins Mine) was reopened by Mr James Collins of Glebe in Sydney who proceeded to refit the mine however operations initially worked on half time basis only.

1896 97 11 men mined 3282 tons production remaining around 3,000 3,800 tons/annum until 1904 (records unavailable after 1904)

Mining operations were temporarily suspended due to bushfires during 1904-05

Henry Hancock was manager until July 1907 being replaced by John Taylor. Arthur Allan replaced Taylor in July 1910 being himself replaced in August 1911 by Edward Flood.

The Collins Mine closed between 1912 and 1914 although Collins retained the leasehold into the late 1910s.

1913 - The Collins Railway Siding was closed on 6th January 1913.

Excerpts from Light Railways, No. 130 October 1995, Jim Longworth, a publication compiled by The Light Railway Research Society of Australia Inc.