Box Flat 50th Anniversary Memorial
On 31 July each year, Ipswich Historical Society holds a memorial service for the coal miners who died in the Box Flat explosion on this day in 1972. The service is held at the Box Flat Memorial on Swanbank Road, Swanbank, and begins at 10am. 2022 is the 50th anniversary of the disaster. A special weekend is being arranged for this milestone anniversary.
To register to attend these events please go to the Box Flat Invitation 2022.
Information about the planned events
Mines Rescue Display - Mines Rescue Display will be available for viewing at Llewellyn Motors, Brisbane Road, Booval, from Saturday 23 July to 5 August 2022.
Saturday 30 July 2022
Official opening of the Mines Rescue Display 2.30 - 3.30pm. Tea /coffee station provided. This function is open to all interested persons.
Box Flat 50th Anniversary Memorial Dinner - 6.30pm - 11.30pm at Ipswich Events and Entertainment Centre, Bundamba Racecourse. This will be a 2 course formal dinner in the Grange Room. Maximum seating 200 people. Round tables with 10 persons per table. Lift access is available. There is ample carparking available at the venue. The evening will include:
- An address by the Minister for Mines Qld, Mr Scott Stewart MP
- Launch of 3D visualisation of Box Flat Disaster, by Mark Parcell
This function is open for all interested persons to attend. The dinner cost is $30 per head, heavily subsidised by our generous sponsors.
Sunday 31 July
Box Flat 50th Anniversary Memorial Service - to commence from 10am led by Reverend Peter Woodward.
Immediate Family Members - To assist with parking at the memorial site and for families to arrive and be seated together at the memorial service, a bus has been organised to transport them from Brothers Leagues Club, Wildey Street, Raceview, to Swanbank and back after the service. Please meet in the Brothers Leagues Club carpark for 9am departure.
Parking - There will be a drop-off zone at the Memorial Site. Parking will be at the Swanbank Power Station Carpark. Continue past the Memorial site. The carpark is on the right-hand side of Swanbank Road. A heritage bus will be operating continuously to shuttle persons to and from the Memorial site and this carpark.
Seating - Seating in the Memorial Circle area is reserved initially for family members of those who lost their lives at Box Flat and VIP Dignitaries. Seating for attendees not able to fit in the Memorial Circle area will be under a large marquee erected in the adjacent area. The service will be live-streamed to the marquee for all to see and be a part of the service. Light refreshments will follow the ceremony on site, served by members of the Ipswich Historical Society.
Immediate Family Members Lunch - 12.30pm A two-course sit down lunch at Brothers Leagues Club, Wildey Street, Raceview.
This will give the families time to reflect and share memories should they wish. The meal will be free of charge for up to four (4) persons per family. $15.00 per person (subsidised) for other family wishing to attend.
Merchandise available for purchase at the event
About the Service
Part of the service will be words spoken by family members. So if you or a family member would like to say a few words then please let Hugh Taylor know by email or telephone .
Hugh is also asking family members to write a few words about their personal experience of the Disaster.
The following questions are suggested as a guide: -
- Who are you related to and how?
- How did you find out about the Disaster and your relative’s involvement?
- How did it affect you and your family, how did the family cope with the loss?
- How does it affect you still?
If you know of a family affected by the Box Flat Disaster who might wish to attend, please share this information with them and ask them to contact Hugh.
To register to attend these events please go to the Box Flat Invitation 2022.