New Prospectors: The Formation and Early Years of the Scottish Australian Mining Company in Newcastle, NSW, 1850-70

Abstract

Following the end of the Australian Agricultural Company’s monopoly in the coal-mining region of Newcastle, NSW, in the late 1840s, the Scottish Australian Investment Company (SAIC), headquartered in London, was amongst the first of several firms to seek mining opportunities in the Hunter region of NSW. As part of a broader project evaluating social and economic influences of the Northumberland/Durham coal mining regions on the early development of the Newcastle coalfields, this paper presents an overview of the role of individuals in the events and decisions surrounding formation and early successes of the Scottish Australian Mining Company which went on to become one of the leading coal producers in the region in the second half of the nineteenth century.The symposium is organised on behalf of AAHANZBS by the Business and Labour History Group, The University of Sydney, with the financial support of the University’s Faculty of Economics and Business