Looking back at August 25, 1950
Thirroul coalminers decided to go on strike until they got better bathroom facilities.
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Miners at the Excelsior Colliery claimed the current bathroom they had to use was a "rat-infested, leaky, dilapidated shed".
Southern Miners' President W Parkinson said the miners had been waiting for years for the Joint Coal Board to fix the problem.
"Plans were drawn up three years ago and numerous promises have been made since then," Mr Parkinson said.
There was also an issue with mine ventilation, which Mr Parkinson said would be an expensive upgrade.
He felt the Joint Coal Board was holding off on spending any money at the mine over doubts about its longevity - it would close in 1961.
"Unless the Joint Coal Board is assured of production they have no intention of making grants or loans to erect a bathroom at Excelsior," Mr Parkinson said.
Still, the miners voted to stop work one day a week until work on the new bathroom facilities began.
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Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
