Danny Gardiner started work young – just 15 years old, in a timber yard. A year later, his father passed away, leaving behind a wife and five children.
At 16, Danny knew what it meant to put food on the table, with no workers’ compensation, no insurance, and no superannuation to fall back on. “You just lived from week to week, pay packet to pay packet.”
By his early twenties, Danny understood that work was about looking after your mates and knowing they had your back. But it was on a job in Altona where he was given his first real taste of workers’ politics. As a TA (Trades Assistant) to Scot Frew, a fitter with an encyclopedic knowledge of workers’ struggles worldwide, Danny found himself listening and learning.
“When it rained, metal workers would shed up until it stopped. There was no going home. We’d listen to the older blokes debate everything – from workplace conditions to the assassination of Chile’s first Marxist President, Salvador Allende, two years earlier. If we interrupted, we were told to sit and listen.” And so he listened.
In 1973, Danny took those lessons with him to the West Gate Bridge, where reconstruction had begun a year earlier. He worked alongside Pat Preston, Tommy Watson, and other survivors of the 1970 tragedy. Safety was paramount on the rebuild, and new standards were constantly being set. As an OH&S officer and a member of the rescue squad, he and his team were responsible for first aid and emergency response.
“With 35 guys dead, it really drove home how important safety was,” Danny recalls. “I’m proud to say we helped a lot of injured comrades on that job – and even saved a couple of lives.”
A year after the rebuild, in 1979, Danny took on a new role as a full-time official with the FIA (Federated Ironworkers’ Association). In 1991, he transitioned to the CFMEU FEDFA Division and later became a coordinator for the building industry superannuation fund, Cbus. Now, after decades of fighting for workers’ rights, he plans to retire.
But Danny’s commitment to honouring those lost on the bridge never wavered. From 1973 onwards, he joined survivors, their families, and their mates to remember those who never came home. In 1990, as the 20th anniversary of the collapse approached, a more formal effort took shape.
“The West Gate Bridge Committee was formed to properly acknowledge the disaster,” Danny explains. “Workers funded a permanent memorial to honour those who gave their lives, and the State Government provided the land and maintenance for the park. The Committee made sure it happened.”
For Danny, the West Gate Bridge Memorial represents a defining shift in workplace safety.
“It tells the story of the blokes who were sacrificed so that we can go to work today and return home safely to our families. They will not be forgotten.”
Thanks to secured funding, Danny is confident that the memorial and its annual commemoration will continue for generations. And as long as he can, he’ll be there – reminding us all of the significance of that terrible day in 1970.
Tom Watson’s journey began as a teenager migrating to Australia with his family. His first battles weren’t in the workplace, but on the streets of Melbourne’s western suburbs, where he and his mates stoof their ground against racist gang attacks.
“I’ll tell you one thing,” he says, “It taught me how to fight.”
That fighting spirit carried over into his working life. Tom’s career reads like a map of Melbourne’s industrial heartland. He started at the Altona petrochemical plant before being transferred to the West Gate Bridge, where he worked for nine months before the collapse. In 1972, when reconstruction began, he returned to the job.
Tom credits his time on the West Gate Bridge with shaping a generation of union activists, many of whom went on to become officials.
“Danny Gardiner, Pat Preston, John Cummins, and John McPartlin are just a few of the men who worked on that project and later played major roles in the union movement.”
The bridge collapse and its aftermath left a lasting mark on workers, driving home a deep distrust of employers. Workers had been told the bridge was safe when it wasn’t, and the price for that lie had been 35 dead men.
“When work resumed, we had to go on strike for seven weeks just to get shop stewards on the job. But we had the support, because people knew one thing for sure – bosses couldn’t be trusted to do the right thing.”
Tom’s first role as a union official was with the Federated Ironworkers Association (FIA). He quickly made his mark, leading the famous 35-hour week ‘Sit-In’ campaign at the Altona petrochemical plant.
“Fifty-one days, that campaign lasted. It was the biggest dispute the state had ever seen. Two thousand workers, six unions. We had Christmas on the picket line.”
In 1990, Tom ran for leadership of the union but lost by a few hundred votes. His reputation and experience in the movement meant he didn’t stay on the sidelines for long. He was quickly recruited by the FEDFA, which later merged with other unions to form the CFMEU.
Tom considers himself lucky to have spent his life fighting for workers.
“I have always loved my job. Despite the heartache and stress that comes with it, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
He acknowledges that the fight is different today than it was 20 or 30 years ago.
“Unions must stay relevant and hold onto their core values. It’s not just about representing members at work—we need to support them in life too. Someone has to be in there batting for the worker. And no one does that better than the union.”
After decades on the frontline, Tom retired from the CFMEU in 2011, but his legacy as a fighter, a leader, and an advocate lives on.
Pat Preston is a respected figure in Victoria’s construction industry, best known for his work as the Manager of the CFMEU’s OHS & Environmental Unit. Over the years, he has become a tireless advocate for workplace safety, earning recognition for his passion, dedication, and acheievements in improving conditions for construction workers.
But back in 1970, before he became a leading voice in safety reform, Pat was a 29-year-old crane operator and a shop steward with the Federated Engine Drivers’ & Firemen’s Association (FEDFA). He was one of many workers building the West Gate Bridge, a project that was, at the time, Melbourne’s largest and most prestigious construction undertaking.
On 15 October 1970, Pat was working just metres from the hoist cage when the bridge collapsed. The tragedy unfolded in an instant, killing 35 of his fellow workers and forever changing the landscape of workplace safety in Australia.
The West Gate Bridge collapse was a defining moment in Pat’s life, shaping his lifelong commitment to worker protection. He became a leader in occupational health and safety (OHS), pushing for stronger safety laws, better training, and accountability from employers. His work has saved lives and ensured that no worker has to face the same risks that he and his colleagues did on that tragic day.
Pat has shared his experiences and insights in a detailed PDF account of the West Gate disaster, providing firsthand knowledge of what went wrong and what must never be repeated.
He has also compiled an image gallery, preserving rare photographs of the bridge’s construction – a visual reminder of both the ambition and the mistakes that led to one of Australia’s worst industrial disasters.
Pat Preston’s work stands as a testament to the power of advocacy, proving that from tragedy can come real change – change that continues to protect workers across the construction industry today.
You can view a pdf file of Pat Preston’s West Gate experiences here.
David Penhall – is a dedicated member of the West Gate Memorial Committee and a Boilermaker by trade.
His extensive career began in January 1970 when he commenced his Boilermaker apprenticeship at JF Thomson’s Pty Ltd in West Footscray, attending both Footscray and Sunshine trade schools. During this time, he joined the AMWU and remained a union member until approximately 2014.
Following his apprenticeship, David worked for several small companies in Melbourne’s western suburbs. In late 1973, he began working on the West Gate Bridge after his father, who was also employed on the bridge as a welder, brought home a job application. David initially worked in the workshop before moving to the west side, then the east side, and finally the stillage area. His time on the bridge exposed him to workers from diverse backgrounds and beliefs, shaping his understanding of unionism and reinforcing the importance of fairness, rights, and collective action in the workplace. The tragic events of 15 October 1970 continue to serve, in his view, as a stark reminder that negligence and ignorance of safety requirements have no place on any worksite.
The Penhall family’s connection to the West Gate Bridge is a proud one—David’s father, brother, and David himself all worked on the structure, including during its widening project.
In 1977, David left the bridge and took up a role as a Boilermaker Welder with World Services on the polypropylene project at the Geelong Shell Refinery. After six months, he worked with a number of smaller companies before joining Petchem in the Altona area, where he spent about a year working both in the shop and on-site as needed.
He then joined Bernard Smith at the Geelong Shell Refinery, working as an oxy welder doing steam tracing. During this time, he also served as a Safety Representative. Following this, he worked on a shutdown at PRA Altona with Kadco for six weeks, which led to his employment with KMC Construction—the company that took over Kadco’s work. Within a few months, David was elected Shop Steward, a position he held for approximately six years. During this period, he worked closely with Jimmy O’Neil on the Altona agreement and local industrial matters.
After KMC closed down, David joined Eglo Engineering, which had taken over KMC’s work at the Geelong Shell Refinery. He completed the Geelong project and returned to Eglo’s workshop in Altona. During his tenure, Eglo was acquired by Transfield Services. David continued working with Transfield for the next 25 years until he was made redundant in 2017. He then worked with a small company until reaching retirement age.
David Setka is a CFMEU delegate and a third-generation unionist, following in the footsteps of his father, former CFMEU Secretary John Setka, and his grandfather, Bob Setka, one of the 18 survivors of the West Gate Bridge collapse.
For Dave, unionism is in his blood. He has grown up understanding the sacrifices made by the workers before him, including those who lost their lives on the bridge in 1970. His commitment to protecting workers’ rights and safety reflects the hard lessons learned from the tragedy that shaped his family and the broader construction industry.
Dave’s passion, experience, and deep connection to the history of the West Gate Bridge disaster will help ensure that the memory of the 35 men lost continues to drive the fight for safer workplaces today and into the future.
We pay tribute to two deeply respected former committee members, John “Cummo” Cummins and Jim O’Neil, whose tireless dedication helped shape and strengthen the legacy of the West Gate Bridge Memorial.
John “Cummo” Cummins was a passionate advocate for workers’ rights and a driving force behind the memorial’s mission to honour those who lost their lives in the 1970 bridge collapse. His commitment to justice, solidarity, and remembrance left an enduring mark on our committee and community.
Jim O’Neil brought a deep sense of care, history, and integrity to everything he did. A proud unionist and devoted committee member, Jim ensured that the stories of those affected by the tragedy were never forgotten.
Both men served with honour, compassion, and unwavering purpose. Their contributions will be remembered always.