Introduction to the National Workers Memorial

The Memorial is located in Kings Park in Canberra on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin across from the National Carillon.

Kings Park forms part of the Canberra Central Parklands which are nationally significant because of their place in the Griffin Plan and for their unique blending of commemorative and natural landscapes. The Memorial site is set into the side of an elevated area overlooking Aspen Island and Lake Burley Griffin among a planting of Eurabbie or Blue Gums (Eucalyptus Bicostata).

From the lakeside a forested pathway climbs beside an open terrace. The Memorial is glimpsed through the trees, nestled quietly into the hillside. A new space is created, the Workers’ Glade, by additional mass plantings of red and yellow box (Eucalyptus Melliodora and Eucalyptus Polyanthermos). At the end of the path is an interpretive panel which introduces the Memorial’s purpose with drawings and text.

Emerging from the new forest, the visitor encounters a natural swale, crossed via a bridge flanked by fragrant rosemary hedges (Rosmaninus Officianus). Visitors are invited to pick a sprig of rosemary to make a tribute at the Memorial or leave a token of remembrance.

I am pleased there is now a place in our National Capital honouring Australians who have died as a result of work-related accidents, incidents or disease. The National Workers Memorial is a place to reflect and share experiences of love and loss. It also serves as a reminder of the ongoing efforts to improve workplace safety and ensure everyone returns home at the end of their working day.

I hope the Australian community will engage with this memorial and use it as a community gathering place to recognise and celebrate the vital contribution and significant achievements of Australian workers to the building of this nation.

I encourage all those who have an opportunity to influence safety at work –including business leaders, employers, workers and their representatives – to work together to improve health and safety outcomes. This cooperation is essential in helping to prevent work-related accidents, incidents and disease.

The National Workers Memorial is dedicated to the communities, families and people of each Australian state and territory. The $3 million federally-funded Memorial is located in our National Capital for all Australians to experience now and for generations to come.

The Memorial is a place to contemplate alone or gather as a group. It encourages conversations about workplace safety, injury and death, and provides a place to remember, meet friends and reflect.

As a government we will continue to strive to achieve further improvements to workplace safety laws so that maybe one day the Memorial will not only remind us of our past but also the importance of workplace safety in the future.

On behalf of the National Workers Memorial Steering Committee: Senator Gary Humphries, Senator the Hon Kate Lundy, Senator John Williams and Senator Rachel Siewert, I am proud that from this day on, the loss of those whose lives have been cut short by their work will be forever honoured by this Memorial. This place will honour the loss and grief of the wives and husbands, of the parents, of the children and of the communities touched by workplace tragedy. We will visit this place to remember, reflect and hope that the sad roll of those who have died will one day cease to grow longer.

Australia’s rigorous approach to work health and safety is built on the work of generations of Australians from all walks of life who have demanded workplaces that are safe. This Memorial honours all their efforts and those who have tragically lost their lives while building this great nation.

The Memorial is located at the southern end of Wendouree Drive, near Kings Avenue Bridge in Kings Park, across from the National Carillon and Aspen Island.

Parking, including disabled parking, can be found along Wendouree Drive within walking distance of the Memorial.

For further information on other memorials and attractions in the National Capital:

• Visit Canberra
• The Canberra Guide