"The Mine's Afire!": The Journal of Tommy Carter, Brunnerton, 1896

Description

This story is built around the Brunner Mine Disaster of 1896, the biggest industrial accident in New Zealand's history. Tommy Carter is a typical boy living in the West Coast mining community of Dobson in 1896. Most of the boys are looking at a future down in the mines, but Tommy is not keen to follow his uncle's footsteps into the mining business, with its hardships and ever-present danger. One terrible day, Tommy's worst fears come true when an explosion rips through the mine. This fictional diary records the tragedy, heroism and bitter aftermath of NZ's worst-ever industrial disaster.

Susan began writing plays for students she taught at Greymouth High School because she could find nothing to direct that came close to fitting the curriculum requirements. She joined with Thelma Eakin in 1997 to write a play titled The Shadow of the Valley about the Brunner Mine disaster, subsequently published by Oxford University Press, and which forms the basis of this book.