Coal mine strikes gold

- $1.5M to restore tours and bring site back to life

THERE were rounds of applause and high emotions after Minister for Environment Ingrid Stitt announced a $1.5M lifeline to finally restore tours at the State Coal Mine in Wonthaggi.

Minister Stitt visited the coal mine’s café last week surrounded by Friends of the State Coal Mine volunteers as well as former miners and Parks Victoria staff.

The funding will pay for vital maintenance and upgrade works on the track and carts that take visitors inside the mine, as well as support training for volunteers and Parks Victoria staff to safely operate the system.

After tours at the site were shut down during the pandemic, and with the café also closing up earlier this year when its previous lessee moved on, there has been a strong push by volunteers and the community to bring everything back to life.

During March this year, more than 200 locals turned out to show their support for the coal mine, calling for tours to resume and the café to be leased.

In attendance was Member for Bass Jordan Crugnale, who then went through an extraordinary effort to open up talks with Parks Victoria and volunteers, as well as organising the Minister to visit the site.

And to make it even more promising, Parks Victoria had begun the process to seek a new operator for the café, with the expression of interest period closing just last week and confirmation there had been numerous applicants. 

While the final details of getting the cart back up and running are still underway, Friends of the State Coal Mine Steve Harrop was delighted by the funding commitment.

“A lot of people come here and say it’s amazing what you get for the price,” he said when explaining how significant getting the site up and running again was.

He highlighted the funding was crucial to also keep volunteers motivated.

“The longer this dragged on the more disheartened they’ve become, so this will really give it a boost,” he said.

During the announcement, it was also highlighted to the Minister the need for ongoing funding so the mine wouldn’t be reliant on significant boosts every few years.

There were also plenty of thanks for Ms Crugnale’s efforts in helping make the funding a reality.

“The State Coal Mine is a much-loved destination which transports visitors back to a unique period in the region’s history. These upgrades will help to further drive Gippsland’s already fantastic tourism offering,” she said. 

The site is the only underground coal mine attraction of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and is also home to a museum, which recounts stories from when mine was operating along with a 3D model of the mine and settlement town for visitors to explore.

Operating from 1909 until 1968, the State Coal Mine produced almost 17 million tonnes of coal for Victoria’s industries and railways.

Walking tours at the mine began in 1982, welcoming over 10,000 visitors per year, until equipment failures halted underground access in 2020.