Greenbushes to host service to honour lost lives in the mining industry as part of international celebrations

Lives lost in the mining industry in Greenbushes and surrounds will be honoured on Saturday as part of the international celebration of St Barbara. Community members are encouraged to participate in the annual event at the Greenbushes Heritage Park at 3pm on December 7 which includes a short memorial and bring-your-own community picnic. St Barbara is the Patron Saint of Miners and Tunnellers and is celebrated across the world. Greenbushes Discovery Centre vice chair said Amanda Lovitt said the annual event — which returns to Greenbushes after a few years break — will pay tribute to those who have lost their lives in the mining industry in the region over the past 136 years. “Greenbushes is one of the oldest and richest mining areas in WA, dating back to 1886,” she said. “It contains 30 per cent of the periodic table of elements and has been mined continuously since 1888.” Greenbushes Discovery Centre has shared a series of tributes on their Facebook page over the last several months in the lead up to the event in honour of many of the individuals who lost their lives and the families they left behind. Several names include 25-year-old Amos Fixter who died at the Mt Jones mine site in 1913, 60-year-old Samuel Finlay who died in South Greenbushes in 1907, Steven Edwin Cross who died in 1981, William Geoghan who died in 1915, and many more.