The QMRS had been serving the Queensland coal industry since its inception as the first mine rescue service in Australia.

"From its humble beginnings, the QMRS has developed to become a dynamic training body dedicated to making our mining industry safer for the future," said Mines Minister Stephen Robertson, who was in Dysart for the anniversary celebrations.

"That record is borne out by the latest safety statistics for the coal industry - where no fatalities were recorded last year, and the lost time injury rate reached an all-time low.

"That future holds challenges like enhancing self-escape and mutual assistance aided rescue, underground rescue chambers and change-over stations, mines rescue vehicles and equipment, and the all-important job of training mines rescue workers - challenges that the QMRS is ideally equipped to meet.”

Robertson said the participation of the QMRS in the Mines Rescue Vehicle Project, led by the Queensland Government's Safety in Mines Testing and Research Station (Simtars), would help further secure the safety of Queensland's coal workers.