by Jan Bowman
In John E. Brown Park (Park 27A of your Adelaide Park Lands) a quiet grove of trees stands as a living tribute to lives lost too soon.
Part of the Deceased Workers Memorial Forest in J.E. Brown Park (Park 27A of your Adelaide Park Lands.)
Established in 2003, the Deceased Workers Memorial Forest honours workers lost to workplace accidents, illness, transport-related deaths, or work-related suicide.
Each year on the 28th of April, SA Unions join with workers' families and the community here and worldwide to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day.
SA Unions Secretary Dale Beasley (left) and ACTU Assistant Secretary Liam O’Brian (right) at the memorial service in J.E. Brown Park (Park 27A of your Adelaide Park Lands.)
It is a time to reflect on those killed on the job and how we can all play a role in preventing workplace injuries and illness.
Workplace fatalities claimed 168 lives nationwide in 2024. So far this year, another 32 lives have been lost to workplace fatalities. These figures are a sobering reminder of the forest’s significance.
These figures do not include the thousands of workers who die each year from deadly occupational diseases such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, and silicosis, often caused by exposure to hazardous materials like asbestos and silica found in products such as the now-banned engineered stone.
SA Unions Secretary Dale Beasley says:
“Workplace deaths aren't just a statistic, every worker that doesn't come home leaves a gaping hole for families, friends and workmates. As a union movement, we remember the dead, and fight like hell for the living. This memorial is a place of both quiet reflection and a rallying cry to say, 'not one more worker'.”
SA Unions memorial service, on 28 April 2025, at the Deceased Workers Memorial Forest in J.E. Brown Park (Park 27A of your Adelaide Park Lands.)
The Deceased Workers Memorial Forest holds national significance as the only memorial in the world where trees serve as enduring symbols of remembrance for workers. Among the native eucalyptus, visitors find a place of reflection—one that speaks not only of loss but also of a shared responsibility to ensure safer workplaces for future generations.
On 28 April 2025 International Workers' Memorial Day events included a service organised by VOID (Voices of Industrial Death) at Pilgrim Uniting Church, to support the families of fallen workers.
Then, at 1.00pm, SA Unions hosted a Memorial Service at the Memorial Forest.
Speaking at the memorial service: Dale Beasley (left) and Liam O’Brian (right)
Speaking at the service, Dale Beasley, Secretary of SA Unions, said:
"Tragically, far too many workers still lose their life at work or through diseases that they contracted on the job.
“Having somewhere like the Workers Memorial Forest, families and workmates to come together to remember the people who've been lost is so important.
“Every year, on International Workers Memorial Day, the union movement takes the opportunity to remember the people who are no longer with us; the people who went to work and never came home.
"It's really important for there to be a strong local touchstone like the forest in the Adelaide Park Lands, where workers can come together and hold those commemorations."
Marked in yellow - the location of the Deceased Workers Memorial Forest in J.E. Brown Park (Park 27A of your Adelaide Park Lands.)
Background
The original vision for this forest involved planting new trees each year on International Workers' Memorial Day to honour workers.
By 2014, concerns about limited space prompted a review.
In May 2015, Council resolved to develop a landscape plan, leading to enhancements such as engraved pavers, seating, picnic shelters, bike racks, and symbolic steel balloons, colour-coded to represent different causes of workplace fatalities.
SA Unions and City Council will continue to consult on management of the site.
Pics: Jan Bowman
