The story of this place
On 23 March 1887, a devastating gas explosion tore through the Bulli coal mine, killing 81 men and boys in one of Australia's worst mining disasters. The blast was so powerful it blew debris hundreds of metres from the mine entrance. Among the dead were boys as young as twelve. Only one man survived the initial explosion — a young miner known as 'Boy Cope,' who was found alive in a tunnel three days after the disaster, having survived on water dripping from the mine walls. The disaster led to the formation of the first trade union in the Illawarra region in 1879, as miners demanded safer working conditions. A memorial obelisk stands in Park Road, Bulli, listing the names of all 81 victims. The nearby Heritage Hotel (1889) served as an impromptu morgue after the disaster and is said to be haunted by the spirits of the miners who died.