These beautiful embossed cards recall the 34 miners who lost their lives in the Kaitangata coal mine in Otago in 1879. They were killed when a dangerous gas called firedamp exploded, a common risk in early underground mines. As one of these cards shows, the miners were aged as young as 14.
Using this item
Hocken Collections, University of Otago
Reference: S09-517c; S09-517d; S09-517e; S09-517b
Permission of the Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Further information may be obtained from the Library through its website.