Brownlee, William

DESCRIPTION

NameBrownlee, WilliamOccupationMinerPlace of ResidenceTongarraBiographyWilliam Brownlee purchased 236 acres at the foothills of Macquarie Pass in the late 1850s, and built a sandstone cottage for his family, which still stands today.

Good coal was discovered on the property in the 1880s and by 1893, William started mining a coal seam and excavated a horizontal tunnel, 800 feet above sea level. The coal at Tongarra was regarded as high quality, and on par with Newcastle, which was considered the best.

Coal from Tongarra was used to operate machinery at the Albion Park Butter Factory, and power the Tallawarra Power Station at Yallah.

In 1908, Percy Owen, uncle of famed gun inventor Evelyn Owen, continued with the mine. The Owen’s were followed by Yuill and Company of Corrimal. In 1943, the mine was acquired by Excellsior Collieries, and provided steady employment for men of Albion Park and surrounding areas, for generations.

In 1945, W. G. Harris and Sons, who operated a garage and bus service at Albion Park, were approached to put on a bus to transport the miners, to and from the mine site. Claude Harris drove the bus to the mine every day until the mine closed in 1965. He recalled how wild and narrow the road up to the mine could be, with coal trucks passing and no way of backing down the mountain.

The old mine site has been restored back to nature, and hardly any trace is left of the 1893 to 1965 enterprise.

External LinkObituary Mr William BrownleeMr William Brownlee

Photograph

Tongarra Coal Mine 1958

Murray & Mary Brownlee at Tongarra Mine homestead

William Brownlee at the entrance to Tongarra Coal Mine c.1900

Site of Tongarra Coal Mine

Spectators at the unveiling of the Tongarra Mine coal loader exhibit at Tongarra Museum

View from Tongarra Mine manager's cottage to Albion Park

Tongarra Mine manager's cottage

Tongarra Mine storeroom after a landslide about 1955

Object

Excelsior Collieries And Coke Works Register

NSW Department of Mines Organisation In Case Of Disaster

Industry

Mining - Coal

William Brownlee at the entrance to Tongarra Coal Mine c1900.

CONNECTIONS

CollectionPeoplePlaceTongarra MineTulkeroo and Albion Park butter Factory (Former)Tallawarra Power StationTongarra Mine CottageLocalityTongarraFamilyBrownleeOwenHarris

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Brownlee, William