The Princess Colliery Disaster Monument was unveiled in Sydney Mines on Davis Day in 1990, at the site of the former colliery. This monument resembles the entrance to a mineshaft, and is composed of a brick base with a pulley system standing on top. Placed into the brick base of the monument is a memorial plaque, which reads: “To the memory of the miners who lost their lives during the Princess Mine disaster in 1938 placed by Town of Sydney Mines and Prince Local 2183 UMW of A this 11th day of June, 1990." The approach to the monument consists of a stone walkway, which passes by the 1969 memorial. The imagery and inscriptions of the 1938 disaster monument exist as a memorial to the worst accident in the history of the Princess coal mine and, like many other disaster monuments, seeks to reinforce the memory of workers’ rights and the value of workplace safety in local collective memory.
The disaster had taken place on 6 December 1938. More than 250 miners were seated on the riding rake, waiting to travel down into mine for their shift. As the rake began to descend, it suddenly broke away from its rope and gained momentum as it sped down the incline into the pit. A number of miners jumped off the runaway rake, but when it crashed into the wall at the end of the slope more than 50 men were injured and 16 were killed outright. [1] Another man, 26-year-old William Luffman, died of his injuries the next day. [2] The importance of this event for the town of Sydney Mines, and the permeation of coal mining into the fabric of the town’s existence, can be seen in the community roles of many of the men who were killed. Counted among the dead on 6 December were two Sydney Mines town councilors, the former manager of the nearby Florence Colliery, and “many others prominent in the civic and sporting affairs of the town.” [3]
The specificity of this event to historical consciousness in Sydney Mines was reflected in the decision to commemorate the event in 1990. Other factors, such as the uncertainty of the eastern Canadian coal industry in the decade, the personal and communal impacts of deindustrialization, and the generational turnover from those who had experienced the event firsthand all likely played a part in the decision to commemorate the disaster. During the dedication of the monument, retired UMW district president Bill Marsh addressed some concerns of deindustrialization directly. He criticized the local environmental movement for opposing a planned power plant at Point Aconi. Marsh argued that, without the power plants, further downsizing of the local coal industry was likely. [4]
Footnotes
[1] Sydney Post Record, 6 December 1938.
[2] Sydney Post Record, 8 December 1938.
[3] Sydney Post Record, 8 December 1938.
[4] Cape Breton Post, 12 June 1990.
The disaster had taken place on 6 December 1938. More than 250 miners were seated on the riding rake, waiting to travel down into mine for their shift. As the rake began to descend, it suddenly broke away from its rope and gained momentum as it sped down the incline into the pit. A number of miners jumped off the runaway rake, but when it crashed into the wall at the end of the slope more than 50 men were injured and 16 were killed outright. [1] Another man, 26-year-old William Luffman, died of his injuries the next day. [2] The importance of this event for the town of Sydney Mines, and the permeation of coal mining into the fabric of the town’s existence, can be seen in the community roles of many of the men who were killed. Counted among the dead on 6 December were two Sydney Mines town councilors, the former manager of the nearby Florence Colliery, and “many others prominent in the civic and sporting affairs of the town.” [3]
The specificity of this event to historical consciousness in Sydney Mines was reflected in the decision to commemorate the event in 1990. Other factors, such as the uncertainty of the eastern Canadian coal industry in the decade, the personal and communal impacts of deindustrialization, and the generational turnover from those who had experienced the event firsthand all likely played a part in the decision to commemorate the disaster. During the dedication of the monument, retired UMW district president Bill Marsh addressed some concerns of deindustrialization directly. He criticized the local environmental movement for opposing a planned power plant at Point Aconi. Marsh argued that, without the power plants, further downsizing of the local coal industry was likely. [4]
Footnotes
[1] Sydney Post Record, 6 December 1938.
[2] Sydney Post Record, 8 December 1938.
[3] Sydney Post Record, 8 December 1938.
[4] Cape Breton Post, 12 June 1990.