"Illawarra Coke"
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ย. 2011
- A 16mm Ektachrome film made in 1962 by keen amateur film maker Noel Leeder who was then also Manager of the Illawarra Coke Company's works at superbly scenic Coalcliff, just south from Sydney in NSW, Australia.
The film was made to show the then-latest technology being developed by that company in the manufacture of highest quality metallurgical coke from the outstanding Bulli Seam coal mined at the adjacent Coalcliff Colliery.
The film covers the manufacturing process in detail and the use of the top quality coke in three typical applications - to manufacture modern motor car engines by General Motors Holden in Melbourne, to make superb cast iron baths by McIIwraith Industries in Sydney and in the smelting of all the silver/lead ore mined at Broken Hill in NSW by the world's largest lead smelter at the the Broken Hill Associated Smelters at Port Pirie in South Australia, with it's products then going to export markets throughout the world.
The film "Illawarra Coke" was then printed in English and Japanese language versions for screening to both existing and potential users of the high quality Illawarra metallurgical coke throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Shown worldwide, it generated great interest in the then-very-advanced coking technology and further established Illawarra Coke as the highest quality product available for top end use by manufacturers around the world.
Fifty years later, the Illawarra Coke Company continues to operate a now-much- further-modernised coke oven battery at the same Coalcliff site, exporting it's world renowned metallurgical coke to appreciative consumers worldwide. I hope you enjoy my film as much as I enjoyed making it and in developing the then-leading-technology it showcases!. Check out the vastly modernised and superbly operated Illawarra Coke Company's coke oven battery fifty years later on their excellent and very informative website on "www.illawarracoke.com.au". Noel Leeder. - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
I love how those older films are without drama or other redundant fluff. Simply a clear explanation of how the process takes place for anyone interested. Also no massive repetition in images. Every new scene tells you something new.
I agree Erik. Far more watchable than many of today's documentaries of this kind.
Yes, I Love It.
I like the music playing while watching
The drama is in the 🎶 music 🎶
Ever heard of How It's Made? There are many shows that mirror this quality
*I’m so glad we didn’t have to wait until 2062. What a treat these videos are*
Videos like this are why I put up with the rest of TH-cam.
This is, like, my favorite comment in a MINUTE. Ahahahaha.
Too bad people can't be terrorists anymore.
@@Freekniggers wat
@@josephastier7421 i don't remember what the hell I meant. I was pretty drunk last night.
Fun Fact:
the Sydney to Illawarra passenger trains pass through Coalcliff Colliery to this day.
it was the highlight of my childhood excursions to Sydney. most of the structures in this brilliant film can still be seen standing (although somewhat abandoned).
Hi LJL. So pleased that you enjoyed it. Being initiator and manager of the huge development program at ICC was a wonderful and most satisfying challenge for me and it's success was an achievement which set me up for a very satisfying further career. How lucky can one be? My keen interest in photography/film making plus enhancement of my industrial management career were both satisfied in this one film documenting the evolution of the new coke oven design subsequently adopted worldwide.!!
You are a blessed man!
Very cool. I've seen loads of coke foundries throughout America that look very similar. That technology has helped many men feed their families. Thank you.
Everything about this production is first rate. The shot choices, the lighting, soundtrack, script, it's all premium and the fact that it was done in 1962 in house is all the more impressive.
The Holden looked very much like the 1956 Bel-Air Chevrolet we had some years ago, and the iron tub was very much like the 1957 American Standard one that I refused to let be demolished during a house remodel. Very excellent, enjoyable, educational film, expertly done.
Back in the good ol' days, when industrial processes were accompanied by a merry orchestral soundtrack.
Borderlands made a raid boss, giant fire creature. They named Him Illawarra, now I know what it is from. Thanks mate.
Some adjunct history - the ship being unloaded at 25:10, the Lake Illawarra, is the ship that collided with the Tasman Bridge in Hobart in 1975.
wow that’s interesting! thx for sharing (:
@@cobralyoner I second that
@moblet thank you with that information! How in the world did you find this out?
@@dantheman_4765 I saw the name of the ship and knew I'd heard it somewhere before. Took me a while to make the connection.
Hi Northerbrewer once more. Your comment is spot on! In the early 1960s, I visited the Appalachians to see the mines and coke oven batteries of the Jewell Smokeless Coal Company at Vansant, West Virginia, using the then-world-leading technology they had adopted from the Illawarra Coke Company at Coalcliff. The working life of both miner and coke maker in those narrow Appalachian valleys was really tough and, as you say, today's kids do not understand just how much has changed for the better!.
We used to have Milwaukee Solvay Coke until 1982 but the prolonged recession and lack of updates killed it along with many of the small foundries closing. Finally after 40 years the land is being developed. Very few coke plants left in the USA. Thanks for the excellent film I was riveted from start to finish with the thorough narration
What an absolutely fantastic film. I had the opportunity to visit the Coalcliff site just before it closed in June 2013. As a Pomme chemist working in Australia, I found it fascinating to see so much infrastructure effectively lost from the UK, but still just operating in Australia. So much technology and skill lost from both Countries and sent abroad all in the name of progress / profit. Thankfully this film captures the industry that built Australia and made it wealthy. One day, we might have to re-build these plants to re-establish employment in Australia and the UK.
What a historical gem! In the 70s I worked at BHP Whyalla as, at various, times the electrical engineer for the Coke Ovens. They were byproduct type ovens somewhat more sophisticated than at Coal Cliff. We had, for the 70s, a complex cross battery interlocking system to line up the ram, the door machine with guide and the hot car. As the ram pushed the coke through the oven the hot car crept forward so the coke was evenly distributed in the car for quenching, the hot car was unmanned. Spent a lot of time getting the creep system to work properly but succeeded in the end. Great days, great people, great training for a young engineer, thanks BHP..
This snapshot in time of the working conditions is fascinating. No standard uniforms; little or no PPE; a heavy reliance on reactionary quality through post-manufacture quality inspections, rather than accurate process management leading to a consistent output.. Incredible. THX much for the video.
I was born in Wollongong and worked in the steelworks in the 70's and spent a couple of shifts at the port Kembla cokeworks. This is a real trip down memory lane.
Noel as a 22 year old residing in the states I really appreciated your video from a historical perspective as well as the simple efficiency with which the work was done. You guys showed that to make products to improve daily like, fancy machines and tools weren't always necessary- just a strong pair of arms and an alert mind got the job done best!
Your spot-on comment is much appreciated! True commitment, an open mind seeking a simple but better way and the use of truckloads of common sense was the creed we vigorously pursued then! If subject to today's unending feasibility studies and indecision about what lay ahead, we would have been stymied right from day one. I'm so very glad that the unbridled confidence of youth DID pay off though!!!
Coca Cola secret finally reveiled
Coca Cola Is Made Of A Real Coke 😨
We don't use the "C" word anymore!!!
Yeah we found out about their secret hatred of white people!!!
wouldnt doubt it
I like how you spelt revealed as reveiled
@@Shao_Kahnt I Just Realized That.
Great film! Interesting to see a coking plant that makes no use of by products and releases everything right into atmosphere.
Congratulations on creating this wonderful cinematic slice of history. It effectively shows the Coke making process, leading edge technology in time period, and lots of Ausie Pride. In the beginning, you laid the foundation expertly; who, what, where, why, and when all answered in ways understandable by industry experts and average citizens.
I am old school photographer and appreciated the detail provided about 16mm film; ASA, K rating, type, and filters. My favorite film of all times was Kodachrome 64. Fine grain, wide latitude, and easy to achieve great color saturation by shooting 1/2 - 1 stop under exposure. I kept filters handy for different color environments. Kept different studio lights also for different effects.
Today, I learned about the Coke making process by watching a film you produced in 1962. It's 2022 now, so film is 60 years old. It is still relevant today as much as it was back then. Technologies have changed, but the need for high quality Coke has not changed.
Beautiful! Thank You.
The guys spreading the enamel powder on the tubs... something tells me they all died of respiratory illness.
Yes, Loaf Bloke, several people have muttered this under their breath - but the very skilled coke workers always had the situation totally under control. In fact, in the twelve years I managed the Illawarra Coke Works, there were no serious accidents. But the very disciplined coke workers thoroughly respected the potential dangers at all times and, despite their seemingly casual actions, they were always very careful!.
Noel Leeder you most take care to not snort a large pile of coke. doing so will result in you screaming "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND". very dangerous indeed.
An age of industry we won't see again. An excellent subject matter, an excellent film.
stuff like this is going on in third world countries every day. Not to this scale but the ingenuity and invention is there and you can find it on youtube these days.
@@planetbob4709 most people don't know what's going on in third world countries. I tried explaining how the rest of the world is still catching up and I was met with "ok Trump tard"
@@planetbob4709 A huge coke oven complex was built in Granite City, Illinois (U.S.A.) about ten years ago.
This helped me understand modern coke ovens better, seeing the progression from this older style I now understand why we do it upright now.
Sad to learn these guys aren't around anymore, this film truely is a gem
Not only due to age, but probably also due to exposure to all the toxic fumes that comes with coke production.
well, the pmanager who made this film is still alive, he posted it.
@@lo2740 I meant the company itself isn't around.
I love watching people who are masters of their craft. Especially when automation of these processes was limited by the technology at the time and relied more on skilled labour.
Love the 60s music in the background!
What an incredibly well made documentary! I realize I’m seeing this 60+ years after it was made and 12 years after it was released on TH-cam but quality like this is timeless.
Me too, Northerbrewer! Again....my fingers are firmly crossed!! Survival is an unquenchable instinct in every species! And, be sure that you keep alive forever those wonderful memories!!
Noel.
Well done Mr Leeder. You provided a record of daily occurrences in a work-a-day situation, often overlooked until it is too late. Those earlier Holdens were superb, Plain Jane but utterly reliable if given rust treatment and basic servicing.
I worked at Illawarra in nineteen seventy twine zip dip. It was an absolute dream mate!
4:54 NOW THAT'S PRODUCTION!!! PINS AND BUSHINGS BE DAMNED, WE GOT COAL TO MOVE!!!!
A peep back in time when Australia actually made stuff and was not reliant on Chinese imports. Time to go back to the old ways. WAKE UP AUSTRALIA
Too late...America has fallen...There is no one left to stand up to Commies/Globalists/ Marxists/ Socialists/Environmentalists or Islamofascists.
Hello from Pico Rivera
@@harrykuheim6107 You are delusional, my friend. Seriously.
@@harrykuheim6107 Complete an utter BS like all Trump supporter.
i agree fuck china and fuck the CCP
In my nearly forty years as a consumer, I only bought a $90 Barma hat.
I grew up just south of the Cokeworks. The decomissioned site is still standing.
GRETA approved the happysilly music.
What an interesting and informative film you made, Noel. I grew up at Woonona and have fond memories of taking the steam train to Bulli High school in the 60's. My dad worked at the steelworks all his life. The Coalcliff Colliery and Cokeworks was great to pass by on the railway line at night; you could see the glowing furnaces, it was part of the Illawarra landscape. I still love everything to do with steam engines...part of my childhood. Thanks for recording those memories. Sylvia Hayes
So pleased you like my old film Sylvia - it was a great time of innovation in the 1950's - 60s and I felt that I just HAD to record it all on film! Great to see some of it on ABC TV tonight but so sad that this was because coke making in Australia is now no longer commercially viable and it is so really sad that those great cokeworkers who had spent their working lives doing it all now have to seek work elsewhere.
That was a great video. I was employed by Erie Coke in Erie,Pennsylvania for 23yrs. I did pretty much every job there. I couldn't believe the lack of protective gear back then. Wow. We had fire retardant coveralls,gloves,respirators ,face shields you name it. It was hot, hard work,but it sure made a man out of me. Thank you ,sir for this film.
Hi clwilu94. So pleased that you so much enjoyed my film "Illawarra Coke"!
Yes, looking back, I'm pretty concerned at the lack of safety gear we used then - but most protective gear was regarded as uncomfortable and far too restrictive and hot by the coke oven workers themselves! Times sure have changed!!
I just wanted to add thank you for taking the time to post these movies and chat with me.
Great stuff I really enjoyed it.
Thanks, Mr Leeder!
You are right, Northerbrewer, this is indeed the BIG challenge for our now-overcrowded and grossly over-polluted world going into the decisive years ahead!
Confident that a solution will emerge? No way - but, my fingers are firmly crossed that commonsense and the inherent urge of self-survival of the species will ultimately prevail!
Great bit of history. I live in Sydney just up the road and only had a vague knowledge of these works. Thank you Noel
Great images from my 8th year here in the Illawarra. Thanks again Noel
Always enchanting, this kind of old films about the industries existing then.
But the reality was that men had to work hard, in dirty and hot conditions, often having dramatic effects on health.
My dad was a coal miner, so I know all about.
But we have to bear in mind that this was 60 years ago, and the operations shown were done with the knowledge of then.
Only thing which surprised me was that the coke gas was not extracted and used but just burned of trough the chimneys.
Maybe there was not a big enough community to make use of this gas within an economical distance to build a delivery infrastructure.
Hi Northerbrewer. Yours IS reasonable comment about how the way it WAS - THEN!!! At the Illawarra Coke Company, everyone tried really hard to further improve the then-emerging technology and, as the film clearly shows at the time it was made in the 1960s, quite a lot HAD been achieved but there was still a long way to go!
Today's ICC operations are quite outstanding in showing just what CAN be achieved in fifty years of further evolution of non-byproduct coking - as should always be the aim!
Loved every minute of this.
I worked at Corrimal Coke not long before it closed, loved the movie and the the advancements I could see in all facets of the coke making operations
Noel, I always enjoy watching how different things are produced, such as the film you did about making coke. Ever since I was a small child growing up in the fifties (I was born in September, 1947), I have loved watching how things have been done or made. I used to go to the foundry (they made fire hydrants and gate valves) in the city where I live and watch them make up the molds and pour the molten metal. They would have the windows open for ventilation (the foundry was just ground level), so I could sit on the window sill and watch the whole process. Once I walked around back and went in the back door and stood by the furnace and watched them pour from that perspective. All they said to me was stay out of the way. The foundry was a small operation, so the furnace was just big enough to melt the scrap iron. There are a lot of videos on You Tube that are poorly done and hard to watch because of bad camera/Iphone work done by the person doing the the filming. Have you put anymore of your film work on TH-cam?
Great to hear of your childhood fascination with how things were made rjk60 - a sure sign of a keen lifetime interest in how the world really works! A foundry is a perfect place to start - scrap iron turned into wonderful fire hydrants and gate valves is the perfect example of good recycling!!! Lucky you to see such a great educational examples of ideal management of the world's resources!!
As I'm sure you will have noted, I presently have exactly one hundred videos on "youtube nleeder" with about 150,000 viewers worldwide. I have lots more old film and video awaiting (very time and energy consuming) editing but, if I can live a bit longer and actually find the needed energy and lots of time, I do hope to add some more videos soon of Eastern Europe shot many decades back during extensive travels by my wife and I. Fingers crossed!!
Reminded me sitting in the school auditorium watching the Real to reel videos for education
I work for a coke producer in the US, its a little different, but cool to see the process is more or less the same today, thanks for the video
This film is both a remarkable technical achievement and a priceless time capsule.
Hi Noel,
Thank for the great insight into the Illawarra Coke Company Works at Coalcliff - Really enjoyed the film.
I run the Shire Amateur Photographers' Society, and yesterday 23 of us had the opportunity to access the site officially to take images. Now with the added understanding of the site from your film, it has made us appreciate the importance of Illawarra Coke Company and the site in Australia's history ... Thank you for making it available, and congratulations,
Greg Ford
Fantastic can't believe I haven't seen this before now, I still remember having to collect coke for our classrooms at Austinmer public .
This is what my intestines look like before, during and after eating super hot food
Thank you for this classic industrial education film. they're an amazing and important part of our historical appreciation and preservation of technical knowledge.
Thanks for putting this wonderful video/film up for all to enjoy.
I actually walked around the old coke works last year. Took many photos too
Awesome, thanks Noel..!!!
Very well done. Not long and drawn out. Great music.
That is a very unfair comment.
I have worked in heavy industry my whole life from the rock face to the finished metal.
This is the way it was done 50 years ago.
Today things are safer and more efficient.
Although I do not miss it, I still remember that was the smell that put food on my table.
Small independent company like this are the best to work for.
Vale, Xtrata, Bhp&b, Rio just to name biggest are the real devils to fear.
Many many thanks for the lovely documentary ❤️.
I have clear memories of the gas coming off the coke batteries, blast furnaces, B-converters and reverbs.
Huge leaps in safety and fugitive emissions reductions ( thanks to a acid, bag houses and co-generation plants ) transformed business.
The trouble is most people have no idea where we came from or the direction we are going.
I admit I really do miss the foundries, the steel, the nickel works, and mines as I knew them ( smaller more personal places in spite of how dirty the business was ).
I really enjoyed that video! It is always nice to see a film or video that is done well, like this video. You do wonderful film work Noel!
Thank you rjk60! I have been a keen film/video maker for almost eighty years now so, if I hadn't been able to pursue my obsession with recording the moving image reasonably well, I suspect that I would have called it a day way back!
But....it is so nice to have a really perceptive viewer say that my tour de force production "Illawarra Coke" WAS well done!!
Speechless
Thanks Noel. As a local born and bred in Wollongong I enjoyed your movie very much. Thanks for the memories. I've shared it on Facebook and Twitter.
Although now within a few days of turning ninety, my very fond memories of the wonderful 'Gong remain as vivid as they were when I made the film - now half a century ago!!. I'm so pleased that you so much enjoy those magic memories of Illawarra's wonderful pioneering coke workers enthusiastically leading the way for growth in an Australia then emerging from the rigours of the second world war. And, I will never forget the great lifetime friends I made in those exciting times at Coalcliff in the fifties and sixties - many are still in regular contact!!. Ah!! Memories!! Wonderful memories!!
I'm pretty sure my mates Dad, Gordon Oliver worked for KCC. We watched the operation at Coalcliff when we were kids. Another kids dad worked right here too.
it’s so interesting from a today point of view how he explained how rubber works in the film.
Hi Hudson501. You're right! OSHA is certainly shutting down the States today! All the old "get up and go" has gone! In the mid-1960s, when this film was made, the Illawarra operation was way ahead of equivalent operations in the States and a regular stream of visitors from the US came and saw and copied what Illawarra was doing - because that is the way world technology evolved! I am proud of leading that charge! As were all the men at Illawarra! They showed the way to the world then!
@Skidanje Kraste The only reason you have anything in your life right now not carved out of wood is because of these processes dumb ass.
@@boogusnutsack5926 The production plant was probably not worse than others of its time but we should be glad that coke is not produced that way anymore, at least not in the industrialized part of the world. While the product is still needed for steel production, coke can be produced without spewing shit all around the factory. People working in coke production were, and to some degree still are over represented in lung cancer and the fumes also impact everyone living close to the factory.
Love the Bewitched/I Dream of Jeannie, soundtrack.
1963 Falcon, my first car!
Excellent!
wonderful film, thanks!
Mr. Leeder, the video was very informative as to the coke works and some of their major customers in Australia. Wish you all the best.
Really enjoyed watching this. TH-cam threw it at me, I didn't have a clue what to expect, but it's a really nice watch.
Absolutely wonderful how times have changed .
Came for the burny stuff, stayed for the music.
THANK YOU for YOUR GREAT DETAIL VIDEO AS GOOD WATCHING AUSTRALIA HISTORY
Hi Noel, thanks for posting this great footage and congratulations on your film. It must have taken some effort and perseverance back then! I used to enjoy passing by the glowing ovens on the train. I would love to see the Coke Work buildings retained and given back to the community somehow. It's vital that we don't just bulldoze our history. Your film film will help preserve these important memories for future generations. All the best, David Roach. (Also a filmmaker)
No sell the buildings and maximise the profits for the owners of the company.Most of the blow ins from Sydney whinged and whined about the pit and coke works at coalcliff and wanted it shut down.Fuck off.You blow into town and want to change everything and get your own grubby hands on assets.
This is so amazing. I always wondered how cocaine was made.
My step father was a maintenance worker at the coke plant in Contra Costa County.
At the time this Coalcliff plant operated in the 60's there were two other plants in addition to the major operation in site at the Port Kembla Steelworks. All but the latter have gone. You can buy a block of land on the former Corrimal Coke site if you wish.
All controls and measuring are done with analog machines, its awesome. Anyway, I'd like to have a cast iron bathtub.
19:52 - Ah yes, the song Hackney Carriage, by Cedric King-Palmer.
So catchy! Fans of Ren & Stimpy, will recognize too. I could listen to this all day!
For the 00 railway people out there, the truck at 05:00 looks to me to be a reasonably easy conversion from the 1/76 scale Airfix AEC Matador, either from the 5.5" gun kit, or the tanker from the RAF refuelling kit. Pretty much all the vehicles from those kits are useful for a late 40's on to late 60's layout.
Who needs melatonin I just watch this type of video about 1 hour before bed and I'm out like a light in 10 minutes. Anybody know other channels that have these types of videos. Old school voice and video about whatever?
Magnificently bouncy orchestral blast furnace music! Love it!
Excellent filmmaking job, Noel. Top quality. As one who grew up with Bolex and 16mm, I know what effort it takes to create such a film in that medium. Well done. So glad you can keep it going by transfer to digital, film is so frail in the long term.
I watched this after visiting the remains of the Cwm Coke plant in South Wales. It's very interesting. Note the man wearing shorts as he aligns the coke guideways.
It is so cool that you made this, I’m really glad you uploaded it, now it’s an immortal piece of history
Lovely insight into days gone by
Back when companies made money by making superior product and acting in good faith
Shame we don’t see that anymore
Great work. 🔨🔧🔩
Thanks so much for sharing. 😎👌🏼
Very nice video. Thank you so much for sharing it.
FANTASTIC video!
Hi Northerbrewer again. Yes, INCO's story is replicated often in mining areas. I knew many people who had lived at Port Pirie in South Australia where all the ore mined from the astonishingly rich Broken Hill mines in western New South Wales was smelted in what is still the world's largest lead smelter. Garden vegetables grown near Port Pirie were later found to cause lead poisoning in many local residents who died an early death - not an unusual story in mining communities world wide. Sad!!.
Glad I found this.
Really well made, I would have had no idea it was done by a "keen amateur film maker" if he had not have told me.
I wonder how much of that industry is still around?
My father used to film with a Bolex 16 mm.......awesome camera !!!!
Nice! I remember watching the coke ovens burning on the train from Stanwell Pk to Wollongong.
And who these days would think we used to even make bath tubs?
Great video! Surprising they didn't capture the by products just let it all go up in smoke. The gas and tar coming off was useful too, but i suppose transporting those by products was an issue.
Coal was plentiful. Times were different.
For a amateur film on a very limited budget it was pretty good.
As a chap that lives in the gong, nice to see this bit of history.
Outstanding Film
Hi Northerbrewer again. Your lifetime experience in the inherently "dirty" business of coal/coke/gas/byproducts/etc is what that vital starting point segment of the long chain of industrial achievement is all about, of course - and, like you. I DO somehow miss it all!! Nor REALLY sure why!!! When I now look at today's industry, it sure is a lot better but, like then. there is STILL a long way to go! Never ending!!! But, when we all contribute OUR special bit,real progress CAN happen!