The NSW Government will reopen the Newcastle Steelworkers Memorial to the community following work to secure the site for safe public access.
During its 84 years of operation, the BHP steelworks was one of Australia’s largest employers and a key economic driver, earning Newcastle its ‘Steel City’ nickname and helping shape the city’s industrial identity.
The Newcastle Steelworkers Memorial was first unveiled in 2015 on the 100th anniversary of the BHP steelworks’ opening, and now stands as an important tribute to the men and women who worked at the steelworks from 1915 until its closure in 1999.
“Newcastle and the Hunter have a proud industrial heritage supported by the region’s loyal workers and forged on the back of industries like steelmaking and power generation that have helped drive the NSW and Australian economies,” NSW Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said.
“For too long this marvellous tribute to our steelworkers has been restricted, so I will be very proud to see the memorial back on full public display in a parkland setting.”
The NSW Government is erecting a perimeter fence to create a 2.12-hectare area for the memorial and safely separate the site from adjacent industrial land. The memorial will be opened to public access via Selwyn Street from 6am to 6pm, seven days a week.
The memorial includes a prominent steel and bronze sculpture which was fabricated on-site by artist Julie Squires and steelworkers before the plant closed.
“I’ve been advocating for the reactivation of this space for years,” Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp said. “I want to thank the Newcastle Industrial Heritage Association, especially Aubrey Brooks and Bob Cook for their dedication to seeing the memorial reopened.
“The reopening of the Steelworkers Memorial gives Novocastrians the chance to celebrate our Steel City and be proud of our industrial heritage. I am thrilled that it will be reopened to the public.”
The 16m-long, 8m-high and 12m-wide walk-through sculpture portrays the steelworkers’ experience with features including a clock, whistle, locomotive driver, men on the gates symbolising friendship, and a cross honouring those who died on the job.
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