The commemoration was held at the Bulli Mine Disaster Memorial and marked the 128th anniversary of what was at the time the worst industrial disaster in Australian history.

President of the Black Diamond Heritage Centre, Kerrie Anne Christian, said the lack of safety procedures played a significant role in the disaster.

"The men were paid by the amount of coal they cut rather than the hours they worked," Mrs Christian said.

"Everyone was looking to cut as much coal as possible so therefore would've been cutting corners.

"The minute people become complacent in any risky workplace, there's always the chance that lives are going to be lost or people are going to be seriously injured.

"We shouldn't be looking at disasters like this nostalgically, we need to heed the lessons of the past to ensure we have good and safe conditions."

Mrs Christian said looking back over Illawarra Mercury clippings from the 1880s revealed the extent to which the rest of Australia got behind the Bulli community, fundraising to support the many widows, orphans and families who had lost men in the explosion, not unlike the Beaconsfield mining disaster of more recent times.

James Stewart Keene, the great-nephew of George Ralph, one of the miners killed in the disaster, reiterated that Monday's ceremony was a timely reminder that safety needed to be at the forefront of workplace practices.

"If you look at the struggle of the union movement over the years and especially leading up to this disaster in 1887, it's really been about companies and governments supporting poor safety practices," Mr Stewart Keene said.

"Governments need to remember that companies can be profitable, but at the expense of lives is not acceptable."

Mr Stewart Keene's son, Jacob, 13, paid tribute to the many miners lost by reading out their names.

"It's especially important to remember them because they did really great things for us in the community, risking their lives for something that helped society," he said.

Dorothy Conkey only recently discovered that her great-grandfather had been killed in the disaster.

Mrs Conkey said she had walked past the memorial every day of her schooling career, not knowing that her great-grandfather William Williams' name was on it.

"I was one of the first students at Bulli High School and I walked past here every day and never knew, so it was a real eye-opener to me," Mrs Conkey said.