Jim Comerford

He gave a speech in support of the 1995-6 miners' strike at the Vickery coal mine[6] near Boggabri in New South Wales.

Along with the appointments as Convocation Scholar and writer-in-residence the University of Newcastle awarded Comerford an honorary Master of Arts.

In nearby Aberdare the Jim Comerford Memorial Wall was dedicated in 1996 to those who died in the mines in the Northern District of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, the present-day successor of the Australian Coal and Shale Employees' Federation.

[11] Prime Minister of Australia Paul Keating paid tribute to Comerford while unveiling the wall.

[12] A bust of Comerford was later put in front of the wall[13] and was dedicated in 2007 by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.