Shaft - Wonthaggi, Victoria, Australia
S 38° 36.231 E 145° 35.615
55H E 377536 N 5726245
An unusual form of art, right outside the Wonthaggi Visitor Information Centre, that highlights the regions coal mining industry - is called "Shaft".
Waymark Code: WMX409
Location: Victoria, Australia
Date Posted: 11/23/2017
Views: 0
At the base of an almost 3 metre tall block of black coal is a bronze plaque mounted on an angled concrete plinth. The Commemorative Plaque reads:
[Wonthaggi 100 yrs] [Bass Coast]
"Shaft"
by Shane Cargill and sculptor Martin Moore
Commemorates the Centenary of Wonthaggi
Officially launched Friday, 17 February 2012
by Bass Coast Shire Council Mayor
Cr Veronica Dowman
"Shaft" represents the volume of coal that each miner
was expected to bring above ground each day.
The Monuments Australia website gives some additional information:
"Coal was discovered by explorer William Hovell at Cape Paterson in 1826, and was subsequently mined from the Powlett River fields in the region, between 1859 and 1864. However transporting the coal by whale boat through the surf to larger ships anchored offshore proved costly and dangerous and mining activity was soon curtailed." With a miners strike in NSW in 1910, the Victorian government encouraged Wonthaggi to continue the earlier and abandoned mining. The town was established in 1912, and the coal was carried out on the new railway line. "Shaft"
I guess it is not too common that block of coal weighing several tonnes can evoke so many feelings, when placed to commemorate the work of the local miners.
Address: 1 Bent Street, Wonthaggi Visitor Information Centre, Wonthaggi, Vic., 3995, Australia
Visited: 1059, Friday, 27 May, 2016