Early Mining Methods
The journals of English and French sailors in the late 17th and early 18th centuries indicate that coal was taken from the cliffs along the shore by digging at its base with crow bars. Mining methods did not progress much until the 1780s.

Underground mining, assisted by experienced British colliers, began when the mines were operated by the Crown and various merchant concerns. In 1785, a shaft was sunk to the Sydney main seam and the room and pillar method of coal extraction was begun. picks and wedges were the only tools used to work the coal free from the mine face. The coal was worked by holing across the room in the middle, sheering the sides and wedging to break it down.

The coal was then loaded into tubs and hauled by manpower to the bottom of the shaft. They were emptied into a larger tub and raised 90 feet to the surface. The coal in the large tub then was transferred into a hopper and then into carts that took the coal to the wharf for shipment.

During the 19th century there were few changes in the room and pillar system of working. The operations at the face required two people. Holes were drilled into the top part of the face by hand augers, later with hand drills and from around 1890 with compressed air drills. When the hole was about 6 feet deep, a charge of black powder was inserted. The blast would break up the coal, making it easier to load and transport to the surface.

With the arrival of the General Mining Association, new tools, machinery and engines were introduced which added to the efficiency in winning the coal. Later the Dominion Coal Company introduced the longwall method where a considerable amount of coal could be obtained. Because the coal was extracted working out from the shaft to the boundries of the seam, roadways and air courses had to be maintained throughout the worked areas of the mine.

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