Workshop Wall.

01 Elrington CollieryHunter Valley2017

ISO 1001/3f/9.020mm

Series · 66 prints

Elrington Colliery

Photographed 2017
Frames 66
Camera NIKON D810
Location New South Wales, Australia · Hunter Valley, NSW
Status Workshops in continuous industrial use since 1964 as Elrington Industries
Closed 1962
Heritage Colliery: Hunter Regional Environmental Plan 1989 (Heritage), Schedule 3 local item (1989 to 2011); within Cessnock LEP 2011 item I215, Collieries of the South Maitland Coalfields/Greta Coal Measures, local (from 2011). Company houses: Cessnock LEP 2011 item I109, local (from 2011). Not on the State Heritage Register.
01 ABOUT THIS SERIES

Series story

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

Elrington Colliery sits in the South Maitland coalfields near Kearsley, south-east of Cessnock. BHP began sinking the first of its 2 shafts, specified to be lined with concrete, in January 1925, and struck coal 1,195 feet down in December 1927, in a mine meant to supply its Newcastle steelworks. The colliery worked the Main Greta Seam, and its underground railways used battery locomotives. The target was 3,000 tonnes a day. It was never reached. Ross Mainwaring's 2009 history calls the mine the Peter Pan Colliery, because it never grew up. In 1935 The BH Review, BHP's jubilee publication, said the company's John Darling and Elrington collieries were "hardly excelled in modern equipment and methods of working". The pit closed in December 1962. In 1964 its surface facilities were given a new lease of life as Elrington Engineering Pty Ltd, later Elrington Industries.

02 TIMELINE

Chronology

1924
1925
1927
1929
1935
1954
1957
1962
1964
1989
2011
03 PRINTS

Prints in this series

Hand-signed and numbered, printed from the original RAW file. Open editions in the two smallest sizes; limited editions of 100, 50 and 25 in the three larger, never reissued once they sell through.

Workshop Wall.
Workshop Wall
Workshop Tool Racking.
Workshop Tool Racking
Workshop Gantry.
Workshop Gantry
Workshop Crane.
Workshop Crane
Washhouse Changing Area.
Washhouse Changing Area
Workshop Breakers.
Workshop Breakers
Workshop Across the Field.
Workshop Across the Field
Window.
Window
The washhouse at Elrington Colliery photographed from outside, on the side that housed the showers. Surfaces show the accumulated wear of decades of use. Paint is lifting in sections. The scene is still and unoccupied.
Washhouse Shower Side
Washhouse Rear.
Washhouse Rear
Washhouse Exterior Wall.
Washhouse Exterior Wall
Washhouse Exit.
Washhouse Exit
Tyres.
Tyres
Testing Room.
Testing Room
Storage Room.
Storage Room
Steel Frame.
Steel Frame
Spare Parts.
Spare Parts
Showers.
Showers
Plough.
Plough
Peeling Paint.
Peeling Paint
Pay Office.
Pay Office
Pay Office Windows.
Pay Office Windows
Pay Office Stairs.
Pay Office Stairs
Pay Office Corridor.
Pay Office Corridor
Pay and Managers Office Entrance.
Pay and Managers Office Entrance
Overgrown Plough.
Overgrown Plough
Office Stairs.
Office Stairs
Nature Always Finds a Way.
Nature Always Finds a Way
Managers Office Wall.
Managers Office Wall
Managers Office Exterior Wall.
Managers Office Exterior Wall
Main Workshop Cross View.
Main Workshop Cross View
Main Engine House.
Main Engine House
Main Engine House Windows.
Main Engine House Windows
Main Engine House Basement.
Main Engine House Basement
Main Engine House End.
Main Engine House End
Main Engine House Door.
Main Engine House Door
Main Engine House Back Wall.
Main Engine House Back Wall
Machine Shop.
Machine Shop
Machine Shop Garden.
Machine Shop Garden
Lamp Cabin Windows.
Lamp Cabin Windows
Lamp Cabin and Washhouse.
Lamp Cabin and Washhouse
Lamp Cabin Racks.
Lamp Cabin Racks
Lamp Cabin Exterior.
Lamp Cabin Exterior
Key Storage.
Key Storage
Field Lamp.
Field Lamp
Electrical Workshop.
Electrical Workshop
Electrical Workshop Windows.
Electrical Workshop Windows
Electrical Workshop Wall.
Electrical Workshop Wall
Electrical Workbench.
Electrical Workbench
A timber drawing desk occupies the foreground, its surface worn at Elrington Colliery. A doorway stands open beyond it, leading to another room. Natural light enters from an unseen source.
Drawing Desk
Crib Room.
Crib Room
Crib Entry.
Crib Entry
Changeroom Wall.
Changeroom Wall
Changeroom Handwash Basins.
Changeroom Handwash Basins
Change Room and Basins.
Change Room and Basins
Change Room Leaves.
Change Room Leaves
Carpentry Workshop.
Carpentry Workshop
Carpentry Workshop Garden.
Carpentry Workshop Garden
Carpentry Shop Side of Workshop.
Carpentry Shop Side of Workshop
Calf.
Calf
04 ABOUT THE PRINTS

How they’re made

Made to order by Brett in Sydney, from the original RAW file. Each print is hand-signed and numbered before it ships.

Paper

Ilford Galerie cotton rag, 310 gsm. Acrylic on metallic gloss, 260 gsm.

Editions

Open in XS and S. Limited in M (100), L (50), XL (25). From $100.

Print tiers →

Lead time

Unframed: 5 to 10 business days. Framed and acrylic: 10 to 20.

08 BY POST · NO SPAM

Read the full story

Articles when they're published. The history behind a place. The day of a shoot. The work between prints. No marketing, no schedule.

You're subscribed.