VPRS 19346 Parish of Wonthaggi, State Coal Mines – Drillers’ Logs

This series contains records of drilling operations at the State Coal Mine (VA 720), Wonthaggi, created between the years 1910 – 1957. In 1909 the State Coal Mine was established by the Department of Mines (VA 612), primarily to supply coal for Victoria’s railways. Control of the mines was transferred to the Victorian Railway Commissioners (VA 2876) in 1911, and the mine ceased being operational in 1968. It is now managed by Parks Victoria (VA 4253), as a state park and tourist attraction. The records in this series appear to be summaries of boring activities carried out at the mine. Details recorded include the bore number, locality, drill number, surface level, total depth drilled, the date drilling commenced and the date it was completed. Details about the strata passed through are recorded in column-format and include the type of strata (surface soil, clay coal, sandstone, etc.), its thickness, and depth struck. The thickness of coal and depth struck is also recorded separately. Each page records an individual bore. The logs are all hand-written by various individuals and appear to be signed by the foreman on duty at the time. This series is related to VPRS 6811 Daily Drill Reports, State Coal Mine, Wonthaggi. Records within VPRS 6811 appear to have been created by the foreman on site at the time the work was being completed, while VPRS 19346 appears to be a summary of completed work filled out after the fact.