Pages tagged with: seddonville

The West Coast coalmining settlement of Seddonville, 50 kms north of Westport, was named in honour of the Liberal Premier Richard Seddon. It was also the site of an early experiment in state socialism – New Zealand's first state coal mine opened there in 1903.

After John Rochfort discovered fragments of bituminous coal in a river north of Westport in 1859, the search was on for accessible coal seams that could be mined.

Premier Richard Seddon decided that the best way to challenge the coal companies was to establish government-owned mines that would provide cheaper coal as well as setting better working conditions for miners.

The block of coal discovered in the headwaters of Charming Creek created interest after the closure of the state mine.

There are major advantages to using hydraulic mining for coal, including the lack of dust as well as minimising the risk of explosions and fires.

After 1956 there was a sharp decline in the demand for coal as many customers changed to oil.

Photographer Henry Winkelmann captured this mixed train with passenger carriages crossing Chasm Creek bridge in 1903

A fully laden coal train, about to leave for Westport.

A short history of the coal trains that ran on the Seddonville line.

Pupils from Seddonville attending high school in Westport travelled by train in 1945.

Powered by Ww571, a freight train carrying timber and coal crosses Chasm Creek bridge in December 1968

Veteran labour politician Harry Holland represented West Coast electorates that included Seddonville from 1918 until his death in 1933.

Part of the old railway line west of Seddonville has been converted into a short walkway, which crosses the historic Chasm Creek bridge

Many of the private mines in the Seddonville area reworked areas where coal had been left in the ground by earlier mines.

The cover picture on an issue of New Zealand Coal in 1982 featured all the paid-up members of the Charming Creek union, then thought to be the world’s smallest union.

This diagram illustrates how water was used to in mining at Charming Creek Mine.

This wooden flume at the Charming Creek mine was typical of the flumes used to move coal with the aid of running water.

For many years Tom Moynihan was owner of the Moynihan Coach Company. He later moved to Westport, where he was involved with hydraulic mining at a number of localities.

Danny Laurie leads pit-pony ‘Speedy’, hauling a rake of empty trucks back to the mine in 1948.

A converted tractor tows coal-filled wagons across a suspension bridge over the Ngakawau River in the 1940s.