It has been two decades since the extraordinary rescue of two miners trapped in a Tasmanian mine collapse, an event that gripped the nation and turned Brant Webb and Todd Russell into household names.
On May 9, 2006, Australia held its collective breath as the two men emerged free after 14 harrowing days trapped 925 metres underground at the Beaconsfield gold mine.
The mine collapse had claimed the life of their colleague Larry Knight, while Webb and Russell survived in a steel cage deep beneath the earth.
“We could hear the rock going, breaking on the backs and on the ground, you know, on top of us. And that happened for hours and hours,” Webb recalled.
Russell, who is currently unwell in hospital, spoke to 7NEWS by phone about the ordeal. “I started, you know, yelling and screaming for both Larry and Brant with no response from either,” he said.
Australia held its breath as the two men emerged. The entire country watched as they were brought to the surface, alive but forever changed by the experience.
Also still living with the memories of that terrifying fortnight in 2006 are the rescuers. Greg Crowden was part of the effort to retrieve the men.
“Brant and Todd’s in a cage, 1.5 by, you know, two metres wide. And so, it’s just about 100 tonnes of rock sitting on top of us,” Crowden said.
These days, Crowden and Webb go fishing together, a bond forged in the depths of the mine. “We were dead for all money,” Webb said.
The Beaconsfield community and the families involved are still dealing with the elation, the pain, and the trauma of those events.
“It was a miracle rescue. And the boys were a miracle because they survived everything that they were encountering underground,” said former West Tamar Mayor Barry Easther.
But the mental health toll has been significant. “It has been a bit of a rollercoaster the last 20 years,” Russell said.
“I thought, man, I thought it was dark in the mine until I got mental health issues,” Webb added.
The mine now stands as a museum, a testament to a legend written in the tiny Tasmanian town that will never forget those 14 days in 2006.
