Though there are still a couple of active coal mines in 2026 — eg., Springvale which provides coal to the Mount Piper Power Station –nine mines have recently either closed, or been placed on ‘care & maintenance’. The town hangs on in a world that is moved on from producing electricity from coal fired power stations.
The town is depressed: there are lots of empty shops in Main Street, many of the buildings are run down, and there is little energy on the streets.
The town’s history is one of confrontation between labour and capital, notably in 1911 and 1949., with the latter being a prolonged industrial struggle over wages, working hours and safe working conditions. The confrontation escalated from a standard labour-versus-capital dispute into a battle against the state when the Labor Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, took drastic repressive measures to break the strike:
Leave a Reply