After 64 years working in the mining industry, Lithgow local Eddie Morgan has regrettably hung up his helmet and called it a day.

With a special retirement party at the Lithgow Workies, Eddie was surrounded by friends and family to bid him farewell.

Eddie has spent the last 42 years working in the Lithgow region, the past 16 of which he has been a mine inspector.

Before that he was a mine manager, general manager, production manager; the list goes on.

"I wanted to get to 65 years but I came just short," he said.

But Eddie leaves behind a strong legacy; his two sons are both fifth generation miners and both work locally.

For the past four years, Eddie has been inspecting both underground and open cut mines all over NSW.

"They decided in a change of direction and that inspectors should and can go anywhere, because you might have empathy with the mines you know," he said.

Travel is a big part of the job, sometimes driving as far as six hours for the mine inspection.

But at 79 years-old, Eddie wasn't able to go to work once COVID-19 hit, which gave him some anxiety so he decided to take some leave. Along with some managerial issues, Eddie decided it was the right time to retire.

"I love mining, it is my hobby and my passion, but I decided to finish up with the department," he said.

Eddie said that he is disappointed that a lot of the smaller mines in Lithgow have closed down.

"We are lucky to still have the power station," he said.

"Solar will progress at the same rate televisions did back in the day, but since NSW is powered by coal, the people who want to shut down the power station tomorrow, don't understand what a big loss that is.

"People work hard in Lithgow, and have jobs here, it's an economy we can't lose, and people say find jobs elsewhere but people don't want to go elsewhere."

Tragedy struck the Morgan family on Christmas Eve 1947 when Eddie's 17-year-old brother died in a coal mining accident.

Then two years later his father got injured in a coal mining accident.

"My Mum said no more mining for the Morgan men, but when I left school in 1956 it was the only job available," he said.

Eddie said that Lithgow was not what was explained to him in Edinburgh Scotland.

"We were told it was the sunshine country, but we came in the middle of winter," he said.

"We were on Bells Line of Road and it was my first time seeing gum trees but they were all white, shedding, and I thought it was a sacred forest.

"We got to scenic hill and we could only see half of Lithgow because the coal heating systems smoke covered it, so there was a bit of disappointment originally.

"I think my wife cried for two weeks."

Living in housing on View Street, around 16 kilometres from town, was a big change from living in Scotland where Eddie and his wife could catch a bus every 15 minutes.

The couple were also trying to raise a three-year-old and a 22-month-old baby at the time, with no family in the area.

"It was actually a really stressful time, but I had a two year contract, so I asked her to give me two years, and by the end I was really loving my job and the people and it was so different to Scotland," he said.

"At the end of my two years I asked her if she wanted to go back to Scotland and she said 'yes', so I said, 'Pack your bags I'll take you to the airport'.

"She is still here."

The couple then moved to Rifle Parade when Eddie became the Wallerawang Mine Manager.

"We now have four grandchildren in Lithgow and we still put up with the Lithgow winter," he said.

Eddie has worked as a mine inspector for 16 years and eight months, a job that he absolutely loves.

"I did relief work for a company for two years and then I saw a vacancy for this position become available in May 2004, but it was originally only a one year contract, but then they made me permanent," he said.

For two years from 1995 to 1997, he helped open two mines in QLD while his wife stayed in Lithgow with his two sons.

In 1998, he became the Angus Place Colliery manager.

"You have to motivate your workers to do well, you have to inspire them and make them want to do their best," he said.

Eddie said that was easy to do at Baal Bone Colliery because it was just opening and he could set the standard.

"At Angus Place which was already established, we had to work hard because they hadn't hit 2.1 million tonnes of coal in four years but with the right direction we did it," he said.

"I had names, and it wasn't always Eddie but you live through that."

Eddie said he has a variety of memories from his time in the mines, along with various successes throughout the years.

In 1978 at the Wallerawang Mine, they broke the daily NSW record for how much coal they mined.

"With the Baal Bone long wall we broke the Australasia record for 16,000 tonnes in a day, I was also the production manager when we got the first 3.1 million tonnes record," he said.

The long wall in Clarence also broke the 2.1 million tonne milestone as well.

"It is the people who created that, they were our tools and we gave them the challenge and they stood up and did it," he said.

"There were stumbling blocks but the men always pulled their weight."

Eddie started his career the old fashion way; with pick and shovel, blasting the coal.

"The biggest change was probably the mechanisation and remote mining, being more away from the coal face," he said.

"This gives better control with the machinery and makes good mining because it can just keep going."

Eddie said the powered support progressed and allowed for more production time which in turn allowed coal to be more profitable.

"Ventilation for the dust, such as dust suppression, allowed the men to not be as exposed to the dust, creating a much healthier environment," he said.

Mining used to be a five day a week profession, but now it is 24/7, so safety is of the utmost importance, Eddie said.

"It eliminates fatalities or serious injuries to people and gets a mine to become safer in production," he said.

Eddie said mining was a unique job, and underground mining was one that really 'separates the men from the boys'.

"I love it, which is why I've done it for 64 years, but some do hate it," he said.

"If I had my time over again, I would do it all again."

Eddie said it was the camaraderie of miners that really made the job enjoyable.

"In an open cut mine, you are mainly in big machinery and you talk over the walkies but underground you are a team and you have to look out for your mates and make sure everyone gets their work done safely," he said.

"It has been a good career for me."

There is one person a little disappointed Eddie will be retiring. His wife.

"She said I can retire only if I leave the house at 6.30am and don't return until 4pm," he said.

"I love it and I will miss the people.

"Going on shift in the morning and watching the trucks going down in the drift, the drivers waving to me, the downside was some weren't using all their fingers."