Welcome to The West Gate Project.
This project researches the West Gate Bridge’s collapse during construction, with a focus on the history of the disaster, how it is remembered today, and how to use its lessons to support ongoing action for better workplace health and safety.
This site, and the wider project it is part of, are the work of Dr Sarah Gregson (UNSW) and Dr Elizabeth Humphrys (UTS). Our research investigates:
- The political economy of the bridge construction and collapse.
- The memorialisation of the disaster.
- The disbursement of funds raised for the widows and families of the men killed in the disaster.
Sarah Gregson works in the Business School at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Her research interests encompass labour and social history, industrial relations, and occupational health and safety. Her research on safety in the aviation industry is part of a multi-disciplinary, collaborative project on the future of the aircraft maintenance sector in Australia, involving union, employer and training organisations. She practices what she teaches as president of the NTEU UNSW branch.
Elizabeth Humphrys is a political economist in the School of Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. Her research examines work and workers in the context of economic crisis and change, including neoliberalism, climate change and workplace disasters. Her first book, How Labour Built Neoliberalism (2019), was published with Brill (hardcover) / Haymarket (paperback). Elizabeth is an Associate of the Centre for Future Work, and you can follow her on Twitter: @anintegralstate.
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We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land upon which our research has been conducted, especially the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future, and wholeheartedly support the continuing struggles of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for self-determination and justice.
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The feature images on this site are from the Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV) archive collection. They are photographs of workers and emergency services on site after the collapse the bridge. Citation: PROV, VPRS 24/P3, Unit 120, Inquest Deposition Files (digitised copies, viewed online 12 January 2019).