It’s a Matter of Life and Death
On Sunday 31st July at 1.30pm Wollongong Hospital Main Entrance, Crown Street. The South Coast Labour Council will be gathering in solidarity with our nurses, miners, unions, and local community to pay respects to those killed in the 1902 Mt Kembla mining disaster. We also gather to highlight the crisis that the community is currently facing in our hospitals.
How far have we really come in providing adequate health care to the community?
We acknowledge workplace health and safety procedures have improved considerably since 1902. They are important for the well-being of both employees and employers. The heartache of human loss, especially in the workplace is immeasurable and intolerable. Every person who leaves home for work should return home safe.
If there were a disaster of this magnitude today could our local health system cope?
Mt Kembla Mine Disaster 1902
31/07/1902 – Mt Kembla – Explosion / Methane Explosion, Coal Dust Explosion
At 2pm on July 31, 1902, Mt Kembla Colliery exploded, killing 96 men and boys. The blast, which was heard in nearby Wollongong, created 33 widows, and took the fathers of 120 children. The disaster had an enormous impact on the Illawarra, and more specifically on the village of Mt Kembla, where the shattering effect of lives lost, and families torn apart resonates to this day.
Contact – Mick Cross SCLC Assistant Sec. 0435121076
