Paddington North Mine, Paddington (Gudarra), Broad Arrow Goldfield, Kalgoorlie-Boulder Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Paddington North Mine	Mine
Paddington (Gudarra)	- not defined -
Broad Arrow Goldfield	Ore Field
Kalgoorlie-Boulder Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

The Paddington Consols is a historic lease, which occupied what is now the northern end of the modern Paddington open pit. Dwyer and party were said to be the original prospectors but little was found. They sold the lease to a Mrs Candy, who resold it in London.

American Whittaker Wright purchased the lease, along with several others in the district through his London and Globe Company, then reconstituted as the Standard Exploration Company. This company was registered in London on 26 September 1895, and acquired the Paddington, Paddington Extended, Iolanthe Gaelic, Try It, Reison's Reward and Reison's Extended leases. Later the Minnie Palmer and Kathleen were also included, all in the Broad Arrow and Paddington areas.

Wright is viewed these days as a London based fraudster, who took in shareholder money, and through a complex series of companies transferred money, and paid off cronies in high places in business and government. The companies would be wound up, shareholders would lose their money, and new companies would be formed promoting ventures. It ended in 1901 when his empire eventually collapsed and he committed suicide.

During the late 1890's, it was the largest mine in the Paddington district with a 40 head battery, employing around 300 men. The shaft eventually reached a depth of 400 feet, on two parallel north-south trending reefs 100 feet apart, known as H Reef, with graphite walls, and several small cross reefs linking the two. It was a very large low grade proposition overall.

The initial manager was Irish American Cullen Dwyer, an alcoholic and temperamental. He once chased a fellow mine manager called Steele, out of a local pub with a carving knife. Dwyer constructed the first battery on the Try It lease, 600 yards from the Paddington reef. Dwyer had a poor opinion of Australian miners, apart from Tasmanians. As a result many Tasmanians were employed at the mine, often with more experience in agriculture than mining. The source states this caused many of the buildings constructed to look more like barns.

Another American mine manager called Frank Hartman then took over. As will be noted, several miners died on his watch, and he also let cyanide waste fill the stopes, which was clearly a major health hazard. During his reign the battery burned to the ground. John McCarthy had lit a kerosene lamp, and sat it on a bag also saturated with kerosene. This caught on fire then a full kerosene tin exploded sending flames to the roof. McCarthy suffered burns that would eventually kill him. The battery was reconstructed over the workings, and the vibrations caused more collapse in the stopes below.

John Stephens was killed at the mine in 1898 from a fall of earth.
February 1900, Richard Thompson was killed in a fall of earth. This was so large it took a team from February 6 to the 22nd to dig the body out. In November 1900, Austrian miner Govan Raduneich (31) was killed from a fall of earth. A miner called Craven (surname) sues the company the same year after another fall of earth cripples him for life.

R.B. (Bob) Nicolson was next manager. During his time was a protracted strike when he tried to reduce wages in 1900. A deluge of letters to local papers indicate it was a bitter affair. June 1900 the employees had been locked out for some time, and the company employs eight Italian immigrants as strike breakers. For their own safety they are locked in at the mine and guarded by nine policemen. Even relatives are not allowed to see them. Part outrage over 'scab' labour, part concern over the welfare of the Italians, a crowd of 1000 gather in front on the building the Italians are housed in on the lease.

Main ringleader is Frederick Luther Carter, unionist and miner from Leonora who tries to incite the crowd. 'Let me at the #@&^%, who wants the lash' he shouts to the crowd, along with several other incendiary comments. Troopers on horses place themselves between the house and crowd. They are pelted with stones. The police attempt to arrest Carter, who puts up a decent fight, and several are injured. Others arrested were Michael Fogarty, George Albert Walton, James Skehan, Patrick Murphy, William Madigan, William Hamilton, James Smith, Nicholas Devick and M. Venarizo.

Dick Curtis was the manager when the Standard Exploration Company was liquidated. The mine closed in 1901, and was left to decay. The whole 100 foot level subsided from the surface, taking several cyanide vats with it.

Eighteen months later the mine re-opened. They found much of the stopes filled with mullock, and deadly cyanide, with part of a battery sinking underground. Late 1903 it closed again. A company arranged report in 1904 was brutal. It stated there was no payable ore in sight, and additional development capital would be a waste. It recommended abandoning the property.

Several tributing parties then worked the mine, and made a small fortune from the ore left. Manager of the company, Gerald Browne had tributers Carter and Plomly arrested when they refused the leave the lease until they cleaned the plates of gold from their work. One set of tributers over a 4 month period obtained 3000 ounces worth 12 000 pounds. An experimental plant was erected in 1917 to treat the battery sands.

300 pounds worth of slimes was stolen from the battery in 1908. The treacherous nature of the ground has not changed. Robert Stephenson was severely injured tributing at the mine when there was another fall of earth in 1908. Two years earlier James Stephenson had been buried up to his head, and was badly hurt. In 1905, Robert Bollar was killed also from a fall of earth.

In 1935, the mine was re-opened by English company Great Boulder Mining and Finance. Full scale operations start under its subsidiary, Lochinvar Gold Mines Ltd. Sixty men are employed, exploration and shaft sinking undertaken, buildings and a treatment plant erected. George Foley is manager. The only thing found missing was any actual mining.

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