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Events/Disaster · 1887

Bulli Colliery explosion

Disaster, 1887-03-23, Australia.

What happened

A gas explosion at Bulli Colliery on 23 March 1887 killed 81 men and boys. Only an unconscious boy was carried out alive. The Royal Commission blamed mine management and the miners for lax safety, citing miners who had removed the mesh from their lamps. The immediate cause was found to be an exposed Davy lamp or probably an overcharged shot.1,2

Why it matters

It followed a strike that ended in February 1887, and the inquiry blamed lax safety practice by both management and miners.1,2

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. Bulli Colliery explosion

    It followed a strike that ended in February 1887, and the inquiry blamed lax safety practice by both management and miners.1,2

  2. Hamilton Colliery roof fall at Glebe

    The bodies were recovered over a rescue effort that took almost 10 weeks.3,4

  3. Balmain Colliery shaft bucket accident

    The regulator uses it as a case study of shaft winding risk.5,6

  4. Greta Colliery fire

    The regulator uses it as a case study; seven earlier gob fires there had not killed anyone.7,8

  5. Courrieres mine disaster

    Courrieres mine disaster. Wikidata records 1099 deaths.9

  6. Monongah mine explosion

    E-WV links public outrage to the creation of the US Bureau of Mines in 1910.10,11,12

  7. Coal Mines Act 1911

    It was the main British coal mine safety code of the early twentieth century.13,14

  8. Senghenydd colliery disaster

    It led to tighter mine safety enforcement in Britain.15,16,17

Open the full timeline

Where next

People

Inspired byHumphry DavyAn exposed Davy lamp was found to be a likely immediate cause at Bulli in 1887.1

Events

An example ofHamilton Colliery roof fall at GlebeTwo years after Bulli, a roof fall entombed 11 men for almost 10 weeks.3An example ofMount Kembla coal mine explosionBulli killed 81 in 1887. Mount Kembla killed 96 in 1902.18

Sources

  1. 1887 Bulli Colliery Explosion case study (Learning from disasters) NSW Resources Regulator
  2. Bulli (item Q4996904), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  3. 1889 Hamilton Colliery (Glebe) Fall of Roof case study (Learning from disasters) NSW Resources Regulator
  4. Merewether (item Q6819071), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  5. 1900 Balmain Colliery - Winder case study (Learning from disasters) NSW Resources Regulator
  6. Balmain (item Q2881464), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  7. 1900 Greta Colliery Fire case study (Learning from disasters) NSW Resources Regulator
  8. Greta (item Q5607629), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  9. Wikidata item Q1550228 (Courrieres mine disaster)
  10. Monongah (1907) e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia (WV Humanities Council)
  11. Coal fatalities, 1900 to date US Mine Safety and Health Administration
  12. Monongah (item Q2731020), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  13. Coal Mines Act 1911 UK National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
  14. London (item Q84), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  15. Miners' lives at 5.5p each: the Government Enquiry into the 1913 Senghenydd mine disaster Amgueddfa Cymru, Museum Wales
  16. Site dedicated to thousands of lives lost officially recognised (12 Mar 2024) Cadw (Welsh Government)
  17. Senghenydd (item Q3404686), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  18. 1902 Mount Kembla Coal Mine Explosion case study NSW Resources Regulator

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0.