Mount Mulligan mine disaster

The Mount Mulligan mine disaster occurred on 19 September 1921 in Mount Mulligan, Far North Queensland, Australia. A series of explosions in the local coal mine, audible as much as 30 km away, rocked the close-knit township.^[1]

Seventy-five workers were killed by the disaster,^[1] making it the third-worst coal mining accident in Australia in terms of human lives lost. Four of the dead had been at the mouth of the pit at the time of the explosion. Seventy four bodies were recovered by the time the Royal Commission ended,^[2] the last body was recovered five months after the disaster after the mine had reopened.^[3] The disaster affected people in cities and towns all over the country. The mine, which had operated for six years at the time of the accident,^[2] was widely considered safe and had no previous indications of gas leaks. The miners hence worked using open flame lights instead of safety lamps.^[4]