Uni helps dust off coal mining history
Published on 05 May, 2009
CQUniversity was recently asked to help save a little bit of coal mining history.
Blackwater resident and retired dragline operator Ron Moon, who spent 37 years working in the mining industry, contacted the University seeking help in restoring a century-old photograph from his family's past.
Ron Moon with the historical image
The photograph, believed to have been taken in 1899, depicts his grandfather and uncle transporting one of the first loads of coal from the Blackwater mine to Mt Morgan.
Using teams of up to 17 horses, the coal was transported to the railway line at Boolburra, near Duringa, before making its way up the switchback railway to the gold mine at Mt Morgan.
Mr Moon has had the photograph in his possession for as long as he can remember and for the past few years it has sat in a dark cupboard wrapped in butchers' paper.
Only when he visited the new International Coal Centre in Blackwater and mentioned to staff that he had a photo of one of the first exports of coal did he dig it out of the cupboard. He was shocked to see how much it had faded over time.
Contacting the University was Ron's first step and photographer Peter Lawrence and Photoshop wizard/graphic artist Dave Downer have tried their best to bring the image back to life and make it suitable for donation to the Coal Centre display, for all to enjoy.
