The Miners’ Memorial Board was researched and curated by Tony Walford, who spent many years in the offices at Peko Mine during the 1960s and 1970s.

It features the names of the 27 people who have died as a result of mining-related accidents.

There is an accompanying file which records the source of all the information displayed, as well as the late Bill Fullwood’s recollections of three of the accidents.

This memorial is not intended as a pejorative statement on the industry in which these individuals worked but rather, as an enduring record of the huge price they each paid in helping Tennant Creek to become a major contributor to the NT economy during the period 1940-1990.

In fact, it is worth noting that, in the mid ‘60s, NT Mines Branch included a comment in its Annual Report to the effect that the Gross Export Value of gold and minerals from the Tennant Creek area “far exceeded” the comparative value of all other NT industries combined - including the pastoral sector!

Around 25 people attended the Battery Hill Mining Centre recently when the memorial was put on show for the first time. The header-board and accompanying inscription were delayed due to technical difficulties but they are expected to be added soon.

BHMC Site Co-ordinator, Roddy Calvert, organised and catered for the event while TC Foundation CEO, Elliot McAdam, provided background details about the memorial’s conception.

Steve Russell, local manager for explorer Emmerson Resources, also addressed the gathering, drawing attention to the fact that the mining business has always been inherently dangerous and companies continually strive to create a safer working environment for all their employees.

Ian Turner, an ex-miner who currently teaches at the Tennant Creek High School, designed and constructed the new board and mounted the plaques which were brought over from Queensland by Heather and Tony Walford.