Miner's Hut, Lithgow Valley NSW, c1880

Notes: A Miners' Hut, Lithgow Valley NSW, c.1880 The Vale of Clwydd Colliery was separated from the rest of Lithgow by a mountain spur, and operated at the edge of a secluded swampy gully. One of its tunnels extended under the swamp, making working conditions extremely unsafe. Living conditions were scarcely more pleasant in spite of the romantic view that this official photograph and a Sydney Mail account suggest :

 

"The miners' homes are scattered about, some of them in the forest... These habitations are of the rudest description being in many instances composed of logs of wood cemented together with tenacious mud and covered either with canvas or bark. Yet inside these I was astonished to find a snugness which contrasts greatly with the exterior and people seemed quite happy in these rude houses."

Sydney Mail 20.8.1878:88

 

The object on the right appears to be an earth oven.

 

Format: B&W photograph from a glass plate negative

Rights Info: No known copyright restrictions

Repository: Blue Mountains City Library www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/library/

Part of: Local Studies Collection PF 1003

Provenance: Govt Printer, Macleay Museum