Photograph courtesy the Ray O’Hara collection held by Cessnock City Library. (Year unknown.) Photograph shows Jim O’Hara lighting his pipe from a tallow light. This was a small copper cylinder with a small spout which contained a wick. The light was fuelled by tallow, which was a mixture of animal fat and a small amount of kerosene, which was solid at room temperature. These tallow blocks were produced and sold by the Co-op Store for one shilling. In the stygian darkness of the mine it gave a surprising amount of light and resisted a reasonable draught. A more refined tallow was available at the mine called “campions”. A small amount of tallow was carried in a lidded metal cannister on a miner’s belt. Cessnock No 2 was a naked light mine until about 1943. |
Should you require accommodation during the festival, please visit the Hunter Wine Country Tourism website.
