Ralph's Mine Disaster
Main BodyThe Ralph Mine Disaster on Rayner Road in Huntly occurred in the early hours of a Saturday at 7:20 a.m.
An explosion was caused by one of the miner’s naked acetylene cap lamp igniting explosive gas (methane) found in the mine. Forty-three miners were killed in the explosion and the last body was not retrieved until 15 days after the explosion due to a build-up of dangerous gasses and small fires having to be put out. A commission of inquiry was conducted and found that the coal dust inside the mine was highly inflammable; thus, safety lamps were immediately introduced.
Dr Phillip Hart presented the Huntly Mine papers to the University of Waikato Library. The collection pertains to coal industry information and mining papers, with special reference to Huntly and the explosion at Ralph's Mine in 1914
Date of Event12th September 1914