Murdering Gully had Glenrock Colliery which comprised several drifts feeding a large coal loader above Burwood Beach. After being idle for a decade, in 1901 it was purchased by Messrs. Foreshaw, and Thomas Howley (1855-1942) who began new operations there in 1905. They installed electrical equipment for the first time in June 1931, and by the time of final closure 50,500,000 tons of coal had been extracted. It closed during March 1944 and the railway tunnels were sealed. Tenders called for the sale of all equipment at the colliery between Aug-Nov 1944, and the railway line from The Junction up the centre of Watkins Street to the first tunnel was lifted in 1946. The whole area is now part of the Glenrock State Conservation Area. Merewether also once had extensive pottery works and brickyards, the last to close being Hughes' Pottery, opposite The Junction Demonstration School, in the last two decades of the 20th century. Beaches The suburb of Merewether includes some of Newcastle's most famous beaches. Dixon Park Beach leads south onto Merewether Beach and a little further to the more isolated Burwood Beach which leads to Glenrock Lagoon. At the southern end of Merewether Beach are the Merewether Ocean Baths, the largest ocean baths in the Southern Hemisphere. Merewether Beach is home to Merewether SLSC the oldest lifesaving club in the Hunter Region and the Merewether Surfboard Club the most successful boardriders club in Australia. In 2006, organisers of Newcastle Surfest announced that the competition would be moving from Newcastle Beach to Merewether Beach, in order to capitalise on the beaches superior surfing conditions, caused by the rock bottom of the beach, compared to the mud bottom of Newcastle Beach. Professional Surfer Mark Richards is a resident of Merewether. Education There are three primary schools in the suburb - Merewether Public [State] School in Henry Street at the Glebe, the Catholic Holy Family Primary School in Janet Street, and Hamilton South Public School which is actually located within the Merewether postcode area on Kenrick Street. Two more, Merewether Heights Public School on Scenic Drive and The Junction Public School (founded in 1860) are located in Merewether Heights and The Junction respectively, on the borders that those suburbs share with Merewether. (The Junction only became a gazetted separate suburb in 1991). Pupils from the schools feed into the secondary schools of Newcastle High School, Kotara High School, the Catholic