1923 Bellbird Mining Disaster

On the 1st September 1923 there was a fire at No.1 Working at Bellbird Colliery. The accident killed 21 miners and caused legislations changes. At time of the disaster the mine employed 538 people including 369 who worked underground.

Incident

At 1pm on the 1st September 1923 twenty men entered the colliery for their shift. Deputies Eke, Sneddon and Wilson from the day shrift were in the mine conducting inspections as a part of the shrift handover. At 1:30 pm the inspection was finished and their went to No.4 West Flat. The fire occurred shortly after 1:30pm. The deputies went to No.3 were they found smoke and flames in the air return tunnel. At 2:00 pm an explosion occurred. At 4:00 pm they decided to recover bodies and seal the mine without knowing the source of the fire. Sealing of the mine commenced at 9:30 pm and completed by 1pm the next day the caused six men to be entombed inside the pit Four tunnels were sealed with sand, soil and timber followed by upcast shaft. There seven separate underground explosionsons. At 1:45 pm on the 2nd September 1923 an explosion burst through the seal in the tunnel near killing two volunteers. The manager called the colliery office four times without a response and failed to inform worker of the fire or smoke

Investigation

A coronial inquest and a Royal Commission were conducted. The inquest was held over 9 days from 4 September to 4 October by coroner George Brown at the Cessnock Court House which included a jury of six people and forty two witnesses A second inquest was held by George Brown on 20 May 1925. A report into the incident found may unsafe work practices including smoking in the mines, unreliable emergency phone lines and lack of hazard reduction and reporting. The inquest reveled that some workers did not have safety lamps

Cause

The explosion was caused by methane gas build up which was caused by dust being constantly pushed and reacting to the air. The explosions were caused by the distillation of coal gas within overheated coals heaps which ignited the gas which cause the fire and the explosion would spread the fire. There evidence of heating within heaps of fallen coal which caused the spontaneous combustion.

Deaths

All twenty one deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning Many miners died due to being choked by gas. One of the deaths was Mr John B Brown who was the manager of the Aberdare Colliery died while helping the rescue effort. Two bodies were found just inside No.9 West with a further nine bodies and three were found outside the colliery. Discovered a man and a horse inside No.8 West.

Aftermath

Saw the destruction of much of the mining equipment including saw machinery and coal skips. After three weels No.2 Working was reopened due to the lack of damage.

The disaster caused a debate about the flow of consistent ventilation in mines. Which saw the implementation of stone dusting to reduce the dangers of coal dust. It created a greater public awareness of mining safety,the need for emergency equipment and trained emergency and rescue officers.

On the 3rd September a funeral was held in Cessnock which thousands attended. Hundred of miners completed a "marched in honour of their dead comrades". A monument was placed in memorial park near the site of the Bellbird Colliery listing the names of 21 men who lost their lives. Bellbird Tidy Town and Austar completed a restoration of the disaster site

In 1924 a group of trained volunteer rescue teams using Proto breathing apparatus recovered the six bodies entombed in the pit,. In 1924 a bill was established to create mine resuce station was tabled in NSW Parliament. This incident was considered the catalyst for the formation of the Mines Rescue Service in NSW in 1925.