Vote

Audio

Voices of the Hunter

Linked To

Person

Jack Delaney

Depicts or Relates To

Collection

Voices of the Hunter

Map

Add

Recollections

Add

no stories yet

General Use Special Collections Copyright

Please contactSpecial Collections if you are a subject of the interview, or know a subject of the interview, and have cultural or other reservations about the interview and summary being made available on this website and would like to discuss this with us.

This recording can be used for study and personal research purposes. If you wish to reproduce this recording for any other purpose please obtain permission by contacting the University of Newcastle's Special Collections. If you have any further information about the image, please contact us or leave a comment.

Tools

Download Add to My Collection Contact us about this Citation for this item

Reg Osland (1903-1995) - Timber getter and miner. Recorded 8 June 1982. Part 1/1.

Details

SummaryTAPE 201A REG OSLAND.
Recorded 8th June 1982

00:46
Worked at Richmond Main Power House area renovating the new machinery

1:28
"Navvy gang", Richmond Main under Jim Cassidy who was a hard boss.

1:57
Reg was born at Brunkerville, 1903

2:05
William Frank Osland was his father

2:28
He left school at 14 and went to work in the bush with his brother cutting timber around the ridges Quorrobolong. They cut timber for Abermain. Pit props and sleepers. They also cut railway sleepers for the Government.

3:24
George Asthmus, Jack Moran, Dan McMichael.
The timber was carted by bullock wagon into Abermain.

3:53
Tom McDonald, Jim McDonald had the carting contract.

4:00
Supplied Abernethy with pit timber

4:19
Recalls carrying timber props, hand loading the timber on to the wagons.
The timber was sniggered out of the site.

5:17
Began work at Richmond Main, 1922 aged about 19. The railway was built at that time. It was built before Cassidy came there.

5:59
Whirlwind Grant

6:19
Recalls Whirlwind stopping train because he was working on the line. "He was such a bloke that you had to like him. You couldn't help it".

7:32
He lived at Brunkerville and travelled by pushbike.

7:52
He married 1926 and lived at Mulbring.

8:16
Work duties of "navvy gang" at Richmond Main - all replacements at the mine came from this navvy gang.

9:00
20 - 30 men in navvy gang

9:13
Herb Blissett would have been 87 at the time of the interview

9:41
Herb Blissett's residence. He worked with Cassidy before Reg.
Herb would walk to Mulbring to visit his "intended" who was an Andrews girl.

11:36
Attended Brunkerville Public School

11:56
Brunkerville School is still there but is now a residence.

13:22
Teachers, Brunkerville Public School - Mr Stewart and Mr Frake

13:55
Recalls travelling picture show - Possibly Mr Scarlett's show. Reg would have been between 10 and 14 yrs old.

14:50
Recollection of dances held nearly every weekend, Brunkerville

14:57
Main sports played in Brunkerville were summer cricket and in winter it
was tennis.

16:09
Ministers originally from East Maitland and then from Kurri.

16:31
Reg's wife's maiden name was Wyborn from Brunkerville.
The children didn't swim much.

17:15
Claire and Stewart Reynolds.

18:07
Recalls musicians at local dances

18:167
Albert Elliott from Buttai played the violin. There was also a concertina and a piano.

18:46
Mrs Edward Buckton played piano

18:57
Olive Wyborn, Jack Reynolds' wife

19:03
Alec Monnix used to play the concertina.
Rarely they played cards - Progressive Euchre parties.

19:49
Mulbring Inn was talked about by the elders.

20:10
Location of police station, Mulbring - top side of the park.

20:47
Nelly and Harvey McDonald owned general store and the P.O.

21:04
Avery's owned general store, P.O. at Brunkerville.

22:11
Reg recollects some Mulbring residents. Many of them had bullock
wagons.

23:04
The sawmill at Mount Vincent - before the bridge on the Quorrobolong Road it may have been owned by the Lesters or the Cliftons.
One of the Merles got killed at the mill.

24:36
At the Power House at Richmond Main there was an engineer called Mr Smith. Billy Marheine, Chief Clerk

25:43
Dave Elliott, Chief Clerk followed Maheine.

26:06
He moved into Kurri, 1936

26:26
Olive Reynolds used to play the organ.

27:18
He rode to Richmond Main on pushbike

27:38
He was cabled out during the Lockout period which went for about 18 months. He was building silos at the time and was paid 9/6 a week.

28:15
Recollection of "Baron" John Brown -

29:06
Recalls fatal accident involving engineer Smith. "He was always rushing" - he fell and died of his injuries.

29:38
Recalls near fatal accident, Richmond Main.

31:26
Richmond Main shaft left dormant.

32:45
Recalls visit of John Brown to pit

33:40
Recalls installing new boilers - replacing the hand fed boilers.

34:41
Athol Lightfoot

34:52
Built silos during lockout period for 6 months. The unions stopped them building them.

Silos were never used. Brown was going to grow all his own feed.

35:36
Richmond Vale Public School - dances were sometimes held there.

37:16
Reg worked on Richmond Main-Hexham line - Reg's brother had a job so Reg got the job on the rail line.

37:42
Forbes' sawmill, Quorrobolong

38:39
Hop James' sawmill, Paxton

39:17
Bob Avery

40:06
He joined army during WWII (7th Div.) - Five and a half years in the army.

40:15
Saw service in Middle East (9th Div.) El Alamein.

41:04
Reg was stationed in New Guinea

41:36
Reg returned to Richmond Main after WWII

He worked on the fettling with the Sheffield pump-trolley and Herb
Blissett took over from Cassidy.

43:17
Introduction of mechanisation - measuring up for belt changes and
installing them.

44:15
Lost eye in pit accident, 1961. He was working on the cooling towers, one
of the pumps stopped and he was servicing the pump. The brass dolly was
being hit by the steel hammer - one of the fitters took over with the
hammer and a piece of metal hit his eye. He then had an artificial eye.

46:45
Water cooling towers, Richmond Main.

Tape duration: 47:26
Last edited by: Dave Trimble

SubjectBrunkerville (N.S.W.) Last edited by: Dave Trimble

Richmond Main Colliery (N.S.W.) Last edited by: Dave Trimble

Osland, Reginald, 1903-1995 Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Coal mines and mining -- New South Wales -- Kurri Kurri Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

PersonJack Delaney Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Depicts or Relates ToHerbert Blissett Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Hunter & Tom MacDonald Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

CreatorOsland, Reginald, 1903-1995Delaney, Jack, 1919-2010 Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

CollectionVoices of the HunterDate Created8th June 1982 Last edited by: Dave Trimble

Location^[1]Brunkerville, NSW Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

^[2]Richmond Main Colliery, NSW Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Identifier201A Last edited by: lyn.keily@newcastle.edu.au

Start typing here to find a location	Latitude	Longitude	Zoom	Actions

loading google map....

Save Cancel