The Ralph mine disaster
A DigitalNZ Story by EuanD
The Ralph mine disaster took place on September 12 1914. There was an explosion caused by a naked acetylene head lamp which ignited the methane gas built up inside of the mine. This explosion killed 43 out of the 60 mean working there that day.
How the Ralph mine disaster was remembered. There were two memorial tablets made about the Ralph mine disaster, one being a list of all the people who died in the mine and the other was a tribute to the rescuers heroic efforts.
Ralph's Mine disaster memorial
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Ralph Mine remembered 100 years on
Radio New Zealand
How people viewed the disaster at the time. I have found three newspapers about the Ralph mine disaster. One is a commission of enquiry, the second is an image of them transporting the bodies they managed to recover out of the mine and the third is a paper about what happened and a list of who died.
HUNTLY MINE DISASTER. (Wairarapa Daily Times, 08 October 1914)
National Library of New Zealand
Here are some more recent news articles on what happened during the disaster and how it is remembered.
Ralph's Mine disaster memorial
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Forty-three miners killed in explosion at Huntly
Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage