The RANAD Newington Worker's Memorial
The Memorial
Located within building 15 at the eastern end of the Newington wharf is a simple, informal memorial to some of those who died whilst an employee of RANAD Newington.
Building 15 was originally constructed in the 1930s as a return store for ammunition coming back from time at sea. However during the period when names were added to the memorial, it was mainly used to store handling equipment associated with wharf and harbour operations.
The building is unlined internally, exposing the framework timbers to which are attached protective horizontal rails. These rails have been stencilled with the names of deceased workmates, mainly from the storehouse and transport staff. There are approximately 70 names, with dates during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. A spreadsheet containing the names of those memorialised is available on request from the page author (email address at bottom of page).
Note that these are not deaths resulting from workplace accidents, with the exception of two in 1975.
The following photos of the memorial are reproduced courtesy of Cameron Hartnell of GBA Heritage.
The Sick & Accident Fund
Many of those listed on the memorial will have been members of the Sick & Accident Fund. This was a common feature of workplaces of this period, including Newington. Naval Defence Act ("blue collar") employees contributed a small sum each week and the accumulated funds were used to pay a cash benefit in the event of sickness, accident or death. This was employee self-help, in an era when employer-provided benefits were well below modern standards.
(Photo by author, 2012)
