St Barbara is the Patron Saint of miners and for hundreds of years miners throughout the world have been celebrating her "Feast Day".

We have been celebrating Saint Barbara in the Hunter Valley since 1981 with an annual get together of like minded mining people.

Over twenty years later, the annual celebrations have grown considerably in popularity and in 2003 the Association of The Friends of Saint Barbara was incorporated.

The principal aim of the association is to give people with an interest in the underground mining industry an opportunity to meet socially on the 4th of December each year, to share experiences and enjoy the companionship of others over a "feast".

The "feast" incorporates a luncheon and Annual General Meeting and is held at an appropriate location in the Hunter Valley Region.

The Association boasts it own wines, produced especially for us by De Iuliis Wines in the Pokolbin region.

It is the intention of the Association to provide a scholarship to a deserving Mining Candidate from the Hunter Coal Mining Industry that will provide a unique opportunity to supplement their professional development.