Originally Posted by
gumboot
New Zealand's Pioneers were particularly favoured for these jobs because most countries had experienced miners but mining is done in rock. Our Pioneers were mostly Kauri gum diggers who work in mud and clay, so their experience were enormously useful, particularly in areas like Ypres. The Messines mine was dug almost exclusively by our Kauri gum diggers.
Incidentally, this is where the nickname "Digger" comes from, which ended up being applied first to NZ Pioneers, then to all NZ soldiers, and eventually to all ANZAC soldiers.
Which one? There were 21, and the British had been digging in the area before we even got to the salient.