NEW  ZEALAND
TOPICAL*SONG 		Black River Mine
John Archer, 2011

Song List - Home

This song is fiction, but it parallels events leading up to the explosion
in the Pike River mine on Friday the 19th of November, 2010.


Capo +2

Chorus (sing with enthusiasm)
G It's my first day working
Down the C mine tomorrow morning
I'll be G earning workman's wages
For the A7 very D7 first time:
You G know I love you Pam
And I'll C show you I'm a man
When G I come home tomorrow
From the D7 Black River G mine.

1. I'll be working at the coalface
As Offsider for old Thommo
He'said "There's danger lurking there
So you be careful son!
The rockfalls and the methane gas
And chance electric sparking
Can turn that mile-long shaft
Into the barrel of a gun."

Chorus (everybody, with enthusiasm)

2. Thommo said deregulation
Had changed the situation
Since he'd joined the Miners' Union
Back in nineteen sixty-nine
These days there's no Inspector
No Union to protect y'
And the company rules are made
To swell the company's bottom line

Chorus (with enthusiasm)
3. (slowly, quietly, a cappella )
Oh Pam my dearest darling
I think my arm is broken
And a weight is pressing down upon
My leg and on my hand
Old Thommo started speaking
About the methane peaking
And a warning light was flashing
Near the ventilator fan.....

Modified chorus (quietly, with determination)
It's my first day working
Down the mine this Friday morning
I've been earning workman's wages
For the very first time
You know I love you Pam
And I'll show you I'm a man
Waiting for the next explosion
Down this Black River mine....


The Pike River Mine Disaster

Seventeen-year old Joseph Dunbar was killed at Pike River on his first day at work, as a driller's Offsider.

This song is fiction, but it parallels events leading up to the explosion in the Pike River mine on Friday the 19th of November, 2010. A ventilation fan broke down, allowing methane gas levels to rise to explosive levels, but the company mine manager responsible for safety kept the miners operating their machinery in this dangerous atmosphere.

In the days before the National government abolished safety regulations in mines, a Government Inspector ensured that operating procedures were of a higher standard than at Pike River, and if safety equipment failed, the shift boss of the Miners' Union had the authority to call for a work stoppage and the evacuation of the mine until conditions were safe again.

At the commission of inquiry into the disaster, former chief inspector of coal mines Robin Hughes said that the explosion at Pike River mine had its origins in the repealing of the Coal Mining Act and regulations in 1993.

"The unwillingness of government officials up to and including the Prime Minister of the day to act on advice offered by a number of individuals resulted in the loss of a robust coal mines inspectorate, staffed by the most experienced and skilled personnel available," Mr Hughes said.

After a full investigation, Dr. Dirk Pons of Canterbury University's Mechanical Engineering  Department reported that " Poor systems-engineering contributed through poorly designed ventilation, the use of power-electronics underground, and placing of the main ventilation fan underground. Management rushed prematurely into production even though the development of necessary technology in the mine was incomplete. Investment in non-productive infrastructure was de-prioritised, resulting in inadequate ventilation, and the lack of a viable second emergency egress. The risk assessments were deficient, incomplete, or not actioned. Warnings and feedback from staff were ignored. . . MORE 

Song List - Home

Published on NZ Folksong website 23 Feb 2011

counter started 27 Sept 2025

Free Counters