The Burkes Creek coal mine is about two kilometres north-east of Reefton, wedged between the Terrace coal mine to the south, and Pyramid coal mine to the north.

Early history shows the mine owned by J. McLiver, Robert Cairn, and possibly Lockington (1908), and later just the first two (1914). A court case at this time has McLiver stating he was forced to hand over his share of the mine to J. Harris, while he was unwell, and drugged. He states Cairn was keen to sell, but had no authority to do so, and McLiver was carried to a house in a state of fog, and mental instability. Cairn, McLiver claims held his hand, directing a motion to sign . McLiver was attempting to regain his share of the mine.

The Reefton Coal Company was established in 1919, later with a name change to Burkes Creek Collieries, to develop the mine. Albert Ambrose Wells was killed in a fall of coal at the mine in 1923. The mine was purchased by New Zealand government owned State Coal in 1946.

It is a small open cut, and underground sub-bituminous coal mine. It is owned and operated by a small family concern as R.J. Banks, or the Burkes Creek Coal Party (Sourcewatch), or in a 2017 source, Moore Mining Ltd from Solid Energy (Newshub). Other sources state Moore Mining took over the Burkes Creek Coal Washery.

The mine produces about 5000 tonnes of coal per annum for local district consumption. It has an estimated resource of 18 Mt.

In a park in Reefton, is the restored Fairlie R28 locomotive, the only survivor of its type in the world. Built at Bristol England in 1878, it operated across the South Island until 1934, and ended up at the Burkes Creek coal mine from 1944 to 1948. It was then abandoned at the coal mine's railway siding, before being rescued by the local station master. A community restoration project took place. For railway enthusiasts, another rare type of locomotive from the district is on display along the main highway between Greymouth and Reefton.

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References

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Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A)

Newshub (2017), Solid Energy Sells Final Reefton Assets, 08 August 2017

Auckland Star newspaper (1944), Open-Cast Mines. Production of Coal, Vol. LXXV, issue 82, 06 April 1944

Inangahua Times newspaper (1914), Warden's Court, 27 August 1914

Press newspaper (1923), Reefton Mine Fatality, Vol. L1X, issue 17760, 11 May 1923

Press newspaper (1930), West Coast Notes, Vol. LXV1, issue 19821, 08 January 1930

Inangahua Times newspaper (1908), The Reefton Coal Deposits, 21 December 1908

External Links

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/RJ_Banks

https://www.sourcewatch.org/ind.ex.php/Burkes_Creek_mine

http://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/assets/display/17643-max [photo of miners]
http://www.hometown.co.nz/reefton/Reefton/1960_pg2Fairlie.html [description of the Fairlie steam engine]

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