| And so, on 9
March 1962 mining stopped at Captain's Flat. The
announcement was sudden and caught the miners and
townsfolk by surprise. Following immediately on the
heels of the official notice of closure, the company
dismissed 300 workers. Fifty others were retained to
dismantle equipment.
Almost within hours of the mine
closure, Captain's Flat began to disappear. In April,
the town doctor resigned and by May the Catholic convent
was closed. Only 12 shops remained out of the 32 that
were trading prior to the closure. In a matter of a few
months, Captain's Flat's population had halved.
Lake George Mines' buildings and
equipment was auctioned in February 1963. The sale
lasted a full week and bargains ranged from household
items to the mine head poppet. Houses were snapped up
for a few dollars, most being trucked away to Queanbeyan
for relocation. The mass exodus of these cottages led
the local councillor to petition the state government to
prevent this loss of the town's heritage. A bill was
drawn up preventing further removals of buildings, but
by that time, many fine old cottages were gone. Locals
also petitioned the Federal government for funds to seal
and upgrade the road between Queanbeyan and Captain's
Flat. In mid-May 1962, the government supplied £100,000
for the road works. This is what possibly saved
Captain's Flat from becoming a ghost town.
Another service which closed its doors
soon after the mines closed was the hospital. Built and
dedicated in 1945, it was at one time one of the most
modern and best equipped hospitals in the southern
hemisphere. The State Hospital Commission claimed all
the equipment for itself which created much ill-will
with locals who had, over the years, mostly paid for it
themselves. Arrests were made when a number of local men
tried unsuccessfully to stop the removal of the
equipment. The nurses' quarters was rented by the
Electrolytic Zinc Corporation as its headquarters in
1972, when it conducted test drilling, but this was a
short term arrangement when the drilling proved
unsuccessful. Today the hospital houses the Yesteryear
Museum. Other services closed; the taxi company and bus
line; and the ANZ bank closed its doors in 1977.
The railway service declined markedly
upon the mine closure until finally on 1 September 1968,
the last train ran the line. The line was reopened in
part a year later, for the making of the feature film
"Ned Kelly", starring Mick Jagger. The railway station
was converted into a 2 bedroom dwelling in 1974.
Of the three churches built in
Captain's Flat, now only St. Luke's Anglican church
remains. The school continued after the mines closed
with enrolments declining to about 30 children from the
previous 200.
Perhaps the biggest problem caused by
the mines, were the huge sludge pits left at both ends
of town. These were filled with toxic waste tailings
from the mine operations and remained open. When the
tailings became exposed to water or air, toxic sulphates
were formed which, if not handled and contained
adequately became a dangerous problem. The walls of the
dumps had collapsed previously, in 1939 and 1942. Then
in 1945, flooding caused a major overflow of wastes into
the Molonglo River which swept downstream and poisoned
over 1000 acres of prime agricultural land. The company
limed the area, but to this day the land is still
adversely affected. In 1954, tailings were handled
differently. After evaporation to an 8% moisture
content, the wastes were built into hills. Over the
years these waste dumps rose to over 40 metres above the
town and after every rain, toxins leached and eroded
into the river. There were some 1.5 million tons of
waste casting a dangerous shadow over Captain's Flat.
The department of mines spent considerable money in
1968, filling in ventilation shafts and reinforcing the
walls of the slime dumps, but this was really only a
cosmetic change. Locals voiced concerns regarding the
remaining waste dumps but were ignored until it was
discovered that mine waste had been swept 50 kilometres
downstream into Lake Burley Griffin in the heart of
Canberra, the nation's capital. This prompted swift
action, the picture of the carefully planned city of
Canberra being polluted, obviously not sitting well with
politicians and bureaucrats. So in 1974, work began on a
major reconstruction and revegetation project where the
hills were reshaped, the sludge pits filled with clay
and rocks and the whole lot covered with soil and
planted with grasses and other vegetation. Although this
made a considerable difference, the problem of chemicals
and heavy metals leaching into the river remains, with
zinc contamination a real danger.
Since the mines closed in 1962, other
industries have tried their luck in Captain's Flat. In
the early 1970's, a sawmill was opened just out of town,
but over the years, the fluctuations of the timber
industry caused its demise in the 1990's. The Captain's
Flat area has been host to two movie sets, the first
being "Ned Kelly" in 1969, then again in 1978 for the
movie, "My Brilliant Career".
In 1981, the residents of Captain's
Flat expressed deep concern regarding the quality of the
water supply. The town dam was heavy with pollution from
sheep grazing above the dam, with the wastes washing
into the dam after heavy rain. The council hired divers
to explore the dam and after they recommended the intake
pipes be raised higher up the dam wall, the problem was
quickly rectified. The dam had never been intended for
use as a supply of domestic water but after the mines
had closed, it was upgraded and work carried out to
improve the quality of water. At one point, scientists
claimed that the water at Captain's Flat was a healthful
tonic, being rich in minerals. Major works have been
proposed to completely overhaul and upgrade the water
supply over the next few years.
Today, Captain's Flat is a sleepy
little village still nestled in its hilly retreat. The
big dollar days have long gone and life moves at a much
slower pace. The hotel still quenches the thirsts of
locals and visitors alike, the petrol station and
general store still provide fuel and the necessities,
the small takeaway food shop still knocks up a mighty
fine hamburger and the little shop next door sells all
sorts of odd bits and pieces. The swimming pool still
attracts children on hot summer afternoons and the Post
Office still delivers the mail. From the hills above,
the village looks like any other little Australian town,
it is only when one spends time here, walking the
streets, chatting with the older residents, that the
rich and lively past is revealed. It is an enigma, a
town built on the fickles of mining and little else. But
through all the ups and downs, the highs and lows,
Captain's Flat has tenaciously clung to life with a
spirit which perhaps has its origin in the heart of a
mighty beast of burden some 120 years ago. A beast named
"Captain". |
Overlooking the town just prior to the mine closure in
1961
A house moving out after the mines closed. Houses
disappeared overnight being bought for a few dollars and
trucked away for relocation.
The hospital shortly after its closure. In its heyday it
was the best equipped hospital in Australia
The Captain's Flat railway station. The building was
later fitted out as a dwelling
Overhead view of the tailings waste dumps at both ends
of town. These dumps were an extreme health hazard
Another view of the waste dumps
The dumps after work was carried out to cover the toxic
waste
The Pre-school shortly after its opening, built by the
locals with money raised in the district
Divers inspecting the dam wall after a major pollution
scare |
