Coalface Experience

04/10/2026

🛑 ROAD CLOSURE ANNOUNCEMENT 🛑

🚧 Railway Road will be closed between Pelican and Station Street on 13 October 2026, from 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm, for the Collinsville & Scottville Miners Memorial.

02/10/2026

Did you know? 🤔

💨 CARBON DIOXIDE 💨
👍BOTH FRIEND & FOE UNDERGROUND👎

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) was the main seam gas encountered in the Collinsville and Scottville mines. Although potentially deadly, it also played an important role in managing mined-out areas underground.

The benefit of CO₂ came after a panel had been completely mined and sealed off using substantial underground seals. CO₂ would naturally accumulate behind these seals, creating an atmosphere low in oxygen. This helped reduce the risk of spontaneous combustion, or “heatings,” developing in the remaining coal.

But CO₂ also presented serious challenges.

Being denser than air, carbon dioxide tended to collect in low areas and was difficult to remove or drain from the coal seam and mine workings. In sufficient concentrations it could displace breathable air, creating an extremely dangerous environment for miners.

The pressure associated with gas in and around the coal measures could also contribute to floor heave. Once coal was removed, the surrounding strata were disturbed and the mine floor could become a weak point. Under pressure, sections of floor could suddenly lift or buckle — sometimes with enough force to raise or tilt a continuous miner towards the roof and onto its side.

So, underground at Collinsville and Scottville, carbon dioxide could be both useful and dangerous — helping create an atmosphere that discouraged spontaneous combustion behind sealed areas, while also presenting significant risks through its accumulation, displacement of breathable air, and its association with pressure-related ground movement.

30/09/2026

In 13 Days, we honour them ⛏️

A gravestone tells us a name.
A date.
An age.

But behind every stone was a person.

A face. A life. A family. Mates. A future.

On 13 October 1954, seven miners went to work at the Collinsville State Mine and never came home.

As each gravestone fades into the face of the man who rests there, we are reminded of the heartbreaking reality of the 1954 Collinsville State Mine Disaster.

They were more than names carved into stone.
They were men who were loved, who were waited for, and who should have walked back through their front doors that day.

Seven gravestones. Seven faces. Seven lives.

May we always remember the men behind the names — and the families and mates who carried their loss for the rest of their lives.

13 October 1954 — Never Forgotten.

25/09/2026

A special invitation to the families and loved ones of

⛏️ Ronald Stewart Speirs,
⛏️ Thomas Henderson Allan,
⛏️ Douglas Archibald Hector McPherson,
⛏️ Bernard Allan Fordham,
⛏️ Leslie Ronald Fordham,
⛏️ Henry James Hansen, and
⛏️ Thomas Whyte.

Please join us as we remember and honour these men, their lives, and the families and mates who have carried their memories through the years.

13 October 2026 at 5pm
Miners Memorial Garden,
Collinsville & Scottville Workers Club

Your presence would mean a great deal as we gather to remember.

23/09/2026

🤩 Let’s have a yarn! 😎

Written by his children Laurie Ann & Craig, here is a yarn about their Dad Lawrie and his beloved journey with the Pit Ponies.

Dad’s journey working in the mines started in 1970. His great uncle, Charlie Morris was one of the early miners to work at Collinsville in 1919, and dad started at Dacon then in the BCCM no2 underground mine as a miner and horse handler. He worked with Pit Ponies Marble, Hank, Mr Ed and Wharrier.

Dad led the horses on a couple of the May Day parades, something he always stressed about as the horse's didnt like the bag pipes. One year he took Mr Ed to the Bowen Show, where Craig got to have a ride on Mr Ed. Mr Ed didnt like the sounds of the sideshow either.

Dad was very proud of the pit ponies, they were his mates. He often spoke about how smart they were, an intelligent animal. The horse's were well trained to listen to the sounds of the underground working mine, the miners would watch the horse's for their reactions to the sounds.

Each horse had their own unique personality, the miners would have to make sure they secured their cribs as if they didn't, then the ponies would make their way to the crib room, sniffing out the fruit and sandwhiches and devour them.

The ponies did all the heavy work, shifting the heavy loads around underground. We remember dad saying they knew the weight they could pull by the clicks in the chains when tension was on, i.e. the weight of what they were pulling. they would not pull if there was an extra click or skip, smart animals ay!

They loved the smell of the log cabin to***co on Dads hands, and would lick Dads hands after rolling a rollie. As kids Dad would take us out to the mine on weekends, we would be loaded up with a couple of loaves of bread and a couple of old tin buckets of mangoes to feed to them.

In the 80's there was talk of the company wanting to rid the use of the pit ponies, so the miners went on strike to keep the pit ponies and the ponies were made members of the Queensland Colleries Union. (There is footage of an interview of Dad stating this at the workers club bar, I think Ray Martin is reporter, also in footage is top pub).

Unfortunately in 1985 Dad had a bad accident which injured his arm and he could no longer work underground, handing over the handler reigns to the younger upcoming miners, Dad still fed them up on the surface though. It was a sad day when they went to retire 5th February 1990.

21/09/2026

👌Let’s meet a member of the Collinsville & Scottville Miners Memorial Committee 🙃

⛏️COMMITTEE MEMBER - TRISH SLOAN⛏️

We asked Trish a few questions and this is her inspiration:

1️⃣ What inspired you to join the Collinsville & Scottville Miners Memorial Committee? I volunteered to support the Miners Memorial by creating social media posts and was appointed as a committee member.

2️⃣ What is your favourite part of the Miners Memorial each year? The lanterns being lit and carried by local kiddies, to their place near the miners statue, AND the hardhat ceremony. I find this to be empowering and honourable.

3️⃣ Why do you think the 1954 Collinsville Mine Disaster should never be forgotten? Because it is about remembering the seven men who went to work and never came home, the families whose lives were changed forever, and the mates who carried the loss with them.
It also reminds us of the dangers generations of miners faced underground and the sacrifices that helped shape Collinsville into the mining community it is today.

4️⃣ What is one piece of mining history you’d like younger generations to know? The sacrifices people take each day working in mining.

5️⃣ If you could describe the memorial in three words, what would they be?
⛏️ Honourable
⛏️ Heartfelt
⛏️ Community


&scottvilleminersmemorial

19/09/2026

As time draws closer to Memorial Day, we’d like to take this opportunity for you to be apart of the ceremony, to help us pay homage to those 26 men who have lost their lives in coal mining.

We hope to see you and your family at the annual Miners Memorial, 5pm 13 October 2026.

18/09/2026

If you’re in the Redbank area, please see the public announcement below.

Everyone is welcome to attend the annual State Miners Memorial Day Service, please see below for the details:

• Location: State Miners Memorial Monument, Smiths Road, Redbank - adjacent to the Redbank Collingwood Park Sports Complex
• Date: Saturday 19 September, commencing at 10:30am

The service will also be livestreamed via the Resources Safety & Health Queensland page.

17/09/2026

For the families, a miner leaving for work was part of everyday life — a kiss goodbye, a wave at the door, and the familiar hope of seeing them walk back through it at the end of their shift.

They watched their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers head underground knowing the dangers that came with the job, but never truly believing that an ordinary goodbye might become their last.

On 13 October 1954, for seven Collinsville families, the men they kissed goodbye that morning did not come home.

Behind every miner lost was a family waiting.
A family hoping.
A family whose lives were changed forever.

We remember the miners — and we remember those who waited for them. 🕯️