| Notes |
At 11 p.m. on Wednesday 5th December 1900 a fire broke out below in Gr
eta Colliery. After the alarm was given, the colliery manager, Mr. Jos
hua Jeffries and the fan engine driver, Mr. Henry Woodhouse, went dow
via "B" shaft to "Bartlett's Section" searching for five miners. Den
se choking smoke drove the two men back. Later in the morning, a grou
p including Mines Department inspectors, the colliery engineer and abo
ut 17 miners made further attempts though the old "No 3 Level or Distr
ict" workings. but again without success. When this group returned t
o the surface and after studing the mine plan and discussion their ins
pections below, it was finally decided that nothing more could be don
e for the trapped men, nor to control the fire. The fan stopped. Wor
k was started immediately on sealing the pit. The five miners, who pe
ished and who were entombed, were: James Hyslop Edwin Buck Walter Fu
ller John Crowell Fredrick Crowell In this sealing process, bunton ho
les were cut in the solid rock wall of the shaft, 19 feet from the sur
face. Hardwood buntons, 12 inches deep and 5 inches wide were put acro
ss the shaft. On top of these deep buntons, 2 inches thick hardwood pl
anks were laid across. These planks were cut to the circle of the shaf
t and covered with several layers of brattice cloth. Above the brattic
e, clay to a depth of 4 feet was filled.The clay was then covered wit
h water to a depth of 2 feet. An attempt was made to re-open the min
e in April 1901. Considerable work was made under the supervision of t
he colliery manager, Mr.Joshua Jeffries and Mines Department inspector
s Atkinson and Dixon. Much incadescent coal, still flowing and burnin
g was removed, plus falls and debris cleared from the headings. Some b
ick stoppings were erected with great difficulty. With the fan revolu
tion at about 18 revolutions per minute, and spraying with water by ho
ses failed to reduce the high temperature. After 9 days, when the temp
erature rose rapidly, the mine was again resealed. On Friday 10th Jan
uary, 1902, Greta Colliery was again re-opened. This particular examin
ation showed the fire had been much larger than the previous estimates
. The colliery manager, Mr.J. Jeffries, considered that up to 4000 ton
s of fallen stone on the "slant dip road" would have to be removed bef
ore the bodies of the trapped miners could be reached. This work migh
t take three months. The bodies of Walter Fuller and Edwin Buck wer
e found on Tuesday 4th February, 1902 floating in water approximatel
y 50 yeards in-dye of the return airway, close to a door from the "ma
in slants" heading to "No 3 Level" travelling road. Their bodies wer
e placed into coffins and transported to the surface. The search conti
ued for the other three men. When another serious fire broke out, Gre
ta Colliery was again re-sealed. A further attempt to re-open Greta C
olliery was made on Tuseday 7th October 1902. Within hours smoke appea
ed in the drift travelling tunnel, and re-opening operations were tem
porarily suspended. On Friday 23 January 1903 re-opening operations we
e renewed. Once more heatings and dense smoke drove the workers fro
m the mine. Finally with much difficulty and heavy work, Greta Collier
y was re-sealed on Tuesday 27th January 1903. On Friday 30th January 1
903 Mrs Jane Cowlishaw notified the Mines Department that mining opera
tions at Greta Colliery has ceased forever, and that she was no longe
the owner.
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1871 - Abt 1900 (29 years)
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