Collie Burn Coal Mine (Scottish; Collie Scottish; Collie Boulder), Collie Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Collie Burn Coal Mine (Scottish; Collie Scottish; Collie Boulder)	Mine
Collie Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

The locality of Collie Burn is about 8 kilometres south-east of Collie. The writer could not find the former location of the mine, the area now farmlets. Map denotes the present Collie Burn locality rather than the historic mine site.

Collie Burn and Collie Boulder were two separate mines, 1.5 miles apart. They were started around 1903. Initially much money was spent developing the Collie Boulder mine, but a fault was discovered in the coal seam, and efforts after this focussed on the Collie Burn mine.

The Collie Burn Company had initially developed the mine, it then being taken over by the Scottish Collieries Company. Vast sums of money was spent developing the mines, and then they ran out of capital. The firm Bewick Moreing and Co. were appointed to examine past management practices, and take over the management of the mine.

In 1907, the mine was taken over by two Collie electricians, Louis James Benard Wall, and William James Splatt, in partnership with the owner of the Proprietary coal mine R.A. Young. Forty miners working at Collie Burn were brought in as shareholders in a co-operative scheme. The idea was the co-operative would create a socialist utopia, ending the conflict between management and the miners. It had exactly the opposite effect.

The early 1900's, shortly after mining of coal began at Collie, the mines were wracked by strikes. A series of strikes over the decade culminated in the 1911 strike when things got very nasty.

The working shareholders stated they were carrying the rest of the workforce, and claimed they were working harder to make the mine profitable. The miners who were not shareholders were jealous of fellow workmates on full wages, and receiving profits from the mine. The miner's union saw the co-operative scheme as a threat to its influence and power, and vowed to destroy the co-operative.

The protracted 1911 strike started when mine worker William Edward Wyard threw a lit fuse onto a pile of coal in a skip. Thick smoke filled part of the workings. A few months before, the mine manager George A. Leitch had been fined in the local court for breach of the Mining Act regarding ventilation at the mine, so management was particularly sensitive to the issue. Wyard stated he had done the deed for his own amusement, and was sacked. The union part of the workforce went out on strike, demanding his reinstatement.

The two groups of workers quickly fell out. Thomas Jarman and John Smith were charged with assaulting Alexander McComish and A.N. Hodgson. McComish was one of the working shareholders. They had come across each other in town. Threats were made, punches thrown, and then McComish drew a revolver. Inspector of mines, T.D. Briggs, who had witnessed the scene, stated there was a mob of twenty, with not one decent type amongst them.

Meanwhile, George Stanton, Chas Edward, John Hutton, John S. Jackson, W. Torri, R. Bent, E. Ingram, D. Sullivan, A. Esktram and F. Perkins were charged and fined for going on strike, amidst rowdy scenes in the local courthouse. The union president, H. Whittaker and secretary George Young were acquitted upon evidence they had recommended against striking.

At around this time, James O'Grady who was employed at the mine blew up the water pump, and was sentenced to three years imprisonment. He served only a few months after the union organised a petition, which was sent to the Attorney-General. O'Grady was known to the police, who only a few months before was charged and fined with stealing a keg of wine from another employee Maxmillan Bonafacio.

John Loxley, Eugene Czanne, Alexander Roberts, and Lemuel Davis were charged with assaulting and damaging the bicycles of three brothers, Henry, William, and Walter Blackmore, working shareholders in the mine, who claimed they only just escaped with their life. Loxley was also charged with insulting and abusive language against Henry Bradbury, and assaulting Patrick Kenny.

James Jarman was in trouble again, this time threatening violence against the mine manager at the time Frederick James Price. The latter drew a revolver for his own protection. Jarman was arrested but the case was dismissed.

An arbitration and peace process was initiated, which got the miners back to work, although the above episodes would indicate it was not a happy workplace.

In 1913, the Scottish Co-Operative Colliery Company was being wound up in the Supreme Court by the W.A. Bank, and a liquidator appointed. Splatt is noted as the only 'survivor' in the liquidation, but had dis-appeared to the Eastern States. The mine continues for another couple of years, but in 1916 it is noted a pump had broken down, the mine workings had flooded, and one man only was at the mine as a caretaker.

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