Windy Gully

31st July marks the anniversary of the Mt Kembla Disaster, where 96 men and boys lost their lives in the explosion at the mine. It was one of the worst disasters in Australian history, devastating the community for years to come.
Each year, on the anniversary of the disaster, a commemorative ceremony “96 Candles” is held at the Windy Gully cemetery at Mt Kembla.
This year, the Illawarra Union Singers were privileged to take part in the ceremony, singing two mining songs as part of the event. They performed “Windy Gully”, the song written by Illawarra playwright Wendy Richardson, who sang with the choir, in an arrangement by choir member Florence Rankin. The choir also sang “Working Man”, a song prompted by the stories of miners’ daily hardships, which became the unofficial anthem for coal miners everywhere.

Windy Gully gravestones