Open/Close Toolbox
Copyright is retained by the photographer and/or contributor. Please do not reuse without permission.
Format: Story
Linked To
Location (city or town)Photograph
StreetView
Copyright
Copyright is retained by the photographer and/or contributor. Please do not reuse without permission.
Menu
Strongman Mine Disaster
My Story
DescriptionSTRONGMAN MINE EXPLOSION
January 19th 1967 the first shift of the miners went back to work after the Christmas and New Year break, at the Strongman Mine which is just north of Greymouth on the coastal road to Westport.
It appears after inquiries, that the management had made no arrangements to have the mine ventilated, days in advance of the first shift starting work back down the mine. The build up of gases and dust from over the holiday break, exploded through the mine in an area called, “Green’s Dip,” after being ignited by some unknown source.
The rescue operation that took place following the huge explosion and resulting fires, recovered 17 bodies, but due to the constant danger, two bodies, including that of my school friend, Dudley Robinson, were never recovered to this day.
Dudley was the one who built the corrugated iron canoe with me and also sank it with me. Dudley was also the one that I was envious of, when he bought a brand new Mini Minor with his big wages while all I could afford was a new push bike. But, as Laurie Baynes who owned the Tip Top Milk Bar said to me, “Big wages are alright, as long as you are there on payday to pick them up.”
One of my motor bike buddies, Snakey Lynham, was another of those killed in the disaster, but his body was recovered. What was referred to as a “damp area,” in the inquiry report, was said to have saved the other 240 miners, who were also working underground at the time of the explosion.
All the recovered bodies are buried together in the Greymouth cemetery and there are two headstones for the two miners who still remain entombed in the sealed off area of the Strongman mine.
ContributorBrian McIntyre. Map[1] Strongman Mine Memorial
January 19th 1967 the first shift of the miners went back to work after the Christmas and New Year break, at the Strongman Mine which is just north of Greymouth on the coastal road to Westport.
It appears after inquiries, that the management had made no arrangements to have the mine ventilated, days in advance of the first shift starting work back down the mine. The build up of gases and dust from over the holiday break, exploded through the mine in an area called, “Green’s Dip,” after being ignited by some unknown source.
The rescue operation that took place following the huge explosion and resulting fires, recovered 17 bodies, but due to the constant danger, two bodies, including that of my school friend, Dudley Robinson, were never recovered to this day.
Dudley was the one who built the corrugated iron canoe with me and also sank it with me. Dudley was also the one that I was envious of, when he bought a brand new Mini Minor with his big wages while all I could afford was a new push bike. But, as Laurie Baynes who owned the Tip Top Milk Bar said to me, “Big wages are alright, as long as you are there on payday to pick them up.”
One of my motor bike buddies, Snakey Lynham, was another of those killed in the disaster, but his body was recovered. What was referred to as a “damp area,” in the inquiry report, was said to have saved the other 240 miners, who were also working underground at the time of the explosion.
All the recovered bodies are buried together in the Greymouth cemetery and there are two headstones for the two miners who still remain entombed in the sealed off area of the Strongman mine.
ContributorBrian McIntyre. Map[1] Strongman Mine MemorialPhotograph
Relates to
Location (city or town)Greymouth
Category Information
Category TagCoal MiningDisasterMenuBy Topic | Working Life | MiningBy Topic | WC History | Disasters
DisasterMenuBy Topic | Working Life | MiningBy Topic | WC History | Disastersloading google map....
West Coast New Zealand History (1st May 2015). Strongman Mine Disaster. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 24th Mar 2026 18:11, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/1173