Guest speakers at this year’s ‘Night to Remember Our Lost Miners’ event include the first woman to work underground at CSA Mine and descendants of the Great Cobar Copper Mine manager, Thomas Longworth.
A Night to Remember Our Lost Miners was first introduced to Cobar’s Festival of the Miner’s Ghost program in 2017.
Organised by local Barry Knight, the event was a tribute to those who have lost their lives working in mines.
“It’s a chance to honour those who have lost their lives and it also gives people time to reflect,” Barry said.
The past four events have been well received and have included a range of different guest speakers including former mining engineer (and now our current mayor) Peter Abbott, former CSA and Pasminco mines manager John Dini and mining historian, Dr Ken McQueen.
This year Barry said he is pleased to be able to welcome a former Cobar resident (and former workmate), Sandra Collins (nee Bailey) as one of the guest speakers.
Sandra was the first woman to work underground in Cobar (and in NSW).
When working as a graduate mining engineer in the Cobar mines in 1985, Sandra wanted to study for her underground mine management certification, but the laws meant she could not work below the surface.
She challenged the NSW State Legislation and won which opened the way for other women in mining to work underground.
Sandra had the trust and support of her male colleagues and later went on to become a union representative as well as a Mine Manager.
Other guest speakers are sisters, Annabelle Simpson and Elizabeth de Wit (nee Crane), who are the great granddaughters of the Great Cobar Copper Mine manager, Thomas Longworth.
Thomas (and his brother William Longworth) were mine managers and industrial entrepreneurs and they took on the Great Cobar Copper Mine through a syndicate in 1894.
Thomas managed the mine and went on to make major infrastructure upgrades.
See Page 9 for the Festival program.
