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Strongman Mine disaster headstones - PHOTO ALBUM
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DescriptionFifty years ago the Strongman Coal Mine on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand exploded killing 19 good men. Today I attended the Commemoration along with an estimated 150 other mourners. I believe that the number could have been higher had it not been for the Coast being almost entirely cut off from the rest of the island due to the weather bomb currently pounding the whole country. Over night there was a huge downpour during a severe electrical storm and I was picturing today's service at Karoro Cemetery being a a day of similar weather to the day these men were laid to rest. But the weather gods were kind to us and the service was just at its conclusion as a light shower started which was just tell us that the guys up there were quite happy with what had just taken place down here.
Carolyn Luck:
I am thinking today about the Strongman Mine Disaster which happened 50 years ago today.
As an 11 year old I have vivid memories of our back door neighbour Graham Kennedy( NZ Rugby League player and teacher Grey Main School) coming over to our house to tell Mum and Dad the news and his face was so very white and he was in so much shock.
Also standing outside Grey Main School with all the school watching as the trucks carrying the coffins passed by.
Our very good family friend George Waters was in another part of the Strongman Mine when it happened and heard the terrible explosion. Today at 81 George is very well and very sprightly and often calls in and sometimes riding his bike.
Remembering those 19 men who lost their lives 50 years today and also to the two men whose bodies were never recovered.PhotographerBrian McIntyreDate of Photo1967Map[1] Contributor Brian McIntyre
Carolyn Luck:
I am thinking today about the Strongman Mine Disaster which happened 50 years ago today.
As an 11 year old I have vivid memories of our back door neighbour Graham Kennedy( NZ Rugby League player and teacher Grey Main School) coming over to our house to tell Mum and Dad the news and his face was so very white and he was in so much shock.
Also standing outside Grey Main School with all the school watching as the trucks carrying the coffins passed by.
Our very good family friend George Waters was in another part of the Strongman Mine when it happened and heard the terrible explosion. Today at 81 George is very well and very sprightly and often calls in and sometimes riding his bike.
Remembering those 19 men who lost their lives 50 years today and also to the two men whose bodies were never recovered.PhotographerBrian McIntyreDate of Photo1967Map[1] Contributor Brian McIntyre
Shown in this image
Location (city or town)KaroroLandmark (Place)Karoro CemeteryEventStrongman mine disaster headstones
Category Information
Category TagRugby LeagueCemetery
From Facebook
LinkFacebookCommentsKerry Keating: Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was affected by the tragedy. Sad day in West Coast history.
Dianne Meadows: - Brown R IP all you men & heart goes out to the families left behind. My Dad Ian Brown lost his leg in a mining accident at Strongman and that was bad enough. Thoughts are with all on the 50th anno
Carolyn Luck: My Dad Harry McMath (Congreve and Co - Accountants) office girl was Norma Pattinson and Jimmy her husband was killed. So very sad times.
Robert Fay Lemon Griffin: I remember hearing about it while I was working in the office of Congreve & Co that day.Was such a shock.
Arthur Bass: What can one say.
Maree McNeill: Thinking of all the men who lost their lives.My dad was down there when it exploded,but he got out.I also can remember watching the trucks go by carrying the coffins.Very ,very sad day.
Ann Knipe: My father, George Dalzell, was working in Greens Dip but on the day before he was asked to relieve on the drilling party at Rewanui. He never went back down a mine after Strongman. I was 13 and remember it as though it was yesterday.
Yvonne Hart: So sad
Colleen Cochrane: We will never forget so sad .
James Codyre: Hope the bad weather does not stop the remembrance activities planned over the next few days.I was working in the New Forest Sawmill at Ngahere at the time of the Strongman disaster and lost a footy opponent who was only 18.RIP Wrecka.
Colin Sandra Moss: So tragic.:(
Val Whittaker: Such a tragic Time my 2 brothers were on the next shift to go down we lost so many neighbours and friends The funerals for them was wet and cold the sky's were weeping like us all
Joseph Carson: i remember that day very well the saddest time in Runanga RIP
Jocelyn Hector: Thinking of you all today and remembering that very very sad day in Greymouth our love to you all.Joss and Dave.
Tania Hawken: My father told me we had a relative that died in this mine disaster:(
Sheryl Iraia: RIP
\
Amanda Balani: My dad Peter Gundry was one of the rescue workers that day, thinking of all the families that were affected on that terrible day
Yvonne Jean: Sad
Pauline Matene: It sure was, I remember working in Seddon Ward Grey Hospital,and we had to clear the ward of patients to put survivors of Strongman, but sadly there was none.
Karen McTaggart: I was a little girl that day. What sadness, tears and anguish were shed for the young men and men who lost their lives. The impact was such it reverberates through the decades bringing the same feelings of sadness and tears . My deepest respects to the families and friends of the Strongman Mining Disaster 19 January 1967. It must have been awful in Grey Hospital.
Phil Millar: My cousin John Forbes had just walked out of there,he was very lucky.
Nicola Bourke: RIP granddad
Sandra Douglas: Thank you for these memories.these men had hard times. Great for the younger generation to understand .
Jenny Gifford: We were living in Blenheim at the time. I heard about it at School. A very sad time for everyone.
Vern Pattinson I remember that day very well not good.
Ed Dando: Just a young lad but remember
Maye Dunn: It was one of those days that you'll always remember where you were when the news broke. It affected so many families. Gone but not forgotten.
Dianne Meadows: - Brown R IP all you men & heart goes out to the families left behind. My Dad Ian Brown lost his leg in a mining accident at Strongman and that was bad enough. Thoughts are with all on the 50th anno
Carolyn Luck: My Dad Harry McMath (Congreve and Co - Accountants) office girl was Norma Pattinson and Jimmy her husband was killed. So very sad times.
Robert Fay Lemon Griffin: I remember hearing about it while I was working in the office of Congreve & Co that day.Was such a shock.
Arthur Bass: What can one say.
Maree McNeill: Thinking of all the men who lost their lives.My dad was down there when it exploded,but he got out.I also can remember watching the trucks go by carrying the coffins.Very ,very sad day.
Ann Knipe: My father, George Dalzell, was working in Greens Dip but on the day before he was asked to relieve on the drilling party at Rewanui. He never went back down a mine after Strongman. I was 13 and remember it as though it was yesterday.
Yvonne Hart: So sad
Colleen Cochrane: We will never forget so sad .
James Codyre: Hope the bad weather does not stop the remembrance activities planned over the next few days.I was working in the New Forest Sawmill at Ngahere at the time of the Strongman disaster and lost a footy opponent who was only 18.RIP Wrecka.
Colin Sandra Moss: So tragic.:(
Val Whittaker: Such a tragic Time my 2 brothers were on the next shift to go down we lost so many neighbours and friends The funerals for them was wet and cold the sky's were weeping like us all
Joseph Carson: i remember that day very well the saddest time in Runanga RIP
Jocelyn Hector: Thinking of you all today and remembering that very very sad day in Greymouth our love to you all.Joss and Dave.
Tania Hawken: My father told me we had a relative that died in this mine disaster:(
Sheryl Iraia: RIP
\
Amanda Balani: My dad Peter Gundry was one of the rescue workers that day, thinking of all the families that were affected on that terrible day
Yvonne Jean: Sad
Pauline Matene: It sure was, I remember working in Seddon Ward Grey Hospital,and we had to clear the ward of patients to put survivors of Strongman, but sadly there was none.
Karen McTaggart: I was a little girl that day. What sadness, tears and anguish were shed for the young men and men who lost their lives. The impact was such it reverberates through the decades bringing the same feelings of sadness and tears . My deepest respects to the families and friends of the Strongman Mining Disaster 19 January 1967. It must have been awful in Grey Hospital.
Phil Millar: My cousin John Forbes had just walked out of there,he was very lucky.
Nicola Bourke: RIP granddad
Sandra Douglas: Thank you for these memories.these men had hard times. Great for the younger generation to understand .
Jenny Gifford: We were living in Blenheim at the time. I heard about it at School. A very sad time for everyone.
Vern Pattinson I remember that day very well not good.
Ed Dando: Just a young lad but remember
Maye Dunn: It was one of those days that you'll always remember where you were when the news broke. It affected so many families. Gone but not forgotten.
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West Coast New Zealand History (8th Apr 2021). Strongman Mine disaster headstones - PHOTO ALBUM. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 7th Jun 2026 07:47, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/19012