Stanford Merthyre Mine 1905
On the 29th October 1905, five miners and one of the directors of the colliery were killed trying to extinguish a fire in the pit. Their deaths rocked the small mining community and represented the greatest loss of life on the South Maitland Minefields at that time. An inquest found that the mine had caught fire in the middle of the night in a spontaneous combustion. While nobody was in the mine when the fire started a massive explosion killed or injured many of the men working to seal off the mine. The six men were killed after sustaining serious injuries or burns caused by flying debris.
This accident claimed the lives of 6 people.