The history of the town is inseparable from the discovery, in 1826, of coal at Cape Paterson, on Bass Strait, by explorer William Hovell, while he was on an expedition from the military settlement at Corinella. Black coal was mined in the area, known as the Powlett River fields, between 1859 and 1864. A total of 2000 tons of coal were bagged and taken to whale boats on the coast which, in turn, carried the fuel to larger ships out on Bass Strait for shipment to Melbourne. However, the venture proved costly and the absence of safe anchorage was a major problem. As a result of heavy losses the mining operations ceased in 1864.

From the 1870s Victoria relied heavily on coal from Newcastle. However, when the Newcastle miners embarked on a major strike in 1909 the dependence on the Hunter Valley coalfields proved disastrous for Victoria's railways which were all powered by steam trains. Unable to get coal from Newcastle the trains ran on wood and coal had to be imported from India and Japan. It was clear that a more permanent solution was needed and, virtually overnight, a large shanty town appeared in the area that is now Wonthaggi to extract the coal discovered in the vicinity in the 1850s.

The fuel was being mined within two weeks and construction of the town began in 1910, the year the railway from Nyora arrived. A brickworks operated between 1910 and 1914 to supply the building blocks of the town and the mining complex became the first electrified mining operation in the southern hemisphere when a power station was built in 1912 to run the mine and supply the town with electricity.

In the 59 years that the Wonthaggi mines operated, 17 million tonnes of coal was extracted from 12 separate mines for use by the railways, the Wonthaggi and Newport power stations and for industrial and domestic purposes. It was hauled to the shaft by pit ponies and, until the railway arrived, it was carted 12 km by bullock train to Inverloch and from there it was taken by boat to Melbourne.

Prosperity peaked in the 1920s when the population hit 5000 but the Depression caused a fall in profits from which the mine never fully recovered. A five-month strike occurred in 1934 and a new western area began operations in 1936. The following year thirteen men were killed by a methane gas explosion so powerful it catapulted a 2-ton iron cage 60 feet from the mouth of the shaft to the top of the poppet head. This incident became the subject of a contemporary play, called The Thirteen Dead, written and performed by a radical theatre group.

With the introduction of diesel locomotives demand fell and local operations ceased altogether in 1968. Today Wonthaggi, at the centre of the fertile Bass Valley agricultural district, relies principally on the beef and dairy industries for its prosperity.

Things to see

Tourist Information
The Wonthaggi Information Centre is located at the corner of Watt St and McBride St and it can be contacted on (03) 5671 2444.

State Coal Mine Historic Reserve
Wonthaggi's former coalmining sites have been preserved and signposted as the State Coal Mine Historic Reserve. Start your tour at East Area mine where visitors can relax in the theatrette as historic film brings Wonthaggi's mining heritage to life. To get there follow Billson St (the Cape Paterson Road) for about 1.5 km then turn right into Garden St. Over one million tonnes of coal was mined at this location between 1919 and 1931. Forty-minute aboveground tours are conducted between 10.00 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. daily, for a gold coin donation. Follow the heritage walk around the mine site, exploring historic buildings, housing, photographs of mining days past and mining remnants. There is also a pit pony and free barbecue facilities are available, as well as refreshments for sale. The complex is open from 10.00 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. daily, tel: (03) 5672 3053 or ring the Parks Victoria infoline on 131 963.

Taberners Hotel
Taberners Hotel, licensed in 1914, is registered with the National Trust. The huge jawbones at the front are from a 74-foot whale which washed up upon the beach in 1923. An unemployed butcher boiled it down for 450 pounds and sold the jaws to the hotelier for £25.

Other Historic Sites in the Town
A leaflet is available here, or from the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands, which outlines the other historic sites around Wonthaggi. On the western side of town is the timber and corrugated iron brace of the old Number 5 Mine, together with the remnants of some buildings and machinery. Nearby is the old coal-run power house, still intact and fronted by maintenance and repair shops. The western area, noted for its poor working conditions, is about 3 km further along the road. The coal was hauled from this point to the Number 5 Brace for screening and loading onto rail wagons. A large mullock heap remains on the site. By taking the first left on the same road back into town and then turning left again at the Bass Highway you will arrive at Number 20 Mine where the disastrous methane explosion of 1937 occurred. On the eastern side of the town are the remains of the Number 18 Mine and Kirrak, the last Wonthaggi mine to cease operations.

Harmers Haven
From the western edge of town signposts lead 5 km south to the beach of Harmers Haven, named after the first European settler, where Aboriginal cooking middens can still be seen. This area is suitable for fishing, snorkelling amid the submerged rock platforms and surfing but not for swimming. Some old tram rails indicate how the coal was transported in the 1850s from the area known as the 'Old Boilers' to Cape Paterson for loading onto seafaring vessels. Most of the railing was removed to Mitchell's Mine at Kilcunda.

Wreck Beach
Just south is Wreck Beach, named after the remnants of the 1038-ton Artisan, which foundered in 1901 with a 17-man crew on-board. It was in this area that Richard Davis located a coal seam and walked to Melbourne with a 50-lb sack of coal on his back in order to qualify for a £1000 reward proposed by Governor La Trobe in 1852. He received the money minus the cost of sinking the Rock and Queen Shaft on the site.

Cape Paterson
Cape Paterson is a small township on the coast 8 km south of Wonthaggi. Nearby are Safety Beach (suitable for swimming, fishing, snorkelling and beachcombing with a rock pool for safe swimming) and Surf Beach which, as its name suggests, is good for surfing. There are scenic walking tracks along the cliff face. Entry is beside the toilet block. There are facilities at both beaches and beach inspectors in summer.

The actual Cape itself was named by George Bass after Lieutenant Cornell Paterson, the second-in-command at Botany Bay. Explorer, William Hovell, carved his initials in a large cave at Browns Bay when he discovered the coal seam in 1826. The first two Aborigines to be hanged in Melbourne were convicted of murdering two miners who were working the seam for Samuel Anderson.

A trip from Cape Paterson to Inverloch can be made either by car - a 15-km drive which leads through the Bunurang Cliffs Coastal Reserve - or by foot - a five-hour walk along the coast. In the latter case it is best to set off two hours before low tide. This walking track incorporates a number of rocky outcrops with excellent sea views, including Eagle's Nest.

Powlett River
12 km west of Wonthaggi along the Bass Highway (2 km east of Kilcunda) there are signposts which direct you to off the Bass Highway to a picnic and barbecue spot on the river flats at the mouth of the Powlett River where a salt-marsh community of wetland birds can be found. Fishing, swimming and canoeing can be enjoyed in the river but the estuary is dangerous for swimmers.

For information on Kilcunda see the entry on San Remo.