As well as renting the Company's houses, miners could also request to build their own houses on Company Land. The Company would grant a lease for which an annual rent was paid.

 

The houses in the background are in Slack Alley which was next to the railway at Middle Camp.

 

Slack is a mining term for very fine fragments of coal and dust.  It was not saleable and was dumped here along the rail line.

 

It often spontaneously combusted and a section in this photo is on fire.

 

Dust regularly blew into the houses.