On 12 September 1914 a huge explosion shook the Waikato town of Huntly at 7.20am. The Ralph's Mine main shaft was in the centre of the town, and a column of smoke and dust rose up from it.
The mine had formerly been declared very safe, and free from most types of dangerous gases, so the miners were allowed to work with naked lights. At first the explosion was blamed on coal dust. However, subsequent enquiries revealed that Frank Reed, an inspecting engineer of mines from a different area, had warned on August 15 that "firedamp was prevalent" in the mine, and recommended the use of safety lamps.
After the disaster Reed measured 350,000 cubic feet of gaseone mixture, which he said could not possibly have built up only in the 6 days after the explosion.
43 men lost their lives in the disaster.
The images are from a volume of press cuttings from Auckland Mines Department - the text is from the NZ Herald 14.9.1914, and the photographs from the Auckland Weekly News 17.9.1914
BCAV A17/17/15 - this record is held in our Auckland Regional Office.
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