Under Construction.
By the 1860’s and on for another century or so, there have been McKenzie’s who went mining – Gold, Coal & Shale Oil.
Gold
Was Gold Fever rife in the McKenzie family? At least seven, and possibly eight, of Alexander McKenzie Jnr’s ten sons were lured by gold, Hugh in particular:
- Daniel McKenzie – 1860’s – New Zealand – disappeared there about 1863-1864
- Alexander McKenzie – 1860’s – New Zealand – disappeared there about 1863-1864
- Donald McKenzie – 1850’s in the Back Creek, Yackandandah, Beechworth area of Victoria
- Angus McKenzie – 1871 – Hill End, NSW & his only son George Charles McKenzie – 1899 – Mt McDonald
- Hugh McKenzie – 1899 – Canowindra – 3 acres, GL6, parish Collett ; 2 men for first 12 months, 3 for remainder of term – Gold has been associated with the area since the 1860’s
- Thomas Joseph McKenzie – he was at Gold Mining areas – One Mile, Grenfell and Homeward Bound Hill Grenfell ,where his eldest two children Thomas Alexander McKenzie and Elizabeth Johanna McKenzie were born respectively
- Archibald McKenzie – 1920 – Miner of Canowindra – sought discharge from bankruptcy
- Charles McKenzie – miner at Lucknow – mentioned in his wife’s obituary
Perhaps it was simply the times facing people who had never known real wealth, so the lure of gold was unable to be resisted?
Note
- Alexander McKenzie Jnr’s other two sons: it is uncertain if Robert McKenzie was involved in Gold mining prior to being in Bogantugan, Pine Hill & Barcaldine in Queensland’s Central West in 1883 – though Goldmining had been known in that part of Queensland.
- John McKenzie had remained as a Farmer in the Taralga area, when the rest of the family moved on in the 1870’s.
Angus McKenzie was a miner at Hill End in 1871, when he married Agnes Milne Goldie, and their son George Charles McKenzie was born at Hill End in 1872.
Photos below depict images of Hill End during the Goldrush Boom from Historical Australian Towns website.
George Charles McKenzie was a gold miner at Mt McDonald in 1898 where he married and his only son Angus Alvin McKenzie was born
Robert McKenzie, son of Alexander McKenzie & Elizabeth Hanks, had moved up to Pine Hill, then Barcaldine and onto Rockhampton. Up there, his daughter Muriel Isabella McKenzie had married John Bellamy, a miner of Mt Morgan. Muriel and John lived at Morgan from 1910 – 1919, when John died during the Spanish Flu epidemic. After John’s death, Muriel returned to Bollover St Rockhampton. When John Bellamy worked at the Morgan Mine, it was an underground mine.
Image below is from Mindat
Image below is of the mine in and town seen from the Mt Morgan Hospital in 1910 – Source Australian Country Hospital Heritage Association
Image below is from Mindat
Mt Morgan had a long history as a gold, silver & copper mining area from 1882 to 1981 – once it was the largest gold mine in the world. A fire destroyed all the underground workings in 1927, and so the mine was flooded. In 1928, the mine was re-opened, but as an open cut mine. We visited the mine about 1975, while we were Metallurgy students at the University of Wollongong. So the mine was still operational, and I recall its open cut facilities and mineral processing facilities, as well as the polluted dams. There have been proposals to get the mine going again, but these have not proved financially viable. Only partial environmental rehabilitation has been carried out.
Grenfell
Gold Mining in Grenfell in the old days – 1916 – Grenfell Record & Lachlan District Advertiser – 1,
In the 1970’s Kerrie Anne Christian and husband David John Christian carried out high temperature gold extraction from mercury experiments. These were part of the “mineral dressing” component in their Metallurgical studies at the University of Wollongong – “such a huge effort for such a tiny prill of gold” was Kerrie Anne’s memory. David still loves to go gold panning.
Coal
Alexander Henry Hicks & Henry Thomas “Harry” Hicks Jnr, grandsons of Alexander McKenzie Jnr & Ann McLean’s worked in Northern Illawarra coal mines. Their mother was Mary Ann Hicks nee McKenzie, elder daughter of Alexander and Ann McKenzie – see Hicks webpage.
Alexander was at the Mt Pleasant Colliery and Harry was at the Excelsior Mine before WW1. He gave evidence at the Inquiry into the 1902 Mt Kembla Mine Disaster. Later Alex became President of the Illawarra Collieries Employees Association, and fought for the 8 Hour Working Day for Coal Miners.
Harry broke his leg in a works accident at Excelsior. Later he left the mines to be a permanent Army officer.
Ken Joy, great nephew of Alexander and Harry, and grandson of their sister Edith Joy nee Hicks, worked briefly at Old Bulli Pit. However he had felt uneasy about its safety. Fortuitously, he left, a mere few weeks before the tragic 1965 fire, in which 4 men perished.
Kerrie Anne Christian – I am a great granddaughter of Edith Joy nee Hicks. Back in 1981, I visited the Old Bulli Pit, when I was undertaking metallurgical work for an engineer there, Harvey Gladden. While underground, Harvey pointed towards the areas of the 1965 fire, and the even more tragic 1887 explosion. Since 2014, I have coordinated the annual commemoration of the 1887 tragedy, where 81 men and boys lost their lives. From 1981, I also undertook metallurgical work with engineers at a number of BHP’s collieries, including Appin, Tower, Cordeaux, Corrimal & a few others. In 1991, I was part of an engineering team sent to Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding in Japan, following problems with the Appin Gas Turbine. The Turbine was installed after another tragic fire in 1979 at the Appin Pit. I was also fortunate to be part of a Technical Society visit to BHP’s Corrimal Colliery. Initially, as a female I was initially barred from going underground, however a special dispensation was granted me, because I was actually doing metallurgical investigations for that Colliery at that time! I also provided metallurgical advice, associated with the processing of iron ore, at BHP’s Pellet Plant at Whyalla and Cyclones at BHP’s HBI Plant at Port Hedland.
Shale Oil Mining
Henry Thomas Hicks Jnr had also worked at the Joadja Shale Oil Mine. He lived there with wife Eva Kate Bottomley, where their daughter Elsie was born – see Hicks webpage.
Note – If anyone else has information on our McKenzie’s in Mining, please drop me a line at kcact@tpg.com.au
Who am I ? Kerrie Anne Christian, 4 x gt gd
The Illawarra McKenzie Family 