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Descent from Disaster - Strongman Mine Disaster
Television (Excerpts) – 2013
On 19 January 1967, an explosion rocked the Strongman coal mine on the West Coast, causing the deaths of 19 miners. This documentary, part of a series investigating NZ disasters, sees TV personality Leigh Hart examining what happened that day in Rūnanga, and how it affected the community. Interviewees include Hart’s own family: his Dad, who was in the mine at the time, his mother, and his Uncle Terry, who was part of the rescue team. This two-minute excerpt includes a reenactment of the disaster, and Leigh examining the outside of the old mine.
They all worked together, played together and in the end, died together, so I guess it was appropriate they were buried together. But when you think about the individual families it wasn't a community thing. It was something very personal.– Leigh Hart, on the mass grave in which the miners were buried
Key Cast & Crew
See all 16 credits
Acknowledgements
Made with funding from NZ On Air
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