Shale Mine Works:
Implication of the
Germans 2001
Enamel on board
90 x 60 cm

We had always understood the Temi
Shale Mine was owned and run by
Germans and that they had packed
up when WW I was imminent and
gone home. Not true.

At the beginning of the 2000’s our local
historical society, of which I am a Life
Member, took on the project to research
and record the true story. It was the British
who owned and operated the mine and
works. The reason it closed was simply,
it failed financially.

As for the Germans, the only thing I
can see that may have led to this misunderstanding was the sign on the
side of the complex (historic photo).
The sign carried a name that was
‘German sounding’.

Shale Mine Works:
Tragedy 2001
Enamel on board
90 x 60 cm

When I was in my Primary School
days at Murrurundi the Shale Mine
Works was a great but foreboding
place for kids to explore.
‘Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted’
sort of stuff.

Then one day I came home from
school that afternoon and my
mother asked me if I had heard of
the accident at the Works. A young
boy had been killed when a brick
wall had fallen on him. I was then
cautioned in no uncertain terms,
DO NOT GO ANYWHERE NEAR that
place. Eyes popping, I was off to
tell my friends. Then, as kids will
do, we all headed straight for
the Works.

Shale Mine Works:
Miners Ghost 2001
Enamel on board
90 x 60 cm