Historic New Waterford Mine Explosion 1917

The explosion in the New Waterford No.12 coal mine was the worst mining disaster in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

There were 18 coal mine explosions from 1877 - 1979.

On 25 July, 270 men and boys were at work in the mine, 600 meters (2000 feet) below the surface, under the sea.

The devastating explosion between levels 5 and 7 mine shafts was heard and felt by the community.

At 7:30am, 62 miners (aged 14 to 65) were killed when methane gas and coal dust exploded during blasting or by the afterdamp. 30 miners were from Cape Breton, 22 from Newfoundland, the remainder immigrants from Germany, Austria, Russia and Italy. Three 17 year old surface workers lost their lives in the rescue attempt. Many miners were injured.

The *Dominion Coal Company claimed the ventilation in the mine was in working order, despite the many miners who insisted it was not.

The Amalgamated Mine Workers of Nova Scotia [formed one month before the explosion] charged the Dominion Coal Company and three officials with criminal negligence.

The trial took place one year later. The presiding judge [a former lawyer who worked on a case at his law firm on behalf of the Dominion Coal Company] claimed there was insufficient evidence and instructed the jury to find the defendants "not guilty".

The Crown attorney, who had also previously represented the Dominion Coal Company brought no evidence into court against the defendants. The defendants were acquitted and the Dominion Coal Company was not held accountable.

However, this tragedy and the consequent investigation proved the value of the AMW union who fought for compensation for the miners' families, demanded justice following the tragedy, safer working conditions in the mines, workers rights and effectively bargained with employers.

In 1922 the Miners' Memorial Monument was erected, consisting of an inscribed shaft bearing the names and ages of those killed in the explosion and a stature of a coal miner standing on the top. The stature that crowns the Miners' Memorial is a representation of a coal miner carrying a Davy safety lamp.

The statue represents 45 year old John D. McKay, the shotfirer who had been blamed by the coal company for causing the explosion. This monument explicitly rejects the findings of the provincial inquiry. The statue not only absolves him of responsibility for the explosion but asks the viewer to question the corporate pursuit of monetary gain over the safety of the miners.

A Miners' Fatality Monument stands in the middle of New Waterford's Colliery Lands Park on the former site of the No. 12 and No. 16 mines. Etched in stone are the names of the dead from 1866 - 1993.

William Davis Miners' Memorial Day
June 11 is the annual day of remembrance observed for William Davis, who was killed at the New Waterford Lake power plant riot on 11 June 1925. Davis Day has come to symbolize the miners' battle for fair wages and the hardship and struggle of coal miners in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Learn more: Miners Memorial Day: Davis Day | Museum of Industry

The Dominion Coal Company [American syndicate] was given a 99 year lease in 1894 and given exclusive mining rights throughout Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

New Waterford is 18 kilometers (11 miles) along the harbor coast from Sydney [Cape Breton]

Cape Breton Mine Explosions

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