A memorial wall featuring individual brass plaques recording
the names of timber workers fatally injured while working in the industry; as
well as four bas reliefs depicting timber industry work practices. The memorial
incorporates as its centrepiece a life size statue "Hand of Fate" by
renowned Australian sculptor Rix Wright. Depicting a timber worker giving
assistance to his injured mate, it symbolises the mateship and compassion of
the our bush workers.
The pergolas and entrance were constructed from timbers
salvaged from both the old
Tarraganda
Bridge and another in
Victoria. Written
information about the history of the industry in the
Eden district is displayed on bollards, along
with a poem by Mrs. Gillian Munday, whose son was fatally injured while working
in the bush.
It was following the loss of Geoffrey Munday in a
tree-felling accident in 2001 that the memorial project was conceived. After
the axemen's association called a public meeting, an Eden community-based steering committee was formed
in 2002.
Construction of the National Timber Workers Memorial was
supported by the Australian Federal Government as well as by many local
businesses and community members, volunteers and the families of those lost. It
was officially dedicated on 7
June, 2008. As of 2013, there were 122 plaques representing timber
workers from Queensland
through to Tasmania.
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