Coal and the Coast

The bodies of 29 men are still entombed in the collapsed Pike River mine, more than a year after the tragic explosion and fire of 19 November 2010. What do their deaths mean for workplace health and safety? Is there a future for coalmining in this era of climate change? How has the Coast changed from the centre of radicalism it represented in the early 20th century? What is the way forward for a region that has felt betrayed by a succession of political decisions and developments over several decades? Playwright and film director Paul Maunder lives in Blackball, and was one of the first emergency respondents to Pike River, within minutes of the first explosion. He kept a diary, and has since been talking to locals and reflecting on the big issues at stake.

Author Biography

Paul Maunder lives in Blackball, and was one of the first emergency respondents to Pike River, within minutes of the first explosion. He kept a diary, and has since been talking to locals and reflecting on the big issues at stake. Paul has had a lengthy career in film and theatre. After university he studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney and then at the London Film School. He was both writer and director of his films, and his work has won many awards. He has worked in mainstream professional theatre as well as group and community theatre, devising and scripting many plays, both historical and bicultural. He has published articles in cultural magazines and short stories in a variety of collections, with some of his work recorded for radio. Paul finds the Coast a resonant place to be, and is involved in his local community and, through the Blackball Museum of Working Class History, the wider trade union movement. Last year a collection of his stories, Tornado, was published, and he has recently completed his PhD at the University of Canterbury.