NSWMining
Dudley
A clifftop pit village remembered for the explosion of 1898.
1888South Burwood Colliery opens
WHAT STARTED IT
The South Burwood Colliery opened on this stretch of coast in 1888, an extension of the Burwood pits near Glenrock Lagoon, and a colliery railway linked it to Adamstown and Newcastle. Miners’ cottages, two hotels and small shops grew up on subdivisions of the surrounding selections.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Renamed Dudley Colliery in 1891, the mine was wrecked by an explosion on 21 March 1898 that entombed at least 15 men; it was sealed and flooded, then reopened in 1899. The colliery was demolished in 1940, and after the war buses and cars turned Dudley into a sought-after residential suburb.
TURNING POINTS
1888The South Burwood Colliery opens at Dudley.
1889The first subdivision is declared, including Ocean, Gardner, George and Pitt streets.
1891The mine is renamed Dudley Colliery, and a post office opens.
1898An explosion on 21 March entombs at least 15 men, and the burning mine is sealed and flooded.
1940Dudley Colliery is sold and demolished.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A coastal suburb of about 2,500 people between Newcastle and Redhead. Dudley Public School honours two former pupils awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War.