Bullfinch Coal Mine (Proprietary), Collie Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Bullfinch Coal Mine (Proprietary)	Mine
Collie Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

The historic mine is on the eastern outskirts of Collie, near the Collie River, and is in the vicinity of the Collie Landfill (refuse) site, just east of the Wallsend mine. The writer is not a fan of important historic mine sites being used to dump rubbish.

While the coalfield was active from 1898, information under the Bullfinch name was only found from 1910. At this time many miles away at a place called Bullfinch, north of Southern Cross, some gold was found. This led to a speculating boom and bust rush to the site. The Collie Bullfinch Investment Prospecting Syndicate was formed to cash in. For some reason they also acquired a coal mine at Collie.

George Bell from the Cardiff Coal Mine, and Donald MacPherson from Collie Burn mine, were sent to find gold. Unimpressed with Bullfinch, they acquired a lease to the north, did much costeaning and found no gold. They then acquired a lease at Golden Valley also north of Bullfinch with the same result. John Davy (described as a grizzled hardy old practical miner) had also been sent, and acquired 24 acres next to the Blackburn mine near Southern Cross. The mine was christened the Prince Finch. Some gold was found, but not nearly enough.

One source definitively states the enterprise is not a 'wild-cat'. (Where investors sink money into a company claiming to have found gold but the site is barren, and the directors take off with the money). The company proved to be a wild-cat.

The solicitor, W. Vernon Ogden, was left back at Collie to face the music as he had gone guarantor, but had no money to pay the investors. In 1912, the Bullfinch Coal Mine was purchased by the Proprietary Coal Mines Company.

Jason Moyle was killed in a fall of coal in 1931, and was part of a long list of accidents and deaths of miners in the first half of the 20th Century, when underground coal mining was occurring.

The mine was active through the 1920's and 1930's until the outbreak of war.
Strikes were once common in Australia, especially in towns dedicated to mining. Many decades of poor mine safety, obstinate management, and worker isolation from the real world in these towns were often the cause. The early 1930's was particularly bad for the mine in this regard, but by no means isolated to it. The workers went on strike after their clothes were thrown out, that had been left drying on a verandah.

Another of many strikes during this period was the scraping by management of an old award which included certain penalty rates. The workforce of 159 men were then fined, when the company took them to court for undertaking illegal strike action. It was a test case for the Industrial Act of 1925. This toxic atmosphere only led to more strikes.

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