In the late 1970s Coal & Allied replaced a number of staff houses with new large brick houses.
The house where the former Deputy’s house had stood was occupied by Mr and Mrs Thornton. Jack Thornton was the Jetty Master.Formerly Mr Thornton had been the Pay Officer and then for 10 years following he had been the Weighbridge Officer and lived in the house near the sidings east of the Bowling Club, close to the rail line. (Mrs Thornton complained of the coal dust on her curtains). The cyclone of 1974 which destroyed the Jetty also impacted on their house so badly that it had to be demolished.Mr and Mrs Thornton declined to live in the Jetty Master’s House, formerly the Surveyor’s House and were offered a new brick house in Pit Road.Mrs Thornton declared that she would not live in Pit Road so the name was changed to Colliery Road. Both of the Thornton’s were great community workers, Jack as secretary for the Bowling club for many years and Phyl was a tireless worker for the Methodist/Uniting church
PRIOR TO THE NEW HOUSES There were three houses facing the pit.
These were occupied by Glanffird Williams, the pit deputy his wife, son Allan and daughter Darra were in the next one and Agg and Oswald (Ossie) Jones occupied the end one. Agg had been a Waterman whose family had lived in Slack Alley. Ossie worked as a Fettler at the pit.