It’s exactly 140 years since coal was first discovered at Helensburgh and the remarkable history of Wollongong’s most northern community will be celebrated this weekend when an open day is held at the base of the Helensburgh and District Historical Society.
One of Helensburgh’s best-known characters, the president of the historical society, Jim Powell, is hoping for a great turn out at the Old Mine Surgery, filled with history and the home of the society in Parkes Street.
It’s fair to say what Jim doesn’t know about Helensburgh really isn’t worth knowing.
During an open day preview Jim shared stories of the old Metropolitan mine which remains the longest running active coal mine in Australia. At its peak it employed nearly 3000 miners.
“The mine opened and started producing coal in July 1888, but the rail line didn’t arrive until October that year meaning the first coal was stored on site,” Jim said. “It had a reputation for producing the best steaming coal in Australia.”
How Helensburgh coped with the 1919 Spanish Flu
Inside the old mine surgery, which was funded by the mine and operated by a local legend from early last century, Dr Frederick Cox, is an amazing collection of photographs, books and memorabilia. The story of Dr Cox single-handedly working to save local lives during the 1919 ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic is astonishing. As the only doctor in the district, he treated all the patients and at one stage 100 workers at the mine were off work with the flu. Nine of the 10 lives lost in Helensburgh during the pandemic were mine workers. On 12 September 1919, as the epidemic came to an end, the Illawarra Mercury reported that “the local Masonic Lodge entertained the volunteers in recognition of the splendid services performed by them in the epidemic.” For his heroic life-saving efforts, Dr Cox was presented with a pair of gold cufflinks by Reverend Smee.
The museum traces the history of local sport where Jim explains that the local cricket club was the first sporting team to take the field in the 1880s “and Helensburgh is one of the oldest soccer clubs in the Illawarra”.
Having played coronet and trumpet, Jim has a soft spot for the town’s brass band, which was created in 1895, and was originally made up mainly of men working in the mine. The band hall was built in 1915 but it was lost to an electrical fire in 2000.
A lifetime fighting fires
As a member of the local Fire and Rescue service for more than 40 years, Jim recalls all the big fires that hit the region. “The first fire I fought was back in 1952 when I was a seven-year-old. Dad had me up the ladder putting water in the gutters.”
Many years later, in 1975, Jim joined Fire and Rescue Station 325 Helensburgh and was on the job until 2016 when he retired, after six years as brigade captain.
“I remember 2001 was the last big fire and that was on Christmas Day. The town was cut off and we helped with evacuations from the Stanwell Tops conference centre. We took shelter there as the fire front came through. Then we headed back to Helensburgh to save a house my father helped build. We were fighting that fire for 13 days that summer and at its peak we only got six hours sleep in 48 hours.”
Jim Powell has received many awards and accolades over the years but the one that gives him greatest pride was being awarded Wollongong’s senior citizen of the year in 2017.
Book about the people who shaped Helensburgh
He’s in the process of putting the finishing touches to a new book capturing most of the great stories about his home town. “It’s called My Town, The Town and its People and it focuses mainly on the people who’ve shaped the town.”
Jim started writing the book before Covid and it’s largely a pictorial history dating back to the early years, while also capturing special moments from recent years, including when the 2022 UCI World Cycling Championships started in Helensburgh and, most recently, the stunning gold medal success of Olympian Saya Sakakibara, the BMX champion at the recent Paris Olympics.
Jim’s partner, Jenny Donohoe, who is the principal researcher for the Helensburgh Historical Society, is also working on a book of her own. “The book will be called Murders and Misdemeanours and at first I thought I’d do the first 50 years of life in Helensburgh, but I quickly discovered that as time went on things got even more interesting.”
Jenny thinks there may have been as many as 20 murders in the Helensburgh area over the years. “It used to be like a wild west town; it was unruly, and a foot policeman was the only thing to keep the town in check.”
Jim and Jenny have a thousand stories to tell but don’t wait for their books. Join them at the Helensburgh Historical Society open day between 10am-2pm on Saturday, 28 September, and any members of the public with new historical material for the collection will be warmly welcomed.
