Once upon a time, a very long time before the words 'Metro Tunnel' were ever a twinkle in anyone's eye, Victorians travelled across the state on steam trains. And one place was very important to the functioning of these trains, but it's unlikely that you've heard of it. The State Coal Mine was once the sole provider of coal to keep Victoria's trains on track, and while those trains haven't been running in many years, the historic mine is still open.
It's essentially the reason that the town of Wonthaggi came to be, which is now home to around 5,000 people. But no, there's no booming coal mining trade on Victoria's southern coastline anymore (thankfully). After 58 years in operation, the State Coal Mine eventually closed in 1968, when steam trains became defunct.
In 1983, it began welcoming people through its tunnels – this time, for tours where visitors could experience the historic place for themselves. But in 2020, due to pandemic restrictions and the need for repairs, it was forced to close once again. Fortunately, it's finally now been able to reopen to welcome tourists to venture underground and see the mine in all its glory.
Situated just a couple of hours by car from Melbourne in the Gippsland region, the huge mine was built around a coal seam that's estimated to be a mind-boggling 150 million years old, and it consists of nearly 5,000 kilometres of underground tunnels.
When the mine was forced to close four years ago, the state government swooped in to save it from disrepair, by providing $1.5 million in funding to restore the site. The first phase of this restoration was to reopen the mine for walking tours.
To find out more about visiting the State Coal Mine, head to the Visit Melbourne website.
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