Story: Coal and coal mining

In this 1875 photograph the governor, Lord Normanby, visits the Brunner mine. In the 1870s and 1880s coal became important to national hopes for a prosperous industrial future. The Brunner mine, which began operations in 1864, was a major focus of ambitions in these years, and by the late 1880s it was producing a third of the country’s coal.

Kaitangata mine

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