The introduction of Rick Stein’s Cornwall talks about the eighth wonder of the world — a mine that runs under the sea.
There is, however , no need to pack your bags and head to Cornwall because there is an undersea mine close to Dunedin at Shag Point.
Shag Point is just north of Dunedin and is easily reached in about an hour.
The Shag Point mine is well and truly gone but you can still see one of the carriages that was used to transport coal and the remains of the air shaft.
The mine went at least 356m out to sea.
The road into Shag Point, which you will travel on, used to be the old railway line by which coal was transported to the main line for delivery.
The mine extended out under the ocean, with ventilation and water seepage serious problems at times.
One person who visited the mine shortly before it closed, in 1970 or 1972 — there is some disagreement — stated they could hear the ocean from the tunnels, with pumps battling to keep pace with ocean water pouring into the workings.
The main shaft was 140m deep, with coal initially taken from the site by a small steamer, from a rocky nearby cove, and then by train via a short side line to the main train line nearby.
The first people to use coal from the mine were whalers in the 1830s and the mine officially began operating in the 1860s. The person listed as the owner is D. Hutchinson.
When miners first started at the mine, they complained about the ventilation which they said was the worst they had worked in.
It was reported that part of the old workings was on fire and the smoke caused some of the miners to lose consciousness and be carried from the mine.
Flooding was also a serious issue with the mine across its life. After some serious flooding a reporter was sent from the Otago Witness to investigate.
He spoke to Mr Shore, who at the time was the manager of the mine.
He also spoke to some of the old hands who had been at the mine, in some cases, for at least 20 years.
The reporter advised that based on his investigation the mine was not in any danger of flooding completely.
He reported the facts as follows: "For many years the mine has had to deal with flooding from a fissure in the rock overlying the coal. The water was kept at bay by a pump working nine hours out of 24. This inflow of water was struck at 140ft [42.5m] but the mine has continued to produce coal.
"In September a new seam of coal was being followed and this activity opened up the new fissure.
The fissure in the rock could be a new fissure or a continuation of the existing fissure. Water flooded into the mine at the rate of 30,000 gallons [114,000 litres] per hour. This could have been handled by the pump which could throw 25,000 gallons per hour, but the pump was out of action.
"This meant that the only way to reduce flooding in the mine was by bailing. It should be noted that bailing is a slow process but before the pump got back to work the flooding had been controlled."
At the time of the visit by the reporter the mine had been partially drained and it was hoped that work could commence in a few days.
"The new inflow has been tapped and the old inflow is being controlled with the pump just operating for five hours per day instead of nine hours per day. Mr Shore was of the opinion that all the trouble originated from the same source and this was supported by the fact that the water in the mine was reducing."
About safety at the mine, the reporter said that there was no need for concern.
"Where the current seam was struck there is 300ft of strata between the workings and the sea floor. The coal seam dips seaward at an angle of 1 in 4 so that the further you go out to sea the safer the mine workings are."
The reporter noted that the further you moved inland the thinner the cover was.
"If you were close to the shore, the cover was only 130ft thick but a barrier to prevent mining kept you safe. The old workings, where men reported they could hear the propellers of the ships above, have been closed."
Mr Green, the Inspector of Mines, visited the mine and confirmed it was safe, which was important because several men who thought the flooding spelled the end of the mine, had already left the area to seek work elsewhere.
At the time of the flooding 400,000 tonnes of coal had already been extracted by Shag Point Coal from the mine.
Over the years, two men lost their lives in the mine following falls of earth.
John Gourley and William James Robinson were killed in separate incidents within six weeks of each other in 1928.
Mr Gourley’s buried body was found early on a Thursday morning. He was 23 years old.
Immediately after his death, Dr Howden was called to examine the body which was found by Robert Barber who was deputy at the mine.
The verdict was returned that Mr Gourley was accidently killed by a fall of coal at the mine.
William Robinson also died at the mine under a fall of coal. Mr Robinson, a single man who was 36 years old, was working on some staging with a man named Mr Burrows when the accident happened.
Mr Burrows jumped clear but Robinson was buried under six tonnes of earth.
Mr Burrows suffered a cut to his head and was unconscious for a time after the cave-in.
Some three hours passed before a party of miners was able to retrieve the badly crushed body of Mr Robinson.
At the inquest it was found that Mr Robinson’s death was accidental, though that was not the end of the matter.
William’s mother took an action against Shag Point Mine to get compensation for his death.
She argued that the family was dependent upon her son’s income to survive and was awarded £100 plus funeral costs.
There were many strikes at the mine as those who worked there tried to get better conditions.
When the first people worked in the mine, the air was thick with smoke.
With old workings on fire, the smoke caused many miners to pass out. They were often carried out of the mine unconscious.
Many of the disputes therefore were about the quality of the air.
There were also many disputes over wages.
According to a letter sent to the Oamaru Mail, the claim by management that the men were being paid 13 shillings or 14 shillings per day was not true.
Most miners were only earning eight shillings per day.
There were huts that miners working at the mine could rent for themselves and their families.
If the miners were not working at the mine, then they had to vacate huts.
The mine was not making a dividend for its shareholders so they proposed the miners take a 10% cut in wages, which was rejected by the miners.
There were about 80 to 90 men working at the mine at any one time.
When you drive into Shag Point Mine, there are many houses on the left-hand side of the road.
They overlook the sea.
They are a mixture of holiday homes and places to rent where you can stay. It is possible that some of the miners lived there.
