There could be no greater, or more celebrated, friendship in the history of Collinsville than that between miner and pit pony. These loved creatures worked beside the miners everyday, hauling coal and equipment. Known for their intelligence and warm natures, many Collinsville locals have fond stories of their antics underground.
Once crucial to the hauling of coal skips, the employment of the pit ponies underground came into question following mechanisation. From the late 1950s, their role changed to hauling heavy equipment for the miners. In the 1980s mine management decreed that the last Australian pit ponies, Wharrier and Mr Ed be retired from service. The miners went on strike and made the two horses honorary members of the Queensland Colliery Employees Union. Given their length of service, the pit ponies could not be sacked due to seniority rules.
By 1990 it was clear that the era of the pit pony had come to an end. Wharrier and Mr Ed, Australia’s last working pit ponies, were retired to nearby Desmond Station under the care of retired handler Bill Hoffmann. The ponies enjoyed their final days on green pastures and hand feeding, with many visits from their work mates! Today the contribution of the pit ponies is celebrated through the Pit Pony Experience sculpture and murals, and annually at the Pit Pony Festival.
