News release

70th Anniversary of Moose River Mine Collapse

Natural Resources (to July 2018)

Seventy years ago radio and newspaper audiences around the world were captivated by the drama of a mining disaster in Moose River Gold Mines, Halifax County.

On April 12, 1936, three men were trapped 43 metres below the surface when a tunnel caved in. Their rescue was headline news on more than 700 radio stations across Canada, the United States and England. Reporters rushed to the site to provide the first live radio news coverage in Canada.

To get the signal out, they strung wire along the ground, up into trees, and eventually tied in to the telegraph lines of the Canadian Pacific Railway. J. Frank Willis of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Company (later the CBC) set a record for consecutive live broadcasts from one location.

Some of the newspaper headlines captured the drama, proclaiming:

  • Men near rescue; Magill has perished
  • Climax nears in race with death
  • Rescue work races madly to finish
  • Men fight mounting odds
  • Men are rescued; miners sing hymn
  • Thank God they live

The trapped men were lawyer Herman Magill and Dr. David Robertson, both of Toronto, and the mine timekeeper, Alf Scadding. Within minutes of the cave-in, men from the community arrived at the scene and immediately began rescue operations. They were soon joined by miners from nearby Caribou Gold Mines and within days several hundred men, some from as far away as Ontario, had answered the call for, "single men with guts." Women in the community worked day and night to feed the rescuers and provide places for them to stay.

After six grueling days of rescue efforts there was still no sign of survivors. Just when officials were about to abandon the rescue work, a government diamond drill reached the 43 metre level and contact was made with the three men. Sadly, Herman Magill died hours later of pneumonia, before the men could be brought to the surface. It would take another four days to rescue Dr. Robertson and Mr. Scadding, who were brought to the surface just after midnight on April 23 amid wild cheers from fellow miners.

Today, the Moose River Gold Mines Museum tells the story of the daring rescue. Open during the summer, the museum offers a collection of gold mining artifacts and a vivid account of the area's rich gold mining history. The museum is located at the Moose River Gold Mines provincial park, just off the Mooseland Road between Tangier and Elmsdale.