The Mt Kembla Mine Disaster, 1902: Quarrying the Seams of Evidence to Assay the Human Response

Abstract

The aim of this research has been to explore the human response to the 1902 Mt Kembla mine disaster right through to the present day. We have had three major concerns during the course of this research. The first has been to make extensive use of oral history. Disaster memories are particularly tenacious, a phenomenon which has been labelled 'the death imprint' 1, and oral history is probably more fruitful in disaster research than in many other areas of historical activity. Oral testimony for this study began to be collected in 1976. Most, not all, of those interviewed were children at the time of the disaster, and most have passed away since their interviews.