Tuesday, 15 October 2024

West Gate Bridge tragedy commemoration

Melissa HORNE (Williamstown – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Ports and Freight, Minister for Roads and Road Safety) (12:52): On 15 October 1970 at 11:50 am Australia’s worst ever industrial accident occurred when the under-construction West Gate Bridge collapsed and killed 35 people. The bridge was nearing completion when an 11-centimetre gap was reported. Attempts to address this caused the bridge to buckle. The buckle was to be straightened and the bridge realigned, but ultimately that failed, causing the collapse.

More than half a century on from the disaster, hundreds of thousands of people use the bridge to cross the Yarra every single day, but the scars of that tragic day still linger in the western suburbs. Today six pieces of the bridge are located in the gardens at Monash University to remind students of the tragic consequences that occur when there are errors in engineering. The subsequent royal commission findings led to the strengthening of occupational health and safety laws in Australia, and I am proud to be part of a government that continues to strengthen and protect these laws.

Thirty-five people went to work that day and never returned home, and those that did described it as an absolute nightmare. Today at the West Gate Bridge Memorial Park in Spotswood many in my community will gather to remember and pay tribute to those who never returned home. I stand with my community in commemorating the 54th anniversary of this terrible accident and the West Gate Bridge collapse.