“Except one time a large crowbar fell out while we were working at the bottom and came hurtling down the shaft,” he said.
The bucket, or kibble, was secured at the surface by a large winch and had a signal wire fitted with a whistle attached so the miners could tell the winder driver when to stop or pull them back up.
Once the bucket reached the bottom of the shaft, Crilly said the conditions resembled a tropical rainstorm as water seeped in between concrete pores and made it humid and wet, which meant miners always wore full wet weather gear and rubber gloves.
The photo, taken just 30 years ago, reveals how far coal mining practices have advanced in such a short time.
The image (click on the photo to enlarge) forms part of Wollongong City Gallery’s "Voices from the coal face" exhibition, being held from June 10 to August 13. Photo courtesy of Wollongong City Library and the Illawarra Historical Society.
