Location 243
Location #243. Shepherds Creek Coal Mine.
Map 11
Address

Area

Shepherds Creek

Description

Location #243. Shepherds Creek Coal Mine. Shepherds Creek - in the western slope of terrace north of Long Alex Gully.


Still Standing

No


Underground workings may still exist however the portal has been closed off.

Construction Details


Location Type

Mine


View Location on Map

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Interested Parties

The table below shows the groups of people that had an interest in this property, either as owners, residents, tenants or shareholders. Clicking on the 'Details' link will display a list of the individuals in the group along with any known historical information about them.

Group Date Description
1 unknown Unknown Details
2 1927 - 1949 John Hodson (2) Details
Notes

The table below shows any historical notes about the location.

Note Date Short Description Note Text
2745 1927 Location of the mine. Shepherds Creek, in the western slope of the terrace north of Long Alex Gully. Approx 334m south of the Gully Road, Bannockburn-Nevis Road intersection. The outline of the portal is still visible however it is closed off. The tiphead / loading bank still exists along with a concrete block which once carried a winch pulley. A survey plan produced by Mr G A Blaikie (surveyor) from Gore in 1943 shows some details of the underground workings.
2746 1927 General notes. The early history of this mine is unknown. However, if may be that it was opened up about this time by John Hodson (2) when he took up the coal lease on this land.
2747 1945 / 1946 Charlie Scott worked in the mine and supplied the following information. The mine was usually worked by three people. Jim Crabbe, Bill Crabbe, Alex (Sandy) Robertson and Charlie Scott worked at various times in this mine. Also worked here : Jim Hood, Ted Lawrence. The mine was accessed by a decline of approximately 18 metres at a grade of 1 in 4. At the bottom of this decline were various side drives, where the 1.8m (6ft) thick coal seam was worked. The lower end of the decline was crossed at right angles by a side drive. At the right hand corner of this intersection was a pump sump with a steam driven pump. The mine was serviced by a steam boiler which supplied steam for the dewatering pump and a winch which could haul one ton of coal. One truck with 8 bags of coal, approx 1 ton, would be hauled out of the mine at a time. The mine was worked during the winter, and each year one 'pillar' of coal was mined. A pillar of coal consisted of a 12.2m x 12.2m (40 ft) block of coal, 1.8m (6ft) thick. it contained approx 2,400 tons of coal. It was cut out in four quarter sections. The coal from location #243 was sold in Clyde, Arrowtown, Luggate and Cromwell. The slag was sold to William Henry Liddicoat (Bill) of Ripponvale who used it to fire the boiler to heat his glasshouses on his orchard where he grew tomatoes.
2748 1949 Mr Hodson died as a result of a mine accident. In March 1949 John Hodson went to the mine to check the pump in the pump sump at the bottom of the access decline. It appears that Mr Hodson had been leaning over the pump, maybe working on it, when a fall of rock from the roof pinned him over the pump. The force of the rockfall broke a number of Mr Hodsons ribs, one of which punctured a lung. After a period of time Jack Hodson was missed, and his son James Lewis Hodson came to check on him, finding him in a bad way. Jim got his father out of the mine and he was rushed to Cromwell hospital. The next day he was transferred to Dunedin hospital. Unfortunately several days later, John Hodson died of his injuries and he was cremated without a permanent memorial. Following Mr Hodsons death, the mine was closed.
Images

The table below shows a list of images related to the location. Click on 'View Image' to display more details about the image, and to view the image.

Image Id Source Date Short Description
728 Mr F McNulty - Cromwell c1929 Shepherds Creek Coal Mine ( possibly location #243) View Image
729 Mr F McNulty - Cromwell c1920 Frank McNulty with his wagons. View Image
781 Paul Crump - Bannockburn 2002 Shepherds Creek Coal Mine - location #243 - looking west from Bannockburn-Nevis Road View Image
782 Paul Crump - Bannockburn 2002 Shepherds Creek Coal Mines - locations #243 and #510. View Image
820 Mr J L Hodson Collection c1930 Shepherds Creek Coal Mine (?) Possibly location #184 or #243. View Image
1057 Terry Emmitt c1920 Coal Shed / Engine House - location #429. Shepherds Creek Coal Mine. View Image
1069 Paul Crump - Bannockburn 2005 Bannockburn-Nevis Road - looking south. View Image
1156 Paul Crump - Bannockburn 23 Mar 1943 Plan of Shepherd's Creek Coal Mines View Image
2409 Paul Crump - Bannockburn c1945 Coal Mine - Shepherds Creek. (location #243) View Image
2410 Paul Crump - Bannockburn 1943 Coal Mine - Shepherds Creek (locations #243 & #510) View Image