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Widows of the Brunner Miners sitting by the grave at Stillwater.. 1896.
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DescriptionWidows of the Brunner Miners sitting by the grave. 1896.Date of Photo1896.Map[1] External LinkBrunner Mine Explosion.
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Location (city or town)StillwaterOrganisation (eg business)Brunner MineEventWidows of Brunner Mine mine disaster
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Category TagCoal Mining
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CommentsVern Pattinson Very sad
Cheryl Hedley Yes very sad , I wonder how long they wore black for, and would they have had widows benefit in those days
Heather Newby I read somewhere that they got a benefit of some sort
Karen Bayne Cheryl Hedley my gg grandma Margaret Liddle might well have been one if these women. I know she fought for widow compensation for years. The community supported the families of the victims very well. My great grandma and her sister never had to pay again at the doctors for instance and little gifts were given to them for years afterwards until they left the district and went to Nelson.
Heather Newby Karen Bayne yes.. And a lot of them remarried
April Jarden Karen Bayne My G Grandmother Elizabeth Pattinson was left with 8 children and later moved to Nelson also.She never remarried and ive found the graves of Elizabeth and most of her children in Nelson recently.Was special in January to take 4 GGG Grandchildren to see the graves.
Cheryl Hedley April Jarden that must have been very emotional for you
April Jarden When i found them in September with wonderful help from my daughter,and the Nelson CC sexton i cried.The graves were in a mess and nobody had been there for years.After a clean up with help from my family they all looked great. .I never met my G Grandmother or my Grandfather Calley her eldest son, as they both died a few years before i was born. But i did visit 2 G Aunts as a youngster and now ive found all their graves it feels good.
Karen Bayne April Jarden my gg grandma left in Oct 1896 to live with her eldest daughter in Nelson. She didn't remarry either. They are buried in Wakapuaka cemetery but I haven't been to see the Nelson graves. She had 6 children but luckily only the youngest 3 were still at home when her husband died at Brunner.
April Jarden My GGrandmother and family are at Wakapuaka also.Lots of really old graves and history there and a beautiful place..My family had the eldest 2 in work, my grandfather and his older sister]and 6 dependents.When my GGF was found after the explosion his Bible and his Brother-in-law who also died were near him.That Bible is at the Salvation Army in Wellington.Have learnt so much on all branches of my family since starting Family Trees,so interesting,
ay Vincent Why i think lawn graveyards are good. They can remain tidy with a lawnmower.
Alissa Newton-Smallman That's heartbreaking
Elaine Lawson Stone Going down this weekend to visit/maintain our family (Collins, )grave.
Ruth Naylor Widows wore black for 12 months read it somewhere.
Ruth Naylor Sometime ago these women were named would have to go through some bits to find the record. Messager I think didit.
Karen Bayne If you find the list I would love to know how many of the men were actually married. The newspaper reports only list a few of the men as being married, so I have often wondered if the 4 ladies in the photo were the only widows. If they were, then one is certainly my gg grandma.
Karen Bayne Found it!
Helen Hadland Thats a lot of children without fathers.
Del Godfrey Karen Bayne thank you for posting this! So sad and affected so many. Heather Newby I read about what happened to them... some time ago.. I will see if I can find where I read it
1
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Bruce Lightfoot
Bruce Lightfoot Heather Newby did to see a summation naming the widows and the number of dependent children
2
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· Reply · 19h
Bruce Lightfoot
Bruce Lightfoot Was written up as a comparison
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· Reply · 19h
Rob Elwood
Rob Elwood Hi Heather. From what I have read the aftermath of the Brunner Mine explosion was as big a tragedy as the event itself. The mine owners & investors of the day brought in the best lawyers available to protect their investments and the team of "experts" they imported as witnesses kept pushing the theory of a misplaced explosive charge causing an underground dust explosion. Miner's who worked in the Brunner mine gave evidence of excessive methane, poor ventilation and dangerous working conditions; they were ignored by the inquiry. The inquiry findings absolved the company of blame and no compensation was paid to the widows & orphans. I've attached two additional sources of information; one is the National library official record of the court of Inquiry; the second is a link to the excellent book "The Mine's Afire". This book was written for young readers but contains more than enough fact to get the feelings of the common folk of the time. The Bob Smith (in the story)
who entered the mine with the manager soon after the explosion was my Mother's Grandfather.
https://atojs.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/atojs…
https://www.wheelers.co.nz/…/9781869438876-mines-afire-the…/
atojs.natlib.govt.nz
AtoJs Online — Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives — 1896 Session I — C-06 BRUNNER COAL-MINE DISASTER (REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO, ON 26th MARCH, 189... [truncated]
This website contains digitised reports from selected volumes of the Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives and the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives from 1854 to 1950.
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· Reply · 17h
Heather Newby
Heather Newby Bruce Lightfoot https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/21737
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Lists of names of widows with numbers of children under 16 - Brunner Mine explosion.
WESTCOAST.RECOLLECT.CO.NZ
Lists of names of widows with numbers of children under 16 -…
Lists of names of widows with numbers of children under 16 - Brunner Mine explosion.
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Heather Newby
Heather Newby Rob Elwood thanks very much.. very interesting
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Heather Newby
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Elaine Barrow
Elaine Barrow My husbands great grandfather was killed in the brunner mine disaster. His wife was left with 6 young children and only received help from friends and community.all the children did well and had good lives
6
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· Reply · 19h
Dennis Gibbs
Dennis Gibbs Elaine Barrow miners always looked after their own.
1
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· Reply · 10h
Elaine Barrow
Elaine Barrow Dennis Gibbs I am a miners daughter from the west coast and yes they did indeed look out for each other and their families
2
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· Reply · 9h
Dennis Gibbs
Dennis Gibbs Elaine Barrow my ex father-in law was an ex miner from Hunter and Party on Rewanui Line.
1
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Heather Newby
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Colin Angus Heinz
Colin Angus Heinz My great grandmother, Jessie Duncan, was widowed with nine children. She got some compensation. Her eldest son got a job in the Waihi Gold Mine to help to support her and later died of silicosis.
3
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· Reply · 17h
Andrew Oliver
Andrew Oliver Colin Angus Heinz the old widow makers didn't take long with dry, and or overhead drilling
2
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· Reply · 12h
Dennis Gibbs
Dennis Gibbs Colin Angus Heinz my father in law had mild silicosis, but still lived into his 90s. Never smoked or did anything to exacerbate it.
1
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Bruce Carey
Bruce Carey Thank you very much for your comments. I really appreciate it. To be more specific about the things I am interested in I will outline things that were told to me verbally. The first thing is that the widows were evicted from company homes as soon as the burials of their husbands were completed. This meant that the widows and their dependence we're effectively made homeless by the mining company full stop another thing I was told verbally was that some of the husband's were deemed to be contractors and we're using tools borrowed from the company and these tools were never recovered and that the company's attitude was that the widows should pay for the lost tools. I wonder if there is any truth in this full stop the third thing I was told verbally was that people and Greymouth paid for the widows and their dependence to come down the Grey River by boat and the Greymouth community welcome them and arranged accommodation for them and furthermore arranged for the widows to work in the fishpacking side of the fishing industry so that they could get an income to support their families. These are the parts of the story that I am not sure are factual full stop on the other hand the paper about the development of accident compensation gave the number of widows and dependent children and relatives and also indicated the long legal battle and how eventually the mining company decided to close the mine and pay a small amount of compensation while at the same time I guess firing all staff. Anyone who could confirm or refute the things I was told verbally would be most helpful to me. Kind regards Bruce
Carol Stewart There is a list of the names of the widows and the number of their children on this site.
Heather Newby Karen Bayne Cheryl Hedley my gg grandma Margaret Liddle might well have been one if these women. I know she fought for widow compensation for years. The community supported the families of the victims very well. My great grandma and her sister never had to pay again at the doctors for instance and little gifts were given to them for years afterwards until they left the district and went to Nelson.
Bruce Carey sounds like the Greymouth community supported them
Heather Newby April Jarden Karen Bayne My G Grandmother Elizabeth Pattinson was left with 8 children and later moved to Nelson also.She never remarried and ive found the graves of Elizabeth and most of her children in Nelson recently.Was special in January to take 4 GGG Grandchildren to see the graves.
Bruce Carey Heather thanks for this
Peter Armstrong Bruce Carey Papers Past is always worth a lookhttps://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/brunner-mine.../
Heather Newby Workers in the mining industry had already taken the
initiative, through their union, of providing their own
insurance by forming ‘friendly societies’. These offered
a measure of financial assistance to members and their
dependents in the event of injury or illness. The magnitude
of the Brunner mine disaster, however, was such that
these friendly society funds, along with the compensation
available from the state-administered accident fund, were
still insufficient to support the widows and families. Special
charitable relief funds were established to help the families,
and the Brunner Mine Accident Relief Fund attracted
donations from throughout New Zealand.http://armstrongthompson.co.nz/.../Blood_on_the_Coal_Mark...
Edit or delete this
Like
· Reply · 14h · Edited
Heather Newby
Heather Newby Civil legal action against the coal company was a course of
action open to the dependents of the Brunner Mine disaster.
In 1898, 23 separate actions were brought (the claimants…See More
Pauline Schafer I’d be interested in reading that when it’s finished.
Brett McLean Bruce Carey I have a copy of the book "Disaster at Brunner" by Brian Wood, in it he say's that two thirds of the widows remained in the Brunnerton district and that 12 of the 37 Brunnerton miners widow's remarried, the other one third of widows shifted out of the district and most shifted back to closest kin living in other parts of New Zealand and in the case of Margery Allen she went back to Melbourne.
Bruce Carey thanks very much Brett - really useful info
Anne Packer
Two of my ancestors died in the Brunner Mine disaster. I believe there was a lot of petitioning of the government to get compensation for the widows and their families and that there is a book written that details the aftermath and also lists who got what as compensation. Sorry, this is a bit vague but hoping someone here knows about the book
George Colligan
Sad times but love the history TThanks for sharing
Marcy Robertson
I lost my uncle in the boat man mine, from memory I think 6 were killed in that one.
Barbara Barry Gerrard
They were resilient women back then. No doubt they rolled up their sleeves and set about how they would support themselves and their families.
NZ Survivor
·
Heartbreaking image
PhilandJan Jameson
130th anniversary next year. Does the Council have a commemoration planned?
Anne Packer
Two of my ancestors died in the Brunner Mine disaster. I believe there was a lot of petitioning of the government to get compensation for the widows and their families and that there is a book written that details the aftermath and also lists who got what as compensation. Sorry, this is a bit vague but hoping someone here knows about the book
Trish Barry Andrews
Can’t help but wonder what was going on inside their heads, their world had just been turned upside down, Baz
Melanie Galbraith
Hard times for widows let alone the ones that had a tribe to feed.
George Colligan
Sad times but love the history TThanks for sharing
Marcy Robertson
I lost my uncle in the boat man mine, from memory I think 6 were killed in that one.
Barbara Barry Gerrard
They were resilient women back then. No doubt they rolled up their sleeves and set about how they would support themselves and their families.
Anne Packer
Two of my ancestors died in the Brunner Mine disaster. I believe there was a lot of petitioning of the government to get compensation for the widows and their families and that there is a book written that details the aftermath and also lists who got what as compensation. Sorry, this is a bit vague but hoping someone here knows about the book
Janenne Beaton
Anne Packer The book is Disaster at Brunner Mine,,, Written by Brian Wood,,
Cheryl Hedley Yes very sad , I wonder how long they wore black for, and would they have had widows benefit in those days
Heather Newby I read somewhere that they got a benefit of some sort
Karen Bayne Cheryl Hedley my gg grandma Margaret Liddle might well have been one if these women. I know she fought for widow compensation for years. The community supported the families of the victims very well. My great grandma and her sister never had to pay again at the doctors for instance and little gifts were given to them for years afterwards until they left the district and went to Nelson.
Heather Newby Karen Bayne yes.. And a lot of them remarried
April Jarden Karen Bayne My G Grandmother Elizabeth Pattinson was left with 8 children and later moved to Nelson also.She never remarried and ive found the graves of Elizabeth and most of her children in Nelson recently.Was special in January to take 4 GGG Grandchildren to see the graves.
Cheryl Hedley April Jarden that must have been very emotional for you
April Jarden When i found them in September with wonderful help from my daughter,and the Nelson CC sexton i cried.The graves were in a mess and nobody had been there for years.After a clean up with help from my family they all looked great. .I never met my G Grandmother or my Grandfather Calley her eldest son, as they both died a few years before i was born. But i did visit 2 G Aunts as a youngster and now ive found all their graves it feels good.
Karen Bayne April Jarden my gg grandma left in Oct 1896 to live with her eldest daughter in Nelson. She didn't remarry either. They are buried in Wakapuaka cemetery but I haven't been to see the Nelson graves. She had 6 children but luckily only the youngest 3 were still at home when her husband died at Brunner.
April Jarden My GGrandmother and family are at Wakapuaka also.Lots of really old graves and history there and a beautiful place..My family had the eldest 2 in work, my grandfather and his older sister]and 6 dependents.When my GGF was found after the explosion his Bible and his Brother-in-law who also died were near him.That Bible is at the Salvation Army in Wellington.Have learnt so much on all branches of my family since starting Family Trees,so interesting,
ay Vincent Why i think lawn graveyards are good. They can remain tidy with a lawnmower.
Alissa Newton-Smallman That's heartbreaking
Elaine Lawson Stone Going down this weekend to visit/maintain our family (Collins, )grave.
Ruth Naylor Widows wore black for 12 months read it somewhere.
Ruth Naylor Sometime ago these women were named would have to go through some bits to find the record. Messager I think didit.
Karen Bayne If you find the list I would love to know how many of the men were actually married. The newspaper reports only list a few of the men as being married, so I have often wondered if the 4 ladies in the photo were the only widows. If they were, then one is certainly my gg grandma.
Karen Bayne Found it!
Helen Hadland Thats a lot of children without fathers.
Del Godfrey Karen Bayne thank you for posting this! So sad and affected so many. Heather Newby I read about what happened to them... some time ago.. I will see if I can find where I read it
1
Edit or delete this
Like
· Reply · 20h
Bruce Lightfoot
Bruce Lightfoot Heather Newby did to see a summation naming the widows and the number of dependent children
2
Manage
Like
· Reply · 19h
Bruce Lightfoot
Bruce Lightfoot Was written up as a comparison
Manage
Like
· Reply · 19h
Rob Elwood
Rob Elwood Hi Heather. From what I have read the aftermath of the Brunner Mine explosion was as big a tragedy as the event itself. The mine owners & investors of the day brought in the best lawyers available to protect their investments and the team of "experts" they imported as witnesses kept pushing the theory of a misplaced explosive charge causing an underground dust explosion. Miner's who worked in the Brunner mine gave evidence of excessive methane, poor ventilation and dangerous working conditions; they were ignored by the inquiry. The inquiry findings absolved the company of blame and no compensation was paid to the widows & orphans. I've attached two additional sources of information; one is the National library official record of the court of Inquiry; the second is a link to the excellent book "The Mine's Afire". This book was written for young readers but contains more than enough fact to get the feelings of the common folk of the time. The Bob Smith (in the story)
who entered the mine with the manager soon after the explosion was my Mother's Grandfather.
https://atojs.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/atojs…
https://www.wheelers.co.nz/…/9781869438876-mines-afire-the…/
atojs.natlib.govt.nz
AtoJs Online — Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives — 1896 Session I — C-06 BRUNNER COAL-MINE DISASTER (REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO, ON 26th MARCH, 189... [truncated]
This website contains digitised reports from selected volumes of the Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives and the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives from 1854 to 1950.
Manage
AtoJs Online
ATOJS.NATLIB.GOVT.NZ
AtoJs Online
AtoJs Online
1
Like
· Reply · 17h
Heather Newby
Heather Newby Bruce Lightfoot https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/21737
Edit or delete this
Lists of names of widows with numbers of children under 16 - Brunner Mine explosion.
WESTCOAST.RECOLLECT.CO.NZ
Lists of names of widows with numbers of children under 16 -…
Lists of names of widows with numbers of children under 16 - Brunner Mine explosion.
Like
· Reply · Remove Preview · 5m
Heather Newby
Heather Newby Rob Elwood thanks very much.. very interesting
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Heather Newby
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Elaine Barrow
Elaine Barrow My husbands great grandfather was killed in the brunner mine disaster. His wife was left with 6 young children and only received help from friends and community.all the children did well and had good lives
6
Manage
Like
· Reply · 19h
Dennis Gibbs
Dennis Gibbs Elaine Barrow miners always looked after their own.
1
Manage
Like
· Reply · 10h
Elaine Barrow
Elaine Barrow Dennis Gibbs I am a miners daughter from the west coast and yes they did indeed look out for each other and their families
2
Manage
Like
· Reply · 9h
Dennis Gibbs
Dennis Gibbs Elaine Barrow my ex father-in law was an ex miner from Hunter and Party on Rewanui Line.
1
Manage
Like
· Reply · 9h · Edited
Heather Newby
Write a reply...
Colin Angus Heinz
Colin Angus Heinz My great grandmother, Jessie Duncan, was widowed with nine children. She got some compensation. Her eldest son got a job in the Waihi Gold Mine to help to support her and later died of silicosis.
3
Manage
Like
· Reply · 17h
Andrew Oliver
Andrew Oliver Colin Angus Heinz the old widow makers didn't take long with dry, and or overhead drilling
2
Manage
Like
· Reply · 12h
Dennis Gibbs
Dennis Gibbs Colin Angus Heinz my father in law had mild silicosis, but still lived into his 90s. Never smoked or did anything to exacerbate it.
1
Manage
Like
· Reply · 9h
Bruce Carey
Bruce Carey Thank you very much for your comments. I really appreciate it. To be more specific about the things I am interested in I will outline things that were told to me verbally. The first thing is that the widows were evicted from company homes as soon as the burials of their husbands were completed. This meant that the widows and their dependence we're effectively made homeless by the mining company full stop another thing I was told verbally was that some of the husband's were deemed to be contractors and we're using tools borrowed from the company and these tools were never recovered and that the company's attitude was that the widows should pay for the lost tools. I wonder if there is any truth in this full stop the third thing I was told verbally was that people and Greymouth paid for the widows and their dependence to come down the Grey River by boat and the Greymouth community welcome them and arranged accommodation for them and furthermore arranged for the widows to work in the fishpacking side of the fishing industry so that they could get an income to support their families. These are the parts of the story that I am not sure are factual full stop on the other hand the paper about the development of accident compensation gave the number of widows and dependent children and relatives and also indicated the long legal battle and how eventually the mining company decided to close the mine and pay a small amount of compensation while at the same time I guess firing all staff. Anyone who could confirm or refute the things I was told verbally would be most helpful to me. Kind regards Bruce
Carol Stewart There is a list of the names of the widows and the number of their children on this site.
Heather Newby Karen Bayne Cheryl Hedley my gg grandma Margaret Liddle might well have been one if these women. I know she fought for widow compensation for years. The community supported the families of the victims very well. My great grandma and her sister never had to pay again at the doctors for instance and little gifts were given to them for years afterwards until they left the district and went to Nelson.
Bruce Carey sounds like the Greymouth community supported them
Heather Newby April Jarden Karen Bayne My G Grandmother Elizabeth Pattinson was left with 8 children and later moved to Nelson also.She never remarried and ive found the graves of Elizabeth and most of her children in Nelson recently.Was special in January to take 4 GGG Grandchildren to see the graves.
Bruce Carey Heather thanks for this
Peter Armstrong Bruce Carey Papers Past is always worth a lookhttps://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/brunner-mine.../
Heather Newby Workers in the mining industry had already taken the
initiative, through their union, of providing their own
insurance by forming ‘friendly societies’. These offered
a measure of financial assistance to members and their
dependents in the event of injury or illness. The magnitude
of the Brunner mine disaster, however, was such that
these friendly society funds, along with the compensation
available from the state-administered accident fund, were
still insufficient to support the widows and families. Special
charitable relief funds were established to help the families,
and the Brunner Mine Accident Relief Fund attracted
donations from throughout New Zealand.http://armstrongthompson.co.nz/.../Blood_on_the_Coal_Mark...
Edit or delete this
Like
· Reply · 14h · Edited
Heather Newby
Heather Newby Civil legal action against the coal company was a course of
action open to the dependents of the Brunner Mine disaster.
In 1898, 23 separate actions were brought (the claimants…See More
Pauline Schafer I’d be interested in reading that when it’s finished.
Brett McLean Bruce Carey I have a copy of the book "Disaster at Brunner" by Brian Wood, in it he say's that two thirds of the widows remained in the Brunnerton district and that 12 of the 37 Brunnerton miners widow's remarried, the other one third of widows shifted out of the district and most shifted back to closest kin living in other parts of New Zealand and in the case of Margery Allen she went back to Melbourne.
Bruce Carey thanks very much Brett - really useful info
Anne Packer
Two of my ancestors died in the Brunner Mine disaster. I believe there was a lot of petitioning of the government to get compensation for the widows and their families and that there is a book written that details the aftermath and also lists who got what as compensation. Sorry, this is a bit vague but hoping someone here knows about the book
George Colligan
Sad times but love the history TThanks for sharing
Marcy Robertson
I lost my uncle in the boat man mine, from memory I think 6 were killed in that one.
Barbara Barry Gerrard
They were resilient women back then. No doubt they rolled up their sleeves and set about how they would support themselves and their families.
NZ Survivor
·
Heartbreaking image
PhilandJan Jameson
130th anniversary next year. Does the Council have a commemoration planned?
Anne Packer
Two of my ancestors died in the Brunner Mine disaster. I believe there was a lot of petitioning of the government to get compensation for the widows and their families and that there is a book written that details the aftermath and also lists who got what as compensation. Sorry, this is a bit vague but hoping someone here knows about the book
Trish Barry Andrews
Can’t help but wonder what was going on inside their heads, their world had just been turned upside down, Baz
Melanie Galbraith
Hard times for widows let alone the ones that had a tribe to feed.
George Colligan
Sad times but love the history TThanks for sharing
Marcy Robertson
I lost my uncle in the boat man mine, from memory I think 6 were killed in that one.
Barbara Barry Gerrard
They were resilient women back then. No doubt they rolled up their sleeves and set about how they would support themselves and their families.
Anne Packer
Two of my ancestors died in the Brunner Mine disaster. I believe there was a lot of petitioning of the government to get compensation for the widows and their families and that there is a book written that details the aftermath and also lists who got what as compensation. Sorry, this is a bit vague but hoping someone here knows about the book
Janenne Beaton
Anne Packer The book is Disaster at Brunner Mine,,, Written by Brian Wood,,
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West Coast New Zealand History (3rd Sep 2025). Widows of the Brunner Miners sitting by the grave at Stillwater.. 1896.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 5th Apr 2026 02:36, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/11823