Those who travel on the daily Tranz Alpine passenger train to or from Christchurch ride over the tracks in the foreground of this picture, taken about 1900. The mine across the river, the site of which is still reachable by the bridge shown, is the Brunner coal mine which was operated until the early 1940s.
This was the scene of New Zealand's worst industrial accident when in 1896 a misplaced explosive charge ignited gases which killed 65 men and boys inside this mine. A mass grave at Stillwater cemetary a few km to the east is a sad testament to the event. Unfortunately this wasn't the only mining disaster near Greymouth - on 19 January 1967 at the Strongman mine 11 km north east of Greymouth, at just after 10 am an explosion blew through the section of the mine known as Green's No 2 Rise. In seconds the fireball from the explosion fired through the section, killing 19 of the 240 men who were working in the mine at the time.
We are hoping, like everyone else, that the explosion at the Pike River mine last Friday won't be yet another mining disaster, but it has to be said the situation doesn't look hopeful. Methane and carbon monoxide as well as carbon dioxide and nitrogen are gases that coal miners have to contend with constantly. What caused this latest explosion is something that will be determined in due course.
Update
Our sympathies go to the families, friends and workmates of the 29 victims in this the worst NZ mining disaster since that in Huntly in 1914.
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