78 COALFIELDS AND COLLIERIES OF AUSTRALIA. 



work this may result in uneconomical methods, and inability to 

 take advantage of favourable conditions. 



In many of the New South Wales mines they employ 

 what is known as the front and back shift ; that is, one of 

 two mates comes on two hours before the other, while the 

 latter remains behind two hours after the former goes home. 

 This is done so that coal can be filled to keep the wheelers 

 going, for the miners only work eight hours, while the wheelers 

 work ten. 



Personnel. 



The positions and duties of officers and men employed at 

 a colliery naturally vary somewhat, according to circumstance, 

 such as whether it is pick or machine worked. In a large 

 colliery the work may be subdivided, whereas at a smaller 

 colliery one officei may carry out the duties of two or more 

 positions. 



The general manager attends chiefly to the business part 

 of the colliery, and has his office at some central place. If 

 not located at a shipping port, it may be necessary to appoint 

 an agent to act as snipping manager. The colliery manager 

 has to hold a first-class certificate ; he has full control of the 

 working of the colliery, and all officers and men employed in 

 or about it. The under-manager must hold a second-class 

 certificate ; he has daily supervision of the mine, and has respon- 

 sible charge of it, under the direction of the colliery manager. 

 A deputy is in charge of a certain portion of the workings, 

 and directs the men how and where they shall work, and 

 attends generally to their safety. A fireman's duty is to test 

 the workings for gas before the miners go to their working 

 places, and see that everything is safe; this is often, but not 

 always done by a deputy. A surveyor may be fully employed 

 at one mine, or he may combine this duty with another, or 

 sometimes he does the surveying for several collieries. The 

 clerk attends to the correspondence, books and stores. The 

 mechanical engineer, who is often also the electrician, is in 

 charge of all the machinery. 



The miner in a hand-pick worked mine holes or undercuts 

 the coal, props up the roof of his working places, sprags, the 

 coal while holing, lays the rails in the bords, and fills the 

 broken coal into skips by shovel or fork, according to require- 

 ments. In machine-worked mines the coal-cutter is in charge 

 of a machinist, who has a man as second hand machine 

 assistant, and a boy as a third hand assistant, to help him. 

 The work of holing is followed up by a shooter and fillers, who 

 bore shot holes in the coal with an auger drill, charge and fire 

 them. The shooter brings down any loose coal that may hang 

 up, and makes the place safe for the filler. From ten to twenty 

 tons a day is considered a fair day's work for one filler, depend- 



