Full description
Regulation of coal mining in New South Wales officially commenced with the appointment on 28 December 1854 of William Keene as Examiner of Coal Fields and Mines under an Act for the Registration and Inspection of Coal Mines (18 Vic No.32).(1) Keene and Inspectors authorised by him were to check plans of coal mines and were to record details of mine workings by the use of plans, sections and descriptions. This information was in the public interest and the aim of the Examiner and Inspectors’ work was to prevent accidents.
Increased mining activity and general dissatisfaction with the administration of mining by the Department of Lands led to the establishment of the Department of Mines on 1 May 1874. As a result, the Examiner of Coal Fields, John Mackenzie, and the Inspector of Collieries, Thomas Lewis, were transferred from the Department of Lands to the Department of Mines.(2)
Although it is unclear when the Coalfields Branch of the Department of Mines was formerly established, the Branch was in operation by 1894.(3) In 1894, the Coal-fields (later Coalfields) Branch consisted of John Mackenzie as Examiner of Coal-fields, four Inspectors of Collieries, a Clerk and Office-keeper, and six Temporary Mining Surveyors.(4) The Examiner of Coal-fields was in charge of the Branch.
In 1935, the Coalfields Branch consisted of the Chief Inspector of Mines, the Senior Inspector of Collieries, four Inspectors of Collieries, an Electrical Inspector of Collieries, one Clerk (who was also Secretary to the Board for Appointing Examiners under the Coal Mines Regulation Act), and two Shorthand-writers and Typists.(5)
In 1962, the structure of the Chief Inspectorate of Coal Mines and Shale Mines changed with the appointment for the first time of a Deputy Chief Inspector.(6) In August 1963, the Chief Inspector of Coal Mines as head of the Coalfields Branch was responsible for the Coal Mines Regulation Act and the Mines Rescue Act. The Coalfields Branch consisted of Inspectors of Collieries, Electrical Inspectors of Collieries, a Safety Officer and Dust Samplers, and an Inspector of Mechanical Engineering was to be added to the Branch’s staff.(7)
Inspectors of Coal Mines were to promote and enforce the uniform observance of the legal obligations cast upon owners and managers of coal and shale mines and upon all persons employed in them. They were to advise and assist mine management in cases of mine fires and other serious incidents and investigate matters associated with lease applications and compliance with lease conditions. In 1963, Inspectors were stationed at Cessnock, Lithgow, Newcastle, and Wollongong. Dust Samplers collected samples of mine roadway dust for analysis to ascertain whether the provisions of the Act requiring the dust to be non-explosive were being observed. Dust Samplers were located at Newcastle and Wollongong.(8)
In 1963, the Coalfields Branch was also responsible for organising the holding of examinations for mine managers, mine surveyors, under managers, mine electricians and deputies.(9) In 1965, the Coalfields Branch was one of several Branches of the Mines Department re-organised to provide better services to the public and mining industry.(10)
The Mining Act 1973 and the Coal Mining Act 1973 further separated the provisions governing the mining of minerals and coal and repealed the Mining Act 1906.(11)
By the late 1970s, the Coalfields Branch along with the Coal Development Branch and the Coal Geology Branch reported to the Assistant Under Secretary for Coal Strategy.(12) The functions of the Coalfields Branch were unchanged from the 1960s while the Coal Geology Branch was responsible for exploration, geological mapping, and the assessment of coal resources. The Coal Development Branch consisted of the Coal Registrar and Deputy Registrars and was responsible for coal applications, coal titles and mapping.(13)
On 4 November 1981 the Coalfields Branch (and the Mines Inspection Branch) were transferred from the Department of Mineral Resources to the Department of Industrial Relations due to continued unrest in the mining industry.(14)
Under the Coal Mines Regulation Act 1982 (No.67, 1982), the following inspectors could be appointed: a Chief Inspector of coal mines, a Deputy Chief Inspector of coal mines, Senior Inspectors of coal mines, Inspectors of coal mines, a Senior Inspector of electrical engineering, Inspectors of electrical engineering, a Senior Inspector of mechanical engineering, and Inspectors of mechanical engineering.(15)
As part of the Government’s initiatives to establish a “one-stop-shop” for the mining industry, the Coalfields Branch and the Mines Inspection Branch were transferred back to the Department of Mineral Resources in April 1988.(16) By now the Coalfields Branch was titled the Coalfields Inspection Branch and retained responsibility for the administration of the Coal Mining Act 1973, Coal Mines Regulation Act 1982 and the Mines Rescue Act 1925.(17) By 1989 the Coalfields Inspection Branch was titled the Coal Mining Inspectorate and Engineering Branch.(18)
In 1989, the Coal Mining Inspectorate and Engineering Branch was located in the Coal Division of the Department of Minerals and Energy, along with the Coal Resources Branch and the Coal Geology Branch. These Branches reported to the Director of the Coal Division, who in turn reported to the Deputy Director-General (Minerals). After the Department’s restructure in 1996, the Coal Mining Inspectorate and Engineering Branch became part of the Mine Safety and Environment Division.
Concerns over the mining industry in the mid 1990s led to a Mine Safety Review and the Gretley Inquiry was launched to investigate the 1996 Gretley Colliery disaster near Newcastle. Recommendations from the Review and Inquiry led to amendments to the Mines Inspection Act 1901 and the Coal Mines Regulation Act 1982. The Mines Inspection Amendment Act 1998 (No.69, 1998) and the Mines Legislation Amendment (Mines Safety) Act 1998 (No.122, 1998) enabled the Department to build the administrative and managerial framework necessary to implement change.(19)
From 1 January 1999 the Coal Mining Inspectorate and Engineering Branch was consolidated with the Mines Inspection Branch to form one Inspectorate known as Safety Operations.(20) This was a significant change for both Branches as the inspection of coal and metalliferous mines had been kept separate since the appointment of the first Examiner of Coalfields and the first Inspector of Mines back in the mid 1800s.
ENDNOTES
1. Blue Books 1862, p59; Coal Mine Registration and Inspection Act received its assent on 30 November 1854.
2. Blue Book of NSW for 1874 (Public Service List), p82.
3. Blue Book of NSW for 1894 (Public Service List).
4. loc. cit.
5. NSW Public Service List 1935, p111.
6. Annual Report for the Department of Mines 1962, p62.
7. Progress: NSW Public Service Board Journal, August 1963, vol.2, no.4, p25.
8. loc. cit.
9. loc. cit.
10. Annual Report for the Department of Mines 1965, p8.
11. Annual Report for the NSW Public Service Board 1973-74, p70.
12. Annual Report for the Department of Mineral Resources and Development 1979-80, p45.
13. loc. cit.
14. NSW Government Gazette No.170, 6 November 1981, p5751.
15. Coal Mines Regulation Act 1982 (No.67), Part II, Division 1.
16. Annual Report for the Department of Mineral Resources 1988, p6.
17. ibid, p5.
18. Annual Report for the Department of Minerals and Energy 1988-89, p10.
19. Annual Report for the Department of Mineral Resources 1998-99, p39.
20. ibid, p41.
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