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Harry Parker (1905-1997) - Clerk, Stanford Main Colliery. Recorded 11 November 1991. Part 1/1.
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SummaryHARRY PARKER
Recorded 11 November 1991
Part 1/1
0:32
Recalls sinking of Paxton shaft. East Greta Coal Co put the shaft down. Harry first worked at Paxton Colliery in 1923 – The sinkers all lived in bag humpies up on top and when it was over some of them left. Jim Keivers did all the erection of screens and poppet heads. He was surface foreman and bridge builder in Maitland. Bob Sharp, Charlie Bunn from East Greta. They were building the stack in 1923 and hadn’t started to generate power by then.
3:13
Recalls building of Paxton PowerStation – steam winches. Recalls using buckets to haul equipment up and down the shaft. Paxton manufactured their own bricks near the railway crossing. The clay was from the site. Bricklayer was paid £1.2 a day c. 1925.
4:15
Bill Bradbury, Frank Buman. Charlie Long, "Hoppy" Valey was the hod carrier. Recalls bricking of Paxton shaft. 1000 – 1200 bricks laid per day.
5:07
Installation of coal cleaning plant later by J&A Brown alongside the screens – coal wasn’t cleaned much but loaded directly from the gantry. It was hard, stony coal – steaming coal. Recalls how coal travelled to cleaning plant. Recalls quality of Paxton coal. Number/type of boilers, Paxton. 1926 the lamp strike - Paxton was the guinea pig on the lamp strike.
7:47
Recalls how coal travelled to crushing plant. Recollection of Paxton sawmill – they had a breaking down saw. There was a roof over the workplace and to season the wood. Keith Hall – tailer out. Colin Cush – on the saw.
9:50
Billy Clark, Albert Allan. Harry batched in the office with Stan Sawyer, manager. Bert Wilkinson, undermanager. Paxton lamp cabin, location of.
11:42
Paxton bath house, corrugated iron located near the screens. During the 2nd WW the companies started to give the miners crib rooms and improved conditions. Recalls pumping of water from air shaft. Pump was situated on pit bottom. Stone dust. Skips were transported by haulage engine. 2 skips came up 350 ft in a cage on a single decker.
15:53
Haulage and fan were operated by steam. Paxton pit supplied township with power. Passing through the pickets to dances and balls in Maitland, Newcastle and Cessnock. Richmond Main supplied power to Paxton. Power supply was used to operate pumps.
18:46
Description of underground work duties – waste workings and pumping. Recalls type of coal used for boilers. Number of skips hauled per/day – they burned anything. Recalls working 12 hr day during Lock Out – he worked dog watch for 6 months – firing and cleaning 3 boilers, wheeling the ashes which were put on the rail tracks.
21:22
Recollection of "going on strike". Recollection of 1926 strike – denied a month’s bonus because he was junior on the lowest wage. Reference to a photo of a horse walking in a circle crushing the clay – called a puddler. Stan "Megsy" Baker. Norm Baker.
24:56
Bailey Baker – father and boss brick maker. Teddy Townshend. Ernie Barnett – power house attendants. Arthur Barnett, Dick Hemsworth and the Burgesses. Ernie Hines, Frank Hallam - firemen. Fred "Pop" Hallam. 300 miners, Paxton Colliery. Recalls introduction of mechanisation. Used "Joy" brand scraper-loaders. "Little Coffee Pot" (nickname of locomotive) from SMR. Recollection of the "Little Coffee Pot" – had its own shed.
28:37
Bath house water was held in corrugated iron tanks – Paxton reservoir was built. Description of original Paxton offices – a three roomed house with an old stove in it. Description of "new" Paxton offices – 5 rooms and a bathroom. Dave Williams, surveyor - his father was Will Williams superintendent of Stanford Merthyr.
30:09
Mary Russell, nee Wilkinson. John Russell then living at Lighthouse Beach. Ted Fletcher - electrician. Ted Field.
33:10
Bob Gemmell. Cyril Fletcher. Steve Brown. Recalls Steven Brown visiting Paxton Colliery.
35:53
John "Baron" Brown born in East Maitland in a gun barrel house. James Brown – his father. Shamrock Hill, East Maitland runs into Four Mile Creek. Worked at Abermain No.2.
37:27
Johnny Brown – very narrow in his views – no manager was any good. In Harry’s eyes Old Bill Marlin was a good manager. Stan Sawyer was a hard man but a good man. Joe Reece – East Greta. Azariah Thomas – director at East Greta.
39:03
Began working at East Greta on 20 June, 1920. Began working at Paxton in September, 1923 – the Monday after the Bellbird Disaster. Harry was clerking with Stan Sawyer was the manager. Recalls Paxton producing first coal. Jack Dodd employed a fellow called Griffin – the story of a fellow called Griffin.
42:12
Les McDonald – road layers on top - fettlers. Ken Hollingshed. McGlashen & Wilson built Paxton line, came and from Maitland. They also built the Maitland Main line. Bullock teamsters - Fred Vernon, Harry Hall.
44:16
"Blue" Smith, Earl Smith, Lou Smith. Reason for having signal posts along roadway. Billy Jobson - shunters. Joe Jobson, Reg Jobson. Recalls opening of Paxton Bowling Club.
46:52
End (Tape 413/Side A)
Parker, Henry Hilton, 1905-1997PersonJack DelaneyDepicts or Relates ToJack "Digger" DoddFred HallamCollectionVoices of the HunterLocation[1] Stanford Merthyr Colliery, NSW (Stanford Main No. 1 Colliery)[2] Paxton Colliery, NSW (Stanford Main No. 2 Colliery)Identifier413A
Recorded 11 November 1991
Part 1/1
0:32
Recalls sinking of Paxton shaft. East Greta Coal Co put the shaft down. Harry first worked at Paxton Colliery in 1923 – The sinkers all lived in bag humpies up on top and when it was over some of them left. Jim Keivers did all the erection of screens and poppet heads. He was surface foreman and bridge builder in Maitland. Bob Sharp, Charlie Bunn from East Greta. They were building the stack in 1923 and hadn’t started to generate power by then.
3:13
Recalls building of Paxton PowerStation – steam winches. Recalls using buckets to haul equipment up and down the shaft. Paxton manufactured their own bricks near the railway crossing. The clay was from the site. Bricklayer was paid £1.2 a day c. 1925.
4:15
Bill Bradbury, Frank Buman. Charlie Long, "Hoppy" Valey was the hod carrier. Recalls bricking of Paxton shaft. 1000 – 1200 bricks laid per day.
5:07
Installation of coal cleaning plant later by J&A Brown alongside the screens – coal wasn’t cleaned much but loaded directly from the gantry. It was hard, stony coal – steaming coal. Recalls how coal travelled to cleaning plant. Recalls quality of Paxton coal. Number/type of boilers, Paxton. 1926 the lamp strike - Paxton was the guinea pig on the lamp strike.
7:47
Recalls how coal travelled to crushing plant. Recollection of Paxton sawmill – they had a breaking down saw. There was a roof over the workplace and to season the wood. Keith Hall – tailer out. Colin Cush – on the saw.
9:50
Billy Clark, Albert Allan. Harry batched in the office with Stan Sawyer, manager. Bert Wilkinson, undermanager. Paxton lamp cabin, location of.
11:42
Paxton bath house, corrugated iron located near the screens. During the 2nd WW the companies started to give the miners crib rooms and improved conditions. Recalls pumping of water from air shaft. Pump was situated on pit bottom. Stone dust. Skips were transported by haulage engine. 2 skips came up 350 ft in a cage on a single decker.
15:53
Haulage and fan were operated by steam. Paxton pit supplied township with power. Passing through the pickets to dances and balls in Maitland, Newcastle and Cessnock. Richmond Main supplied power to Paxton. Power supply was used to operate pumps.
18:46
Description of underground work duties – waste workings and pumping. Recalls type of coal used for boilers. Number of skips hauled per/day – they burned anything. Recalls working 12 hr day during Lock Out – he worked dog watch for 6 months – firing and cleaning 3 boilers, wheeling the ashes which were put on the rail tracks.
21:22
Recollection of "going on strike". Recollection of 1926 strike – denied a month’s bonus because he was junior on the lowest wage. Reference to a photo of a horse walking in a circle crushing the clay – called a puddler. Stan "Megsy" Baker. Norm Baker.
24:56
Bailey Baker – father and boss brick maker. Teddy Townshend. Ernie Barnett – power house attendants. Arthur Barnett, Dick Hemsworth and the Burgesses. Ernie Hines, Frank Hallam - firemen. Fred "Pop" Hallam. 300 miners, Paxton Colliery. Recalls introduction of mechanisation. Used "Joy" brand scraper-loaders. "Little Coffee Pot" (nickname of locomotive) from SMR. Recollection of the "Little Coffee Pot" – had its own shed.
28:37
Bath house water was held in corrugated iron tanks – Paxton reservoir was built. Description of original Paxton offices – a three roomed house with an old stove in it. Description of "new" Paxton offices – 5 rooms and a bathroom. Dave Williams, surveyor - his father was Will Williams superintendent of Stanford Merthyr.
30:09
Mary Russell, nee Wilkinson. John Russell then living at Lighthouse Beach. Ted Fletcher - electrician. Ted Field.
33:10
Bob Gemmell. Cyril Fletcher. Steve Brown. Recalls Steven Brown visiting Paxton Colliery.
35:53
John "Baron" Brown born in East Maitland in a gun barrel house. James Brown – his father. Shamrock Hill, East Maitland runs into Four Mile Creek. Worked at Abermain No.2.
37:27
Johnny Brown – very narrow in his views – no manager was any good. In Harry’s eyes Old Bill Marlin was a good manager. Stan Sawyer was a hard man but a good man. Joe Reece – East Greta. Azariah Thomas – director at East Greta.
39:03
Began working at East Greta on 20 June, 1920. Began working at Paxton in September, 1923 – the Monday after the Bellbird Disaster. Harry was clerking with Stan Sawyer was the manager. Recalls Paxton producing first coal. Jack Dodd employed a fellow called Griffin – the story of a fellow called Griffin.
42:12
Les McDonald – road layers on top - fettlers. Ken Hollingshed. McGlashen & Wilson built Paxton line, came and from Maitland. They also built the Maitland Main line. Bullock teamsters - Fred Vernon, Harry Hall.
44:16
"Blue" Smith, Earl Smith, Lou Smith. Reason for having signal posts along roadway. Billy Jobson - shunters. Joe Jobson, Reg Jobson. Recalls opening of Paxton Bowling Club.
46:52
End (Tape 413/Side A)
Parker, Henry Hilton, 1905-1997PersonJack DelaneyDepicts or Relates ToJack "Digger" DoddFred HallamCollectionVoices of the HunterLocation[1] Stanford Merthyr Colliery, NSW (Stanford Main No. 1 Colliery)[2] Paxton Colliery, NSW (Stanford Main No. 2 Colliery)Identifier413Aloading google map....
Delaney, Jack, 1919-2010, Harry Parker (1905-1997) - Clerk, Stanford Main Colliery. Recorded 11 November 1991. Part 1/1., [413A]. Living Histories, accessed 28/11/2023, https://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/56053