In 1997 a 'workers embassy' was set up on vacant land opposite Parliament House during union protests of the Court Government's 'third wave' legislation for industrial relations.

The monument was particularly dedicated to Mark Allen, a young CFMEU organiser who was killed on a building site while attempting to get workers down from an unsafe roof.

[4] Four union officials were subsequently arrested on the night of the 30 April for remaining on the premises,[4] with the workers embassy relocated to a site across the street from Parliament House.

[3] On 1 May 1997, Mike Mitchell, an organiser from the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing, and Allied Services Union (CEPU), marked out the 510-square-metre (5,500 sq ft) site under the Mining Act using a prospector's license.

[6] The 'third wave' industrial relations legislation was overturned following the election of the Gallop Government in 2001,[2] and Solidarity Park was permanently listed on the State Register of Heritage Places in 2004.