STRONGMAN: THE TRAGEDY

''At 10.04am on January 19, 1967, a methane gas explosion ripped through the Greens Section of the Strongman Mine, on the West Coast of the South Island. Nineteen men were killed, 15 bodies were recovered on the same day, two more two weeks later and two were never found. The tight-knit West Coast community was devastated and many still bear the scars today.

“Now, after 45 years, the largely untold story of the Strongman Mine tragedy is the subject of a major telefeature produced for TV3 by Paula McTaggart from A Bigger Picture Ltd in association with Gaylene Preston Productions, with funding from the prestigious New Zealand On Air Platinum Fund.

“The project has been a labour of love for Runanga-born and raised Paula McTaggart, who comes from a long line of coal miners, and has been developing the project since 2007, when a visit to her uncle, the late Ron Gibb, sparked her interest in the New Zealand tragedy. Gibb was one of five men from Mines Rescue who received the British Empire Medal for their actions during the tragedy.

“Acclaimed filmmaker Gaylene Preston has directed the dramatic content of the feature-length programme, which blends dramatisation with interviews filmed by McTaggart along with archive gathered over the past four years.'' - TV3; TV3.co.nz; 1/10/2012