Long Tunnel Mine
History
Swiss-Italian miners reputedly discovered Italian Hill, Daylesford in 1854 and by the 1860s Italian Hill was being extensively tunnelled. The most significant venture on Italian Hill, in terms of its duration and total length attained by the tunnel, was commenced in 1860 by a party led by Albino Paganetti. The tunnel was later worked by the Great Tunnelling Company, Long Tunnel Company, Fumberger and party, and Long Tunnel Co-operative Company. [1]
By 1875, the tunnel had been driven 2,800 feet, and by 1906 had been driven to a distance around 5,000 feet.[2]
TWO MINERS TRAPPED BY FALL OF EARTH RESCUED IN FOUR HOURS - Incident at Daylesford - Two miners, Michael Rosetti, aged 32 years, and George Davies, aged 45 years, were trapped in the long tunnel of the Daylesford Italian Hill mine to-day, when about five tons of earth gave way 1,500ft from the mouth and blocked the exit. The men were rescued four hours later suffering from shook, but little the worse for i their experience. At the time of the fall the men were working in the face of the tunnel 1,500ft from where the fall occurred.
Rosetti said to-night that he and his companion noticed the flames of their candles going blue, a sign that the air was becoming bad. Fearing that the engine which was pumping air to them had stopped they set out for the mouth of the tunnel, only to find that they were trapped. The air was becoming worse and the water was rising. They began to work frantically in an effort to dig their way out, and were relieved to see an emergency air pipe come through the earth.
The fall was first noticed by the truck hand, who after tipping a load, returned to find his way back to the face blocked by a huge fall of earth. He reported to the manager (Mr. V. Longbottom), who first had the emergency air pipe put through, and then sent men to clear away the fallen material. Four hours elapsed before Rosetti and Davies were hauled through a small opening.
Mr. Longbottom explained that the fall occurred because of what is known as a "greasy head" giving way and pushing away the timber. When he arrived at the scene he could see the lights of the trapped men through the crevices, and knew that they were safe from foul air. later.[3]
Albino Paganetti
Christian Fumberger
Site
Italian Hill, Daylesford
See also
Notes
References
Further Reading
Department Of Natural Resources & Environment, Victorian Goldfields Project Historic Gold Mining Sites in Hepburn Mining Division Report on Cultural Heritage, Draft April 1999
External Links
--C.K.Gervasoni 11:31, 10 September 2012 (EST)