Plan showing coal at Charming Creek

Drilling and detailed geological surveys had shown the presence of an area of coal in the headwaters of Charming Creek in 1911-12. This was outlined in yellow on this map in the annual report of the Mines Department for 1912 (and in later years became known as ‘the yellow blob’). This could have been an extension of the Seddonville State Mine, but in 1913 the government decided to cut its losses and abandon the area. In later years there was considerable interest in obtaining a lease to mine this coal-bearing area.