Early on the morning of Monday February 15, 1937, a team of 14 maintenance workers descended into the No. 20 shaft at the Wonthaggi state coal mine to undergo safety checks.

Shortly after 10am, a manager called one of the workers back to the surface. Moments later, the manager felt rumbling beneath his feet and the shaft cage used to descend into the mine rocketed up to the top with a cloud of coal dust behind it.

The explosion killed all 13 of the miners below and became known as the Wonthaggi coal mine disaster. Take a look at a short video below on the disaster.