Bushfires - Lithgow (State Mine) and Zig Zag Railway

Email from -
Ray Christison, President
The City of Greater Lithgow Mining Museum Inc

Hello all,

I thought I would provide an update on the situation with the Lithgow (State Mine) bushfire and major heritage sites.

The Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park came under attack on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon. Buildings and historic machinery were saved by the vigilance and action of museum volunteers, and the extraordinary efforts of local RFS crews. The ember attack on Thursday was particularly difficult to counter with winds constantly changing direction. Significant documents and original photographs, including the Charter for the 1886 Royal Commission into the Lithgow Valley Colliery disaster were removed from site on Thursday morning. The site is currently on a watch and act status with principal threats coming from the potential combustion of coal dumped during the operational life of the colliery.

Regular updates are being posted on the Lithgow State Mine Museum Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lithgow-State-Mine-Museum/285897008107516?ref=hl

The Zig Zag Railway workshops complex was destroyed by fire on Thursday. This is a major disaster for a volunteer organisation that has been struggling for the past 18 months.

Updates on the Zig Zag Railway are available through Facebook on https://www.facebook.com/ZigZagRailway?fref=ts

Those wishing to assist can direct donations to the Zig Zag Railway.

We also encourage those in the heritage world to visit Lithgow’s wonderful museums once the fire crisis has subsided.

Ray Christison
President
The City of Greater Lithgow Mining Museum Inc
www.statemine.org.au
0419 438 609