{"id":355422,"date":"2024-11-25T18:14:12","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T08:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=355422"},"modified":"2024-11-25T18:14:12","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T08:14:12","slug":"old-coal-mates-swap-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2024\/11\/25\/old-coal-mates-swap-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Coal Mates Swap Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Members from Rio Tinto’s original 1983 crew at Meandu pose under the reunion sign<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

November 25, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were lots of memories shared on Saturday about the good ol’ days when coal was the undisputed king of Rio Tinto’s mining portfolio in Queensland.<\/p>\n

The global mining group operated the Meandu coal mine at Tarong from 1983 to 2007, powering the Tarong Power Station (and from 2002, Tarong North).<\/p>\n

During that time hundred of employees worked at the mine, with many settling permanently in the South Burnett.<\/p>\n

It’s been about a dozen years since a reunion of these Tarong Coal employees was held, something which a small organising committee decided to fix at the weekend.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Saturday, at least 200 people gathered at the Kingaroy & \u200bDistrict Vintage Machinery Club grounds for an overdue get-together to swap memories.<\/p>\n

Kingaroy Lions Club looked after the catering while the Vintage Machinery Club handled the bar.<\/p>\n

The reunion committee also organised a coffee van and an ice cream van.<\/p>\n

One of the organisers, Patty Winters, said many of the former workmates kept in touch via Facebook which made rounding up the crowd easier.<\/p>\n

Photos from the old days at Tarong Coal were shown on a monitor inside the Vintage Machinery clubhouse.<\/p>\n

Patty said the organisers would like to thank the South Burnett Regional Council for sponsoring the marquees and skip bins.<\/p>\n

Footnote: Rio Tinto sold off its last remaining coal assets in Queensland in 2018.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Three of the originals … Laura Langan, Caloundra (1983-1997); Henry Seears, Nanango; and Ron Hunt, Kingaroy (1983-1991)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Roxanne Frohloff, Hervey Bay; Rob Mackenzie, Port Macquarie; Mark Caswell, Kingaroy; Bernie Pegrem, Kingaroy; and Robyn Herrmann, Kingaroy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Reunion organisers … Patty Winters, Kingaroy; Laura Langan, Caloundra; Craig Hardy, Bill Winters, Gaylene Gosney, all from Kingaroy; and Henry Seears, Nanango<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The wives didn’t miss out on catching up, either … Marie Cornell, Sunshine Coast; Deb Mackenzie, Port Macquarie; and Lorrie Pegrem, Kingaroy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Rowley Cornell, from the Sunshine Coast, spent 22 years with Rio Tinto, including 11 with Tarong Coal; Oscar Groeneveld, from the Gold Coast, spent 33 years with Rio and 6\u00bd years with Tarong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Kingaroy Lions Club members Denise Ross and Leonie Macfarlane were working hard in the canteen area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
There was a lot of reminiscing happening inside the Vintage Machinery Club’s shed!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There were lots of memories shared on Saturday about the good ol’ days when coal was the undisputed king of Rio Tinto’s mining portfolio in Queensland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":355423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,3],"tags":[21],"yoast_head":"\nOld Coal Mates Swap Stories - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There were lots of memories shared on Saturday about the good ol' days when coal was the undisputed king of Rio Tinto's mining portfolio in Queensland.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2024\/11\/25\/old-coal-mates-swap-stories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Old Coal Mates Swap Stories - 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