OCC Donates Longwall for Mining Exhibit at Capella Pioneer Village

The Capella Pioneer Village was established in 1982 and with good stewardship and generous donations from across the region, it has steadily grown into one of the biggest volunteer-run museums in Queensland, with over 6,500 exhibits and 90-plus members. 

It’s home to a fleet of more than 70 tractors that showcase the advances in mechanical and engineering technologies throughout the 20th century, and the original Peak Downs homestead – the biggest restored slipslab building in Australia – serves as the centrepiece of 17 buildings at the museum. These include a Blacksmith shop, a full working cinema, a sheep-shearing shed, an engine shed that has one of the original Emerald Powerhouse engines in it, and, most recently, a dedicated mining exhibit that utilises the old Oaky North mines rescue hut to display exhibits – a donation from Oaky Creek Coal (OCC) that has been carefully restored by the Pioneer Village team, with the Longwall Mini Build positioned beside it. 

OCC has also donated a number of machines to the mining exhibit, including a PJB man transporter, two LHDs (Eimco EJC130 and FBL15), FBL55 Shield Hauler and 10 DBT Longwall Shields and low seam Pans for the Mini Build. The Shields and Pans were last used at Oaky Creek No 1 Colliery.

In the images, you can see: 

• FBL15 in action being used to fit the ranging arm onto the shearer – part of the Longwall Mini Build; 
• FBL55 in a spot of bother as it moved a chock – a large, hydraulically powered roof-support unit that protects the area where miners and machinery are working – to the site of Longwall Mini Build;
• The little yellow Kärcher being used as an emulsion pump to raise the chocks as part of the display; 
• and FBL15 towing a World War 2 General Grant Tank so the team could do some grading and ground repairs inside the grounds of the Pioneer Village ready for Heritage Day.

“What we have attempted to establish in our Mining Exhibit Longwall Mini Build is a display of an in-situ longwall, with equipment positioned as if it was operational,” explains Terry Carroll, President of Capella Pioneer Village and Maintenance Planner at Oaky Creek Surface. “Overall, the exhibit consists of 10 DBT chocks positioned behind 10 Joy AFC pans, with an Eichoff Shearer positioned on the AFC pan line.”

The term “Longwall Mini Build” is traditionally used on a mine site. When a mine buys new equipment, they assemble everything on the surface first. This allows them to test, train and pre-commission longwall mining machinery in relative safety of ground level (normally using a longwall mini build of 30-40 chocks), before it is dismantled and installed operationally underground. In the image (below), you can see the Longwall Mini Build from 1990 at the Oaky No 1 Colliery that was assembled behind where the mines rescue fire chamber currently is.

Celebrating Local Heritage

According to Terry, key to the success of the Pioneer Village is its annual Heritage Day, held on the second Saturday of September. 

It’s a widely varied event, with markets, food stalls, blacksmithing, tractor balance see-saw, live sheep shearing, and movies in our cinema, with air conditioning also supplied by Oaky Creek.

“It’s not only a great family-fun-day, it’s also a valuable community engagement day as it is quite often the one day that people in town visit us. We get good community support because of this exposure,”  Terry explains.

Between 500 and 600 people attend the Heritage Day, and a further 50 to 60 volunteers assist in the running of the event, so there’s a real festival and celebratory atmosphere as people come to check out the local history.

“The tractor parade is always popular. We normally get around 40 old tractors chugging along, although the most we’ve had in a parade is 53 – that was a bit chaotic! It’s not easy to coordinate, or to get them all running at once, but it’s great fun and provides a really immersive experience for everyone.” 

Browse, Explore, or Immerse

The museum is self-guided. You’re given a map on arrival and an explanation of the layout of the museum, then you can head off for your self-paced tour. There are signs with all exhibits and volunteers are available for you to ask questions. 

For the ‘Browser’, Terry recommends giving yourself a couple of hours; for the ‘Explorer’, he suggests three to four hours; and for the ‘Immerser’, his advice is to make a day of it, or do three or four hours over two days. 

If you’re interested in local history and would like more information – or if you’d like to volunteer at the museum – you can contact Terry on 0437 088 866 or the Secretary on 0427 638 866. Alternatively, you can message them via the Capella Pioneer Village Museum Facebook page: facebook.com/capellamuseum/.