Dobson Mine, Greymouth, Grey District, West Coast Region, New Zealandi

Regional Level Types
Dobson Mine	Mine
Greymouth	- not defined -
Grey District	District
West Coast Region	Region
New Zealand	Country

Dobson is a small town strung along State Highway 7, about 10 kilometres east of Greymouth, and 1.5 kilometres west of the Brunner Mine historical site. The town developed around the Dobson coal mine, and was considered part of the Brunner Mine seam, which is north of the Grey River.

The town and mine is named after George Dobson, a surveyor, who was mistaken for a gold dealer from the nearby Arnold Goldfield by a gang of thieves. Dobson was murdered in a bungled robbery attempt by the gang. The Dobson Mine opened in 1919, and closed in 1968 (Wikipedia), although only information up to the end of 1945 was found for this article.

The mine was initially opened by the Dobson Coal Company, headed by J.D. Lynch. The first coal output was 2774 tonnes across 1921. Mining then ground to a halt, and the mine was taken over by the Grey Valley Collieries Ltd in 1923. By 1925, the mine was producing 12 268 tonnes of coal for the year, and employed 75 men.

Two huge explosions rocked the mine in the early hours of the 3rd December 1926, with such force material was flung half a kilometre out of the mine entrance, and through the roofs of houses in the neighbouring town. The miners who died underground in the explosions were Eric Ashton, Thomas Black, John Richards, John Lindsay, Robert Hunter, Ernest Brammer, Alfred Noakes, James Marshall, and Edward Partington.

The subsequent fire was extinguished by pumping large amounts of water from the Grey River, flooding the mine. Brammer and Partington's bodies were only recovered four months after the explosions, and Marshall a month later in May 1927. A subsequent Royal Commission was unable to determine what had ignited the methane gas, although stated the force of the explosion was caused by the amount of coal dust in the mine.

Mining continued from the late 1920's, 30's, until at least the end of 1945, after which no more information was found. This period was interrupted by semi-regular strikes. There was another explosion in the mine on 5th January 1934, although no miners were killed or injured. William Stone (17) was killed in a fall of coal in 1931, and Robert Meagher (41), also in a fall of coal was killed in 1932.

In 1943, the New Zealand government took over the mine. They discovered only 300 000 tonnes of coal remained in the mine. January 1944, the carpentry and fitting workshops burned to the ground, then mid 1945 the haulage gear breaks down, and that was the last information found.

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