XL. J. HAYDON CARDEW. 



NOTES on the UNDERGROUND WORKINGS of a 



COLLIERY IN THE WESTERN COALFIELDS 



of NEW SOUTH WALES. 



By J. HAYDON CaRDEW, Assoc. M. Inst. C.E. 



[Read before the Engineering Section of the Royal Society of N. S. Wales, 

 September 18th, JhOL] 



As I am led to believe that the question of coal-mining viewed 

 from an Engineer's standpoint has never come before this Society, 

 I thought that a few notes, taken at different times in a Western 

 Colliery, might be of some interest, especially in view of the vast 

 importance of the industry to the welfare of the State, and the 

 enormous development that must take place in the near future. 

 The magnitude of the industry may be judged from the following 

 figures : — The total output of coal from New South Wales for the 

 year 1899 amounted to 4,597,028 tons valued at £1,325,799 and 

 the total output since the year 1829 amounts to 85,969,136 

 tons valued at .£35,647,004. The increased annual value of the 

 coal mined for 1899 was £53,967, and for 1900 it was £343,112. 

 The industry gives direct employment to 10,339 persons, and 

 indirect employment to many others. 



It has been pointed out that so far we have touched only the 

 fringe of our coal supplies, and that there is in view enough coal 

 to last for a century even at the present large output; the enorm- 

 ous and apparently inexhaustible wealth of our coal measures has, 

 it may be feared, led to some prodigality in the method of exploit- 

 ing them, but in this respect, as well as many others, we are 

 trustees for posterity, and it is our duty to adopt those improved 

 methods that the development of engineering has placed at our 

 disposal in order to make an economical use of our great heritage. 



As the possession of coal means wealth and power to the country 

 that possesses it, the man who can make a lb. of coal go as far or 



