Doug commenced work at Dalkeith Colliery in Scotland in 1966 as a youth miner. He worked on handfill faces on contract, as well as cross measuring drifts before moving to a mechanised face where Dowty props were used instead of chocks.

He spent 14 years working with the National Coal Board at several mines from youth miner to overman in charge of a longwall face.

In 1981 he moved to Australia with BHP to Cook Colliery as firstly an assistant undermanager, then as shift undermanager and finally as longwall coordinator. At Cook he saw the transformation from a bord and pillar mine to longwall production.

In 1992 he moved to New South Wales to take up longwall coordinator position at Ellalong before becoming the production manager.

He then spent one year at Wallarah Colliery as production manager before relocating back to Central Queensland as Moranbah North’s longwall coordinator as part of the team to start up the mine. This involved the purchase and the commissioning of the longwall equipment for the mine and training of the longwall crews.

Doug is now Strata Products Australia manager where he gets to deal with most longwall mines. Doug has built the company up from a standing start to the largest supplier of freestanding supports in Australia.

In his spare time he enjoys sailing, spending time with his grandchildren, watching both codes of rugby and drinking red wine with a good meal and good friends.

ILN:What is your earliest mining memory?

DA: Commencing work at a mine in the Scottish winter of 1966 as a youth miner - looking back it was like something out of Charles Dickens.

I commenced work on the surface where most of the employees where either like me - too young to go underground, near retirement age, or handicapped physically or mentally. It taught me that everyone has a contribution to make given the chance.

ILN: What made you choose mining as a career?

DA: Mining was my second choice. The money was three times that I was earning and the hours where shorter. The seven hour days meant I could be home by 2.30 pm. It was thought that this was a bad choice by my parents as the mining industry was dying out. There are no mines left in Scotland now but when I was a boy there were 10 within walking distance from my home.

After nearly 40 years in the industry it has taken me all around the world, China, USA and South Africa and made me a lot of friends.

ILN: What was your favourite job in a coal mine?

DA: As part of my training I spent some time with the mechanisation team in the UK. Their job was to introduce new machines into longwall faces and develop new systems of longwall mining.

At this time in the early 70s there were still a few hand-fill faces in operation and the transformation was being made to chocks and single drum shearers. Some of the ideas have been evolved into the equipment we use today.

I also enjoyed being part of the team to put Moranbah North together for Shell.

ILN: What was your least favourite job?

DA: Any task that involved night shift. But by far the worst job is handing out retrenchment notices to any employee.

ILN: Who, or what, has most influenced your mining career?

DA: There have been many who have influenced me and helped me through the years, but the most influential was the training officer at my first mine who forced me to study mining at the local technical college. His view of life in the mining industry - that there would always be a need for coal - proved to be correct. I guess I learned a lot more when I left school than I did at school.

ILN: What do you consider your best mining achievement?

DA: Building and being part of longwall teams who were happy cutting coal. We spend a lot of our time at work and it should be rewarding personally as well as financially. At the end of the day it is good to go home knowing you have achieved something.

ILN: What do you see as being the greatest mining development during your career?

DA: There have been enormous improvements from the belt clearance systems through to tail gate support. The automation of face supports still amazes me and the size and power of face equipment. But I think in the last few years basic standards and training have improved to give us better utilisation of the equipment we mine with today but we are still a way off 100% availability.

ILN: Do you hold any mining records?

DA: Some still stand today at Cook and Ellalong (Southland/Austar), but it should be remembered that today’s records are tomorrow’s targets, so should be part of a structured improvement overall.

ILN: Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions?

DA: There are still a few - developing new products and finding solutions to existing problems. The mining industry is in a boom at present and we must make the best of this, as it will not last forever.

ILN: What was your most embarrassing moment in a coal mine?

DA: I once asked a mine manager for a stores docket for a winter jacket, as the place I was working was near pit bottom and very cold in winter. He said to see him at the end of the shift. So I went to his office and he was on the phone but handed me a stores docket. When I gave it to the storeman he came back with a No 6 shovel and I said there must be a mistake but he checked and the docket was for a shovel. When I took it back to the manager he told me he had not made a mistake that this would keep me warmer than a coat.

ILN: What was your scariest time in a coal mine?

DA: As a shot firer in the UK I was being observed by a mines inspector charging a round of shots. I did everything by the book testing for CH4 at every hole posting the centries. However, once I had fired the shot I remembered I had left my flame safety lamp on a prop at the face. Lucky I had a overman who was a quick thinker and he gave me his lamp and put mine under his overalls. The mines inspector was none the wiser but boy did I get it from the overman and undermanager.

ILN: What is your worst memory of coal mining? ...click here to read on.