Wonthaggi State Coal Mine visit

 Wonthaggi State Coal  Mine Historic Site

Wonthaggi State Coal Mine Visitor Centre under renovation since last time I was there

My first work trip since returning to work at Parks Victoria was to the Wonthaggi State Coal Mine The State Coal Mine is in the town of Wonthaggi, 130 km south-east of Melbourne. A historic mine site managed by Parks Victoria with the help of local volunteers. I tagged along for a visit to the mine with my heritage branch colleague Catherine, as last time I was here on my way to Phillip Island I stopped for a visit but it was a cold rainy day so we didn't take a tour.

Well, it rained again this day but I still had a great personal tour from a volunteer who was amazing as he had grown up in Wonthaggi and lived in the tent city before a community was built for the miners.  I felt really lucky to receive this tour while Catherine was teaching volunteers how to wrap artefacts for storage. The mine site's collection is kept on site, a best practice with regard to collections in Australia based on the principles of the Burra Charter.


The authentic mine site gives visitors the opportunity to experience the primitive conditions of black coal mining in Victoria during the 1900's. The mine remains just as it was in its working days. Tools and equipment are still in place, as if the miners have just walked away. Seams of 130 million year old coal glisten under dim lighting, while empty skips stand idle to rust in the silent tunnels.

Unfortunately I did not get to go underground due to the heavy rains and safety risk but the tour, and interpration panels and objects gave me a really good sense of what life was like underground for the boys and men that worked there and what life was like for the women who kept things running and in order above ground.



 



Frank - volunteer tour guide from the Friends of the State Coal Mine. He was a wonderful tour guide full of knowledge and anectdotes as he worked in the mines as a child and his father was a miner. I learned many great things about coal mining and life in Wonthaggi when it was a properous mining town and community. He told me many great stories and was a fascinating story teller.




 Map showing the extent of the underground works in Wonthaggi.

 

 

Coal in its varying stages.



Lamp that the miners carried with them.



click here for the Parks Victoria Park Notes about the Mine Site

This whistle is still blown in town today, in fact at noon I heard it, it goes off everyday!!



Become a friend of the State Coal Mine on Facebook

Watch this great video about the mine!

Keeping Wonthaggi's mining history alive - ABC Gippsland Vic - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Life at The Chevron - 539 St. Kilda Road

We moved into the landmark Chevron Building at St. Kilda road on Nov. 27, exactly 10 days after arriving in Melbourne. After viewing a lot of apartment we chose this one for its great location about 5 minutes away from the beach and 15 minutes away from the city by tram. Also, we needed to find a furnished apartment and the furnishing that came with this flat were modern and it was nicely decorated. Having a storage cage in the basement also was a pro on our list.


The building is located on the site and adjacent to the former Chevron Hotel which was known in Melbourne as a ritzy hotel and nightclub that once hosted the likes of Ava Gardner, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. Rumor has it that Danni Minogue the sister of pop star Kylie Minogue has a penthouse suite in the building, but I've yet to run into any celebreties!


The nightclub, known by locals as "The Chevy" closed its doors in 2001 and many who I run into say they used to frequent the popular watering hole. The original building a four storey Palazzo style with a brick and stucco facade with prominent roofline and corner tower was built in the Interwar Period and has been turned into apartments. We live in the new development on the site that faces the rear of the orignal building and has 9 stories. We live on the 6th floor of the wing that has 7 stories and have a lovely view of Fawkner Park with the lights of the Melbourne Crickets Grounds off in the distance.



View of the rear of the original 1934 Chevron Building from our balcony.



The courtyard is bordered by ponds with lilypads, Koi and Goldfish. It also features gym, swimming pool and outdoor barbeque area.



We are on the 6th floor second from the top to the left of the lightpole.

 

Fawkner park across from our building. Right next door to where I am standing when taking this pic is the Alfred Hospital and trauma centre with a helipad which is about 10meters away from our building. The noise of the ambulances and helicopter taking off has taken getting used to but now its just background noise. The helicopter pad is so close that when it takes off we can see the pilot from our balcony as he flies overhead!

View of Fawkner Park from our balcony. This park has been around since the early 1900's with little change. This land was first reserved in 1862 and contains two art-deco brick pavilions, circa 1930s; paths lined with Moreton Bay fig, elm, poplar and oak trees; a tennis club with café; the South Yarra Senior Citizens Centre; the Fawkner Park Children's Centre; playgrounds and sports grounds. We have been going on regular walks every evening and witness the sights and sounds of large fruit bats in the trees, cockatoos, magpies and possums running around.

  



A very large beetle that came across our path on one of our evening walks. It was almost as long as this king size cigarette that we placed next to it to show its size!

A rainbow I spotted as I got of the tram one day and was walking to our building. The Chevron is on the right.



Sculpture in front of an office building on St. Kilda Road