Hebburn Collieries 

Despite the devastating deaths of many coal miners in Hebburn pits – the countless injuries – the despair with strikes and loss of income - the Hebburn Collieries spawned an energetic tight-knit community and a spirit of mateship difficult to replicate now that the mines have passed into history. When the last of the Hebburn mines closed in 1972 (Hebburn No.2), Weston and its people suffered enormous hardship.  At times the town struggled to survive, with many fearing Weston was in danger of becoming yet another mining ghost town.  But survive it did.  Weston was built by people of great fortitude.  Life in the village continues today with descendants of those first settlers and newcomers alike. These days, Weston  survives through different, more diverse commerce and industry, and the old familiar sound of the pit whistle is no longer heard, but we will always remember the names of our miners who lost their lives in the local collieries - they are marked with a cross on our timeline pages:

  Weston to 1910   1911-1920   1921-1960   1961-2000  and 2001-2020  

The following was extracted from John Delaney's comprehensive work:  A HISTORY OF THE GRETA COAL MEASURES, Newcastle Regional Museum, Hebburn No.1.  

'Hebburn No. 1 Colliery owes its origin to its parent, the Australian Agricultural Company. Before giving a brief history of Hebburn Colliery, it is appropriate to first look at the beginnings of the Australian Agricultural Company, which has figured so largely in the development of the coal trade in New South Wales.

The Australian Agricultural Company was formed in London on the 26th November 1824. In its articles, it set out that the Company's aims was to develop and colonise the new lands of N.S.W. Further that the Company's sources of profit were to be wool, cattle and livestock, silk, tobacco, olive oil, wine, opium and flax. It was granted a charter by the English Parliament, and the right by grant to own 1,000,000 acres on which to operate. Its English investors and shareholders provided abundant capital, £1,000,000-0-0 sterling by 10,000 shares at £100-0-0 ($200.00) each, plus a great deal of energy and enthusiasm.

The first company meeting held in January 1825 appointed Robert Dawson as the Company's agent (Superintendent) in Australia with a committee of five Sydney residents to assist the Australian management. These were:

Archdeacon Scott

Captain King

Messrs: James Macarthur, James Bowman, Hannibal Bowman...' 

The following text was transcribed from: THE PIONEERING DAYS OF THE COALFIELDS, No.1, Jul 1999, p.2, p.4, by Brian J. Andrews, Coalfields Heritage Group:

THE BIRTH OF WESTON

  The former mining township of Weston owes both its name and location to the Weston family, the original settlers of the area, but it owes its existence to the Australian Agricultural Company (A.A. Co.) and its Hebburn No.1 colliery.

  In 1902, the A.A. Co., one of the wealthiest and oldest institutions in the country, purchased and leased at an enormous cost, a vast area of coal bearing land south of Weston.

  At that time the central township of Kurri Kurri was still only a figment in the minds of a few Pelaw Main miners, but by the end of that year would become a reality,

  The area secured by the A.A. Co. comprised 1320 acres of freehold land, originally owned by the wealthy Hebblewhite family, and 3131 acres of leasehold, the whole forming one block of 4457 acres. The Hebblewhite land was purchased early in 1901.

  Today, all of this land lies within the contentious Hunter Employment Zone of which we are sure to hear a lot more in the coming months.

  Test bores had been undertaken at various parts of this large property, leading the company to believe, without the slightest doubt, that coal of the very best quality and in great thickness of seam, existed beneath the whole of the surface.  

  One of the first indications that coal existed in that neighbourhood was the discovery, in the 1880s, of a coal outcrop on the banks of a creek running through the Weston family’s land.

  The discovery was made, it is believed, by Mr Harper, a government geologist, who took several specimens away with him.

  A later coal specimen taken from the A.A. Company’s shaft was sent to England, where it created an exceedingly favourable impression on mining experts in that country.

  At Hebburn, Mr Robert Scott was appointed manager to superintend operations for the sinking of the main tunnel and the other surface works. A comfortable cottage residence and office for Mr Scott was built at the colliery by Mr Con Shay, making it the first residence built at either Hebburn or Weston, apart from the old Weston homestead.

  At that time, in 1902, Oaks Creek, a small stream flowed through the property. Right from the outset an immense dam was built across this creek for the purpose of water conservation, an essential item for those steam-powered days.  It was estimated that a lake comprising 5,000,000 gallons would be formed by the holding back of the creek.

  It is hoped that in future articles of this series I will be able to tell more of the history of this colliery and others around which the coalfield towns owed their existence.

  Throughout 1902 and into 1903, development work proceeded on the Hebburn Colliery, whilst the Aberdare Colliery and Railway Company extended its railway through Weston towards Cessnock.

  Two entirely distinct settlements sprung up around the colliery – the Hebburn Estate and Weston Estate.

  Tents were numerous around Hebburn, where some 250 men and boys were employed about the property. Many of these hands were engaged in carting clay from the railway cutting to strengthen the bank of the reservoir, at a point where the old original road (track) to Cessnock, passed by heading for Abermain.

  Towards the end of 1903 a few substantial buildings had been erected at Weston, the most substantial being the two-storied Criterion Hotel, brick built, with balcony all round, owned by Mr James Jones, formerly of Newcastle.

James Weston, for whom the town of Weston was eventually named, was a convict transported from Sussex, England to the penal colony of New South Wales to serve a 14-year sentence.  James Weston was 30-years old when he arrived. His wife Lucy followed him to Australia where they had two children: Jane (1832) and James (1840).

James Weston and his family eventually settled in the Maitland area and in 1856 purchased 640 acres of land around Chinaman’s Hollow. On this substantial holding James Weston established his homestead, complete with vineyard and orchard, near Swamp Creek

The Newcastle Morning Herald newspaper in its issue dated 3rd October 1902 reports that on that date the Australian Agricultural Company had 50 men engaged in the construction of a huge dam. Further that two tunnels about half a mile apart were being driven. At this date both tunnels were only about 20 yards in depth.' [A HISTORY OF THE GRETA COAL MEASURES: Hebburn No. 1 Colliery]

Whilst the Hebburn Dam was a place of recreation and fun for the town folk of Weston, it was also the site of tragedy.  Eight people lost their lives there between 1910 and 1949.  They were: 

• Harry Burdas Shepherd       Aged 10      d. 10 Jan 1910 

• Walter Christopher Long     Aged 43     d. 28 Jan 1912 

• Clyde William Peters             Aged 12      d. 3 Dec 1918

• John Dent                                     Aged 26      d. 31 Dec 1927  (See photo above)

• Norman Clyde Eade               Aged 13      d. 1 Sep 1941 

• Neville Richard Austin          Aged 15      d. 24 Jan1943

• Norman James Pember       Aged 16       d. 24 Dec 1946 

• Kenneth Charles Sault          Aged 10      d. 21 Jan 1949 

In 1925,  there was also a drowning at the colliery brickworks.  The brickworks lay between the Southern Explosives site and Weston Station:

•  Leonard George Jeans          Aged 9         d. 1 Jul 1925.  

Leonard Jeans drowned in the dam used by the brickworks. There were two separate reports of this drowning, the first suggested Leonard George Jeans died near the chitter dump on the Hebburn Estate and the second and most probably correct was in the dam on the property of the colliery brickworks adjacent to Weston station.      

~ Ean Smith

Above right:   Small Coal Handling Tunnel.  This is the interior of the facility. The top was covered in coal coming down from the overhead conveyors.

~ UNE Coal and Cultural Collection

 Above (left): Hebburn Coal Wagons, Staff housing and Mt Tomalpin or 'Tumblebee'.

Above (right): Hebburn Colliery

 ~Newcastle Regional Library

John Delaney:

'Hebburn Limited with the influx of capital from the new company formation in 1914 and plus the enthusiasm of its principal shareholder, Huddart Parker Limited, looked to expand into the interstate coal markets, particularly the Victorian region. It was soon realised that there was rich rewards, if coal was available for sale. With this in view, surface rights to 56 acres on mining lease No. 79, Parish of Stanford were sought from the Lands Department on the 23rd February 1916 to erect a pit-top building and rail sidings yard to operate a new mine. To meet the steel rail requirements on this project, an order was placed in 1916 with Hoskins Brothers Steelworks.

In 1917 Hebburn Limited commenced the construction of a large dam on mining lease No. 79. Country Concrete Company, of Marickville, NSW, erected a unique colliery chimney stack. Further on the 9th August 1918, the same company won the contract to construct the splendid reinforced concrete pit-top. The fine white concrete structure presented a clean appearance somewhat unexpected when associated with the coal industry. Meanwhile A. Goninan and Company had erected two 75 feet high steel-lattice poppet heads. With a Lancashire boiler installed to provide steam for a winding engine, the sinkings of the shafts were commenced on the 28th November 1918, and were completed in September 1921.

A single track branch railway from Hebburn No. 1 Colliery to the new workings had been completed on the 11th November 1918. Other necessary plant, buildings and equipment had also been arranged. Morrison and Bearby of Newcastle supplied the shaft cages; Gibson Battle and Company of Newcastle the "creeper chain"; and on completion of the pit-top structures, A. Goninan and Company had supplied the screens, picking belts, etc., etc.

First full train of coal production from the new mine was despatched on the 1st December 1921.'

         [John Delaney, A HISTORY OF THE GRETA COAL MEASURES, Newcastle Regional Museum:  Hebburn No. 2 Colliery]

Above:  Inside Hebburn Colliery 

Power House

       ~ UNE Coal and Cultural Collection