Dawson Mine, Moura Qld

We were in awe of the huge ‘tonka looking’ monster trucks seen from the viewing platform overlooking this mine.  This is one huge open-cut metallurgical coal mine!  Coal mined from here is railed to the Port of Gladstone for loading and exporting.  It is used for steel production amongst other things.

The viewing platform is accessible for all vehicles, and there is plenty of room for parking and turning if you are towing your RV.

It was back in 1945 that a Queensland Government geologist reported the existence of coal in the area, with coal mining commencing in 1961.

Sadly, this mine has had its fair share of tragedies within a 20-year period with thirteen miners killed in an underground explosion in 1975, then a further twelve miners losing their lives in a 1986 explosion.

In 1994, eleven miners lost their lives – the first explosion was followed by another two days later.  It was after the second and more intense blast that rescue efforts were abandoned and the mine sealed.  Ten of the 21 men working in the mine managed to escape.  There is a Memorial Garden not far from the lookout dedicated to the memory of the eleven miners, whose bodies were never recovered.