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Jack Snape (1904-1985) - Mineworker. Recorded 12 April 1983. Part 2/2.
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SummaryJACK SNAPE
Recorded 12 April 1983
Part 2/2
0:18
Recalls finding "mystery" bore using pointers in the landscape. He drove the peg in and was only 4ft out. They dug down - 3 miles underground. Half way between Ellalong and Paxton over on the swamp side of the creek.
2:25
Jack married a Congewai girl. George Crossley's daughter. (George was his father-inlaw) They had one boy and two girls.
3:19
When Jack first worked on pit top, Paxton Colliery, he worked with the carpenters.
3:49
Frank Keivers and Jim Keivers were the carpenters he worked with.
4:27
Jack Dodds was the boss.
4:47
Idris Evans
5:05
Recalls asking to work underground
5:20
Names of mines sections, Paxton - it was just like a town.
5:37
Jack wanted to go wheeling and was then put on to horse bracing. He was told he was good at breaking in the horses. Number of pit horses, Paxton Colliery.
5:59
Ted Worboys was the ostler Recollection of pit horses, Paxton
7:01
Worked as wheeler for four years
7:16
Recalls working "on the shovel"
8:09
Recollection of "contract wheeling" for 3 years
8:43
Jack Chapman was his mate for 2 or 3 years
9:27
Recollection of working "on the coal" During this time he qualified as a miner.
10:43
Recollection of underground accidents
11:22
Recalls driving scraper loader at the start of mechanisation
11:51
Recollection of using wooden skips.
13:23
Recalls coal seam faults, Paxton.
13:49
Recalls his hardest job driving between two faults which met. The map was wrong. Jack could pick 2 men and he'd be the boss. He picked Dean Townsend and Sparrow Morton.
16:56 "We were slipping off two faults". They took a scraper loader down there and scraped it clean. It did join together. Through his testing they sold the coal to Pelton. Recollection of near accident in pit
20:11
Location of shaft sunk for coal
20:13
Peter King
20:48
Recalls driving first mechanised scraper loader in Australia. 11BU was the latest electrically driven loader.
21:31
Arthur Donn was the Superintendent under whom Jack worked as the Under Manager and Manager. He was manager before Jack Dodds.
22:04
Donn went over to USA to learn about mechanisation. Donn came back and showed what he'd seen to the men. This was done at Richmond Main. Jack said he was never a "man to boss men". Recalls being asked to drive 11BU
26:22
Jack went to school with Harry Parker, the clerk, and Harry introduced him to Jack Dodds.
27:10
Jack worked on the 11BU for eleven and a half years. It was replaced by the continuous miner. Recalls 11BU loader being buried. He was no buried.
28:17
Size of 11BU scraper loader
29:07
Recalls working as "contract miner" - filling old wooden skips. In those days you ran into and out of the mine to get that extra bit of coal.
31:16
Held record for coal tonnage at Paxton - 301 tonne in 10 days. Shovel loaded.
31:51
Quota of 20 skips to fill per day
32:00
Billy Williams
32:43
Davy Wilson - Deputy.
35:04
There were men who liked to sink shafts and others who took the coal. As far as Jack's father was concerned "no bloody way would you get him down a shaft". He turned the first sod though. The Bellbird policeman would be out there regularly picking someone up most likely for skipping maintenance payments. Recalls police being called in strike.
39:01
Toby Martin
41:02
Recalls attending dances in Wollombi - "danced all my life" - in the hall of the Catholic Church.
41:29
Charlie Luscombe ran the horse and cart transport to the dances.
41:57
Strand Picture Theatre, Cessnock
43:06
Played cricket for Ellalong Cricket Club
43:19
Played tennis winning the district competition
43:28
Bill Yeomans
43:55
Bill Lane, secretary who ran the competitions.
Tape duration: 44:58
Snape, Jack Leslie, 1904-1985PersonJack DelaneyDepicts or Relates ToJack "Digger" DoddHarry ParkerDelaney, Jack, 1919-2010CollectionVoices of the HunterDate Created12th April 1983Location[1] Paxton Colliery, NSW[2] Ellalong, NSWIdentifier269B
Recorded 12 April 1983
Part 2/2
0:18
Recalls finding "mystery" bore using pointers in the landscape. He drove the peg in and was only 4ft out. They dug down - 3 miles underground. Half way between Ellalong and Paxton over on the swamp side of the creek.
2:25
Jack married a Congewai girl. George Crossley's daughter. (George was his father-inlaw) They had one boy and two girls.
3:19
When Jack first worked on pit top, Paxton Colliery, he worked with the carpenters.
3:49
Frank Keivers and Jim Keivers were the carpenters he worked with.
4:27
Jack Dodds was the boss.
4:47
Idris Evans
5:05
Recalls asking to work underground
5:20
Names of mines sections, Paxton - it was just like a town.
5:37
Jack wanted to go wheeling and was then put on to horse bracing. He was told he was good at breaking in the horses. Number of pit horses, Paxton Colliery.
5:59
Ted Worboys was the ostler Recollection of pit horses, Paxton
7:01
Worked as wheeler for four years
7:16
Recalls working "on the shovel"
8:09
Recollection of "contract wheeling" for 3 years
8:43
Jack Chapman was his mate for 2 or 3 years
9:27
Recollection of working "on the coal" During this time he qualified as a miner.
10:43
Recollection of underground accidents
11:22
Recalls driving scraper loader at the start of mechanisation
11:51
Recollection of using wooden skips.
13:23
Recalls coal seam faults, Paxton.
13:49
Recalls his hardest job driving between two faults which met. The map was wrong. Jack could pick 2 men and he'd be the boss. He picked Dean Townsend and Sparrow Morton.
16:56 "We were slipping off two faults". They took a scraper loader down there and scraped it clean. It did join together. Through his testing they sold the coal to Pelton. Recollection of near accident in pit
20:11
Location of shaft sunk for coal
20:13
Peter King
20:48
Recalls driving first mechanised scraper loader in Australia. 11BU was the latest electrically driven loader.
21:31
Arthur Donn was the Superintendent under whom Jack worked as the Under Manager and Manager. He was manager before Jack Dodds.
22:04
Donn went over to USA to learn about mechanisation. Donn came back and showed what he'd seen to the men. This was done at Richmond Main. Jack said he was never a "man to boss men". Recalls being asked to drive 11BU
26:22
Jack went to school with Harry Parker, the clerk, and Harry introduced him to Jack Dodds.
27:10
Jack worked on the 11BU for eleven and a half years. It was replaced by the continuous miner. Recalls 11BU loader being buried. He was no buried.
28:17
Size of 11BU scraper loader
29:07
Recalls working as "contract miner" - filling old wooden skips. In those days you ran into and out of the mine to get that extra bit of coal.
31:16
Held record for coal tonnage at Paxton - 301 tonne in 10 days. Shovel loaded.
31:51
Quota of 20 skips to fill per day
32:00
Billy Williams
32:43
Davy Wilson - Deputy.
35:04
There were men who liked to sink shafts and others who took the coal. As far as Jack's father was concerned "no bloody way would you get him down a shaft". He turned the first sod though. The Bellbird policeman would be out there regularly picking someone up most likely for skipping maintenance payments. Recalls police being called in strike.
39:01
Toby Martin
41:02
Recalls attending dances in Wollombi - "danced all my life" - in the hall of the Catholic Church.
41:29
Charlie Luscombe ran the horse and cart transport to the dances.
41:57
Strand Picture Theatre, Cessnock
43:06
Played cricket for Ellalong Cricket Club
43:19
Played tennis winning the district competition
43:28
Bill Yeomans
43:55
Bill Lane, secretary who ran the competitions.
Tape duration: 44:58
Snape, Jack Leslie, 1904-1985PersonJack DelaneyDepicts or Relates ToJack "Digger" DoddHarry ParkerDelaney, Jack, 1919-2010CollectionVoices of the HunterDate Created12th April 1983Location[1] Paxton Colliery, NSW[2] Ellalong, NSWIdentifier269Bloading google map....
Delaney, Jack, 1919-2010, Jack Snape (1904-1985) - Mineworker. Recorded 12 April 1983. Part 2/2., [269B]. Living Histories, accessed 28/05/2023, https://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/55928