Mount Mulligan mine disaster
The Mount Mulligan mine disaster occurred on 19 September 1921 in
Seventy-five workers were killed by the disaster,[1] making it the third-worst coal mining accident in Australia in terms of human lives lost. Four of the dead had been at the mouth of the pit at the time of the explosion. Seventy four bodies were recovered by the time the Royal Commission ended,[2] the last body was recovered five months after the disaster after the mine had reopened.[3] The disaster affected people in cities and towns all over the country. The mine, which had operated for six years at the time of the accident,[2] was widely considered safe and had no previous indications of gas leaks. The miners hence worked using open flame lights instead of safety lamps.[4]
Public inquiry
A
The disaster was also the impetus for the passing of a Coal Mining Act in Queensland that would ban the use of open flames in underground coal mines.[2]
Aftermath
The mine was reopened after four months and suffered surprisingly little damage from the explosion. In 1923, the
See also
References
- ^ Scheu, Anne (18 March 2011). "Mount Mulligan Mine Disaster". State Library Of Queensland. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ a b c "Mount Mulligan mine disaster". Australasian Mine Safety Journal. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ISBN 1-86391-886-8.
- ^ Page XXXIII, 1921 Report of the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into and report upon the recent disaster at Mount Mulligan Coal Mine, and also into the methods of mining carried on at such mine, and further, to make such recommendations as may tend to prevent the recurrence of accidents of a like nature.
- ^ Caims Post, 13 February 1922.
- ^ The Australian Journal of Emergency Management Vol 18. No.3 August 2003.
- ^ Walkabout.com.au Mount Mulligan history
External links
- Mount Mulligan Mine Disaster – John Oxley Library Blog, State Library of Queensland