It has been nearly half a century since Melbourne's deadly West Gate Bridge collapse but the tragedy's workplace safety legacy lives on.
Pat Preston was a 29-year-old crane operator waiting for his friends when the under-construction bridge span collapsed in 1970, killing 35 workers and injuring another 18.
The wide-eyed worker managed to leap from his seat and shelter behind one of the rear wheels of the crane as steel and concrete crashed down around him.
On Monday he addressed a memorial for those killed and injured in the collapse.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten paid tribute in parliament to those killed.
"On this 48th anniversary, we remember the lessons of those times, and we remember the 35 men who needlessly perished, and their families, who have lived with this every day from then until now, and will into the future," Mr Morrison said.
The tragedy should never be forgotten, the prime minister said, adding that workplace safety had improved substantially since the 1970s.
"Tougher laws have been introduced, and workers have been given more of a say, as they should, about safety on the job," he said.
Mr Shorten noted that some of the workers killed had come to Australia hoping to make a better life for themselves and their family.
"Today we remember riggers and fitters, ironworkers, boilermakers, engineers and fathers and brothers and sons," he said.
"Many of them were migrants seeking a fresh start in a new nation, who went out their front door that day from commission flats in Collingwood and humble houses in Altona and never came home."
Construction on the $202 million bridge started on April 22, 1968.
After the collapse and a royal commission into the disaster, the bridge finally opened to traffic on November 15, 1978.
