Mining stories among the first told by the Mercury

The paper has reported on the Moranbah region’s achievements since the town was founded 50 years ago

SEAM FOUND: A substantial amount of coal was reported from drillings in the Nebo area. 1951.Photo Daily Mercury Archives

THE Daily Mercury has been at the forefront of reporting on mining developments in the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Region since the town's beginnings.

In the 1860s, the Mackay Mercury chronicled the early days of mining gold, copper and coal in the Central Highlands, notably with the Peak Downs Copper Mining Company, which subsequently established the towns of Clermont and Copperfield.

In 1864, the first coal deposit in the region was found at Blair Athol pastoral station, about 25km northwest of Clermont.

There's the 1866 report from a correspondent (under the signature of 'Miner') who had written to say that while the men engaged on the telegraph line were sinking postholes on Greenmount station (near Walkerston) they found great quantities of oxide of copper, an excellent indication of the presence of a lode at no great distance.

'Miner' suggested that a search should be made for the lode as "the discovery of a remunerative mine so near port could not fail to enhance the prosperity of Mackay".

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For more than a decade from the late 1920s, the Daily Mercury was reporting regularly on the prospects of the Fleetwood Colliery, three miles from Calen.

A 1938 Mercury report read, "Few Mackay people realise the growing importance of the district's coal industry. The mine at Calen has been developed to such an extent that it now employs 17 men …".

The venture didn't succeed but by the 1940s readers' eyes were turning to the Nebo coal fields, and, in 1949, thanks to a strike, Mackay City Council was forced to mine its own coal at Bee Creek, near Nebo, to generate the town's power.

Its the start of underground coal mining in the Mackay Hinterland- Harrow Creek. The coal loading conyeyor belt stretches up from the base of the mine to a coal stockpile, 100ft. above the mine opening. The other mines are open cut, often referred to in the United States as strip mining. 1978Photo Daily Mercury Archives

 

From there the industry's prospects grew. By the 1970s development of the Bowen Basin was gathering speed.

Isaac Mayor Anne Baker said the Daily Mercury had been an integral part of the region in relation to the coal industry and the Bowen Basin and also, more generally, right across the Isaac Region.

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She said the newspaper had reported on the Moranbah region's achievements since the town was founded 50 years ago.

"We're all disappointed rural and regional print newspapers have been withdrawn. It has provided a vital source of news and human interest stories to power our large coal industry region," she said.

"We've got 26 active coal-producing sites in our region. There wouldn't be a crib room where the Daily Mercury doesn't sit on their table. In relation to the emergence of the coal industry, the Daily Mercury … was a vital contributor as a source of information right from the early discovery."

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Ms Baker said through its pages the Mercury had covered the establishment of many mines in the Bowen Basin and the subsequent export of coal around the world for steel and power.

She said while the sad loss of life in the coal mining industry should "never, ever" be forgotten, the Daily Mercury had reported on the stories in a "very respectful way".

"The Daily Mercury, in my view, did an outstanding job for our community and our region in relation to the coverage of the fly-in, fly-out campaign."

"There were a dozen front page stories that I have a collage of those on my wall in my office. The Daily Mercury should be remembered for giving really good coverage for high-profile

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