Convict Built Air-Shaft - Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania
S 42° 58.770 E 147° 42.390
55G E 557604 N 5241219
Vertical convict-built Shaft.
Waymark Code: WM6X9X
Location: Tasmania, Australia
Date Posted: 08/01/2009
Views: 17
Why this 11' wide vertical shaft exists is unclear. It's associated with the Saltwater River Coal mines from about 1846. This was a convict manned coal mine and was known for its harsh conditions.
We tend to think it's a ventilation shaft at the far end of the coal mine. As a report from the time says:
"Reverend Henry Phibbs Fry ventured into the depths of the mine. The scene was 'unforgettable':
I descended into the mines accompanied by Mr Skene, being let down in a bucket, the shaft is 303 feet deep. On reaching the bottom we would have been in complete darkness but for the lights borne by some men who descended with us. We groped our way with difficulty along passages which are said to be five miles in length. The roof, in many places, is so low, that we were obliged to creep along the passage beneath it. The air was so confined and damp, that our lamps could with difficulty be kept burning and several of them went out... A few lamps at long intervals were attached to the walls, but seemed only like sparks glimmering in the mist, and not many yards from them the passage was in perfect darkness." (1847)
For more info see "http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=4288"
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