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RecorderOfficialorganoftheMelbourneBranchoftheAustralianSocietyfortheStudyofLabourHistory

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PeterLove

TheVictorianTradesHallCouncilhaslaunchedaYoungWorkers’Centre(YWC)tohelpyoungpeopleunderstandtheir rights atworkand toadvocatewhen those rightsarethreatened.They'recallingforvolunteerstosupportthe Centre. The launch of the YWC on Wednesday 17FebruaryatTradesHallwasastonishinglywellattended,with a queue extending out along the Victoria Streetfootpath. Several hundred comrades and citizens filledboththeVictoriaStreethallandMeetingRoom1tohearfromtheusualsuspects,GovernmentMinister,VictorianTradesHall Council Secretary, and twovery impressiveyoung workers who told how their experience ofexploitation led them into trade union activism. Theclarity of purpose, the combination of acuity andenthusiasm that the young organisers show and thesheernecessityfortheworkshouldmakeitathoroughlysuccessfulinnovation.Itmaywellgoontomakelabourhistory. We hope it does. Their website is http://www.youngworkers.org.au/

AtthelaunchoftheYWC.PhotographbyPeterLove

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JamesWalter

Frank Bongiorno, The Eighties: TheDecadethatTransformedAustralia(BlackInc., Melbourne, 2015), xiii and 370 pp.ISBN9781863957762.Hb.$45.00.

FrankBongiorno’shistoryofthe1980sis an ambitious exercise in marryingculturalandsocialhistorywithpoliticsandeconomics.Itiswide-ranginginits

attention to dominant mores, business, real estatespeculation,nationalsecurity,popularculture(music,^ilmandliterature),celebrity,consumption,sport,sex,gender roles, the labour market, leading ^igures ineach domain and how all of thesewere experienced“frombelow”.Bongiorno’s curiosity concerning thesedisparate elements is always engaged and engaging,andwill revivememories for everyone over forty aswellas introducingyoungercohortseffectivelytotheperiod. But the spine of the book is a political andeconomichistory,anditisthisthatensurescoherencein the tapestry he weaves.What is achieved is a bi-focalaccountofcontemporaryhistory:whatwerekeyactors trying to achieve, andhowdid their decisionsimpactuponlivedexperience?

Hence,political events andpolicydecisionsdrive theevents that are described. The opening chapter setsthe tone, with contingent challenges (the AshWednesday bush^ires; the El Nino drought) pairedwith the1983electionand the start of the reformistHawke/KeatingLaboradministration.Suchremindersof the unexpected—governments may have “vision”,buttheymustalsomanagedisasters indicativeofthelimits of their remit—might be read as a timelyreminder to beware the hubris of all-knowing policyinsiders.Theirdecisionsmaybedrivenbythebestof

IssueNo.285—March2016

TheEighties

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INTHISEDITION:

• YoungWorkers’Centre,PeterLove,p.1• TheEighties,JamesWalter,pp.1-2.• LiquorLawsandAlcoholControlinVictoria,AinsleySymons,

pp.2-3.• FrankScully,LyleAllan,pp.3-4• ColinCleary,LyleAllan,p.4• DickGray,BrianSmiddy,p.4• I’llbeThere!,SusanneProvis,p.5

• TheWorkers’Museum,Copenhagen,PeterLove,pp.5-6• CommemoratingIreland’s1916EasterRising,p.6• HughWilliamsonFoundationResearchFellowships,p.6• Kyand1967,HumphreyMcQueen,pp.7-8• CelebratingJoeHill,TeresaPitt,pp.8-9• Twobooksofinterest,ChrisWhite,p.9• SettlingtheOffice,PaulRodan,pp.9-10• TheDevilIsHereinTheseHills,JohnTully,pp.10-12• No^ceboard&Branchcontacts,p.12

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intentions, but fortune intervenes, muchwill remainbeyond their control and decisions taken may wellhaveunintendedconsequences.

Bongiorno is not a critic of the political class, but arealist. He provides a fair minded account of theeconomicproblems that confronted thecountrywiththecollapseofthepost-warKeynesianconsensus,andof the imperatives that drove reform mindedpoliticians to adopt market solutions. Many othershave tackled this scenario, and from manyperspectives, but Bongiorno’s adept synthesis ofmotives,decisionsandoutcomes—thecyclesofboomandcrashandincrementaladvance—offersawelcomepaththroughthisproliferatingdebate.

KeatingandHawke,1983.Photographerunknown.

What ismost striking is his ability to show just howsuch decisions shaped those other domains—fromcultural production, to consumption patterns, publicevents, the way families lived, gender relations,business practice, labour relations, sporting codes,community values, unequal life chances and so on.Andwhileheacknowledgesthatthemarriageofneo-liberalism and globalisation is a constant in all theWestern polities of the time, he shows persuasivelythat Australia adapted to this differently, seeking “tocombine a shift towards the market with acommitment to social spending … a basic level ofgovernmentsupport forall,andacontinuingrole forunions in theworkplace”: this set it apart frombothBritainandtheUnitedStates in the1980s.Yet itwasnotenough.

Whatemergesisabracingcountertothecelebratoryrhetoric of reform champions, such as Paul Kelly.National prosperity eventually increased, but notwithout a lot of pain in the 1980s. Certainly, the“power of liberated ^inancialmarkets combinedwithcomputer technology, economic liberalism and massconsumptiontocreatesomethingnewandpowerful”,but unintended consequences were equallyremarkable. Reform was accompanied by theenormously wasteful excesses of the reckless “spiv”culture in business and banking, the surrender ofindustrial capacity (with devastating effects onworking class communities) and a return tocommodity exports rather than the anticipated“smart” economy, a ^lat-lining in the economiccircumstances of the middle class, disempowerment

of citizens as state functions were outsourced orprivatised to commercial agencies whose costs andaccountabilitywereveiled“commercialincon^idence”,and above all the diminution of the “fair go” asinequalityincreasedinexorably.

Arguably,whatneedstoberecalledisthatitendedintears, in the recessionwithwhich the decade ended.This,wearenowtold,^inallycleaneduptheexcesses,moppedupinef^icienciesandsetusupforprosperityto come. But that, says Bongiorno, is “the view fromthe summit rather than the suburbs, where therecessionwouldexactapitiabletoll”.Indeed,thestoryofheroicreformreliesonaforgetfulnessofthe1980s:it could not be told “until the anger, shock anddisappointment that so many people felt about the1980s—andespecially thecrashwithwhich itended—haddissipated”.AndsoBongiornoremindsusoftheessential contribution of contemporary history: tochallenge the “forgetfulness” shrouding even therecent past and to reintroduce the nuance needed ifwe are properly to understand the view propagatedfrom“thesummit”.

In this demonstration of his range, ability tosynthesisediversestrandsandtoweaveacompellingandaccessiblestory,FrankBongiornoemergesasoneof our best popular historians. This is a book thatdeservesandwill likelyachieveawidereadership. Ithasbeen(unlikesomeacademicmonographs)editedwithprecisionandattractivelypresented:ahandsomeaddition to Black Inc.’s increasingly impressive list.Traditional academic publishers (and UniversitycompilersofA-listpublishers)takenote.

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AinsleySymons

The Brumby government in 2008 instituted a liquor“lockout” initiative to curb alcohol related crime inMelbourne. For a trial period alcohol could not beservedandnewcustomerscouldnotbeadmittedafter2:00 am at certain establishments serving liquor. Inother words they were locked out. The laws wereaimedatMelbourne’snightclubprecinctaroundKingStreet, but also applied in several inner-citymunicipalities.The trialwasdiscontinuedafter threemonths.NewYorkCityhadslightlylaterclosingtimesatthetimeoftheVictorianexperiment,andtheideaofearly morning exclusion probably originated there.NewSouthWaleshasadoptedsimilarlockoutlawstothose trialled inVictoria, and these are currently thesubject of demonstrations by both nightclub patronsand,notsurprisingly,criticismbyVictorian-bornNewSouthWaleslibertarianSenatorDavidLeyonhjelm.

Thetermlockoutwasnotusedpreviouslybutappliedin effect inVictoria formuchof the time since1916,until sale of alcohol was progressively liberalised in1966andafterwards.DuringtheFirstWorldWarthe

LiquorLawsandAlcoholControlinVictoria

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saleof liquor inhotelswasprohibitedafter6:00pm,and this led to the so-called “six o’clock swill” whendrinkershada^ifteen minuteperiodafterwhichpre-purchased alcohol could be consumed in licensedpremises. Victorianalcohol controlhistoryhasbeenlargely one of attempts at total prohibition, alwaysdoomed to failure, and restrictions on hotel openinghours.

Inthe1930s,referendumswereheldtobanthesaleofliquor,andsomemunicipalitiessupportedaban.Thehighest prohibition votewas achieved in 1930. Totalprohibition required state-wide approval, and whilesomechurchescampaignedforthismajorityapprovalwasneverachieved,althoughabout47per-centstate-widevotedforprohibition.TheLiquorTradesDefenceUnion, formed to oppose prohibition, was successfulin achieving that result. In the so-called “dry areas”thatvotedagainstliquorareferendumisstillrequiredbefore restaurants and clubs can sell liquor, eventoday. Local option polls are conducted by theVictorianElectoralCommission,andsinceabout2000almost all referendums have been carried. Parts ofCamberwell and Box Hill are presently “dry” areas.Changing socia l at t i tudes towards a lcoholconsumption have been responsible for the recentsuccessof liquor referendumsand somemembersofthe conservative Boroondara Council have evenadvocatedthattheyshouldbeabandoned.

JohnBrack,TheBar,1954(NationalGalleryofVictoria).

The Victorian government under Liberal PremierHenryBolteheldareferendumin1956toextendhoteltrading hours from six o’clock to ten o’clock. Allpolitical parties supported the referendum, but didnot campaign and left the decision up to voterswithoutrecommendingaparticularoption.TheliquorindustryandtheLiquorTradesUnionfavouredaYESvote.TheTemperancemovement,thenstrongandledby Baptist Minister, John Robertson McCue, togetherwith Church of Christ Ministers, Will Clay, andW.W.(Dick) Saunders, campaigned for the NO case. TheCatholic Church was neutral, as were most AnglicanMinisters. The Methodist Church, like the BaptistChurchandtheChurchofChrist,wasstronglyagainstextension of bar trading hours. The referendumwasunsuccessful,with about 60 per cent favouring aNO

result.Thiswassurprising,asopinionpollsbeforethereferendum were suggesting that ten o’clock closingwouldbesuccessful.

It was the Bolte government, with support from theALP, that allowed the end of six o’clock closing inFebruary 1966. Bolte called for a Royal Commissionled by Judge Philip Phillips on the sale of liquor inVictoria. Phillips recommended ten o’clock closing.The presence of temperance advocates previously intheLiberalPartywouldprobablyhavepreventedanychangeoftradinghourswithoutareferendum,butin1965thesememberswerenowfewandwerenotanobstacle.TheLiberalPartydidnothaveamajority inthe Legislative Council and needed support from theALP.In1965theVictorianALPConferencechangeditspreviouspolicyofnochanges in liquortradinghourswithoutareferendum,despiteopposition fromBarryJones,author,talkbackradiopioneerandMinisterforScienceintheHawkegovernment.Teno’clockclosingwas introduced by legislationwithout a referendum.Victoriawasthesecondlaststatetoabolishsixo’clockclosing. South Australia under the Dunstangovernmentadoptedteno’clockclosingthefollowingyearin1967.

Liquorisnolongerthepoliticalissuethatitoncewas.Present-daycampaigning for lockout lawswillnotbedone for reasons of religion and so-called morality,with certain churches implacably opposed byemployersandemployeesintheliquortrades.Rather,itwillbedoneforpoliticalexpediency,aspartofsomecampaign promoting law and order, often a votewinnerfortheconservativesideofpolitics.

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LyleAllan

FrankScully (1920-2015)was the lastparliamentarysurvivor of the 1955 Australian Labor Party (ALP)Split, when 26 ALP parliamentarians left the party.There were 25 from Victoria, 12 in the LegislativeAssembly, 6 in the Legislative Council and 7 in thefederal House of Representatives. The non-Victorianwas Senator George Cole from Tasmania, a formerfootball champion from that state. The party wasoriginally the Australian Labor Party (anti-Communist), usually referred to in themedia as theBarry-Coleman Party after its two originalparliamentary leaders. The name Democratic LaborParty(DLP)wasadoptedin1956.

After the 1955 Legislative Assembly elections onlyFrankScullyheldhisseatofRichmond.ScullyledtheDLP until 1958, when he lost his seat. The DLPremained unrepresented in the Victorian Parliamentuntil the election of Peter Kavanagh to the upperhouse in 2006. Kavanagh held his seat for only oneterm. Rachel Carling Jenkins was elected as a DLPupperhousememberin2014.

TheLastoftheOriginalDLPParliamentarians

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Scully worked in the railways before enteringparliament, where he was a supporter of theIndustrialGroups, formedto ^ightCommunists in thetradeunionswith thesupportofB.A.Santamaria.Hewas active in both theMovement (now the NationalCivicCouncil)aswellastheDLP.PeterWestmore,thesuccessortoB.A.Santamaria,claimedinNewsWeeklythat but for The Split, Scully would have been amember of a Labor Cabinet and possibly Premier. InaninterviewinQuadrantRobertMurrayclaimedthatScullywasprobablytheonlyLaborparliamentariantohavebeenamemberoftheMovement.

After leaving parliament Scully became a newsagent,^irst at Yea and then at Sandringham. He made fewpublicpolitical statements afterhe leftparliament.Aeulogy was given in the Victorian Parliament byPremier Daniel Andrews in the Legislative Assemblyand Rachel Carling-Jenkins (DLP) in the LegislativeCouncil.

Sources:PeterWestmore, “RIPFrankScully, last survivorofthe Labor Split,” News Weekly, 29 August 2015, 4; RobertMurray, “An Activist in the Movement. An Interview withFrankScully,”Quadrant,January-February2007,32-38..

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LyleAllan

Colin Cleary (1937-2015), a retired academic, isprobably one of the greatest historians of the labourmovement in rural Victoria. Jacinta Allan, Victoria’sMinisterforTransportandLaborMemberforBendigoEast in the Legislative Assembly, said of his bookBendigo Labor, The Maintenance of Traditions in aRegionalCity,inhereulogydeliveredatColin’sfuneral,thatitwasalandmarkpublication.Neverbeforehadahistory of the Labor Party been written from theperspectiveofaregionalcentrelikeBendigo.

Jacinta firstmet Colinwhen bothwere studying for aBachelor of Arts (Honours) at La Trobe University,Bendigo,in1993.ColinworkedtirelesslyfortheLaborcause,delveddeepintothelifeofthepartylocallyandinterviewed many dozens of people. Former FederalandStateMemberforBendigo,DavidKennedy,saidintheforwardheauthoredforthebook:

“Alocalstudylikethisgivestherecognitionthatisdueto the people and the forces that have built up andsustained the Labor Party over the decades, helpedenergiseandenthuseitsmembers,survivethestressesof conflicts and the disappointments of defeat andachieve an impressive record of victories. The historypresentsLaborpeoplewiththeirheritage.”

Colin’s book on Bendigo Labor was launched to apackedaudienceby laterPremier JohnBrumbyat theBendigoTradesHallin1999,justsixmonthsbeforethehistoricLaborvictory inthatyear.SteveBracks,Labor

Premier after the 1999 election win, invited Colin towriteacompanionvolume,BallaratLabor,FromMinerHesitancy to Golden Age. This book was published in2007andsponsoredbytheAustralianWorkersUnion.

Colin also wrote a history of Carwarp, a town in theMallee,publishedin2009.Colinhadintendedtowriteahistory of Bendigo Labor post 1999, but ill healthprevented its completion. It is tobehoped that in thefutureanotherhistorianmaycompletethiswork.

Jacinta’sclosingwordsinhereulogypayagreattributetoColin’scharacter.Shesaid:

“Colinwasalwaysencouragingofme–inthatwaygoodeducators are. He lent personal support as I heldvarious positions within the local ALP branch, theFederalElectorateAssembly, and throughpreselectionandsubsequentelectiontotheseatofBendigoEast.Hissupportandadvice,includingattimeswherehefelttheGovernmentcoulddobetter,particularlyintheareaofeducation, was always considered, always respectfuland always deeply rooted in his convictions. ColinbelievedintheLaborPartyasthemovementtoachieveabetter,strongerandfairersociety.Inreturnhegaveusthe tremendous gift of his tireless work in compilingthehistoryoftheLaborPartyinBendigoandBallarat.”

PeterNelsonandColinCleary.BendigoAdvertiser,2013.

The author thanksMinister for Transport Hon. Jacinta Allanand ASSLH Melbourne Branch Life Member Carolyn AllanSmartofTasmaniaforassistanceinwritingthisarticle.

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BrianSmiddy

It iswith deep regretwe report on the death of DickGrayon23 January2016, at theageof62years.DickwasaformerVictorianAssistantStateSecretaryoftheETU.LateronhewenttoworkfortheAWU,becomingPresidentofthatunion.

He is grieved by many and is unforgettable as aferocious advocate for working people. Heartfeltcondolencestohisfamily.

ColinCleary

DeathofRichard(Dick)Gray

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SusanneProvisVictorianTradeUnionChoir

TheBrunswickMusic Festivalwill host the 11th andpossibly lastperformanceof this showonSunday20March at 5.30pm at the Mechanics Institute, 270Sydney Road Brunswick. I’ll be there! is an inspiringmusictheatreshowthatseamlesslyblendssongsandstories of solidarity, power and hope. Itwas created,producedandperformedbytheVictorianTradeUnionChoirincollaborationwithawardwinningplaywrightRebecca Lister and choir musical director MichaelRoper.ClancyFraser,ayoung theatredirectorandallrounder ^indingherway in theartsscene,willdirectthisperformance.

The cabaret style showweaves 16 songs into storiesfrom choir members about their working lives andexperiences as union members and communityactivists. This places the songs in a human contextwhich puts more focus on the words, drawing theconnectiondirectlybetweenthemeaningofthewordsandtheperson’slife.

Membersof theVictoriaTradeUnionChoir.PhotographbyPatrickWalshAxeman.

Melbourne Labour History was one of the majorsponsorsoftheinitialdevelopmentoftheshow.Ifyouhaven’t seen I’ll Be There! yet, book your tickets andput the date in your diary – it’s probably your lastchance to see this inspiring, moving and funnyperformancewithgreatsinging.

Viewtheclip:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeGcG5obhiU

Hearsomesongs:https://soundcloud.com/michael-roper-1/sets/victorian-trade-union-choirhttps://soundcloud.com/michael-roper-1/sets/victorian-trade-union-choir

Booktickets:https://brunswickmusicfestival.tickets.red61.com/listprices.php?performanceId=2136%3A246

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PeterLove

Recorder has visited the People’s HistoryMuseum inManchester and the People’s Story Museum inEdinburghwhich both explore theworking lives andpolitical struggles of the common people. TheWorkers’ Museum in Copenhagen is more explicitlyconcerned with the working class, at home, at workandintheirpoliticalandindustrialactivism,asbefitsan old trades hall which operatedmuch as ours hassincethe1850s.

TheWorkers’BuildingwhichhousestheMuseumwasbuilt on the site of thedemolishedold townwalls in1879. Until the early 1980s it was the centre of theDanishTradeUnionmovement.Manyunionshadtheiroffices and conference rooms in the building. Forlarger meetings and more formal occasions, theAssembly Hall was themovement’s preferred venue.Afterapermanentstagewas installed in1927 itwasthe venue for so-called “Red Reviews” and otherworking class/socialist entertainment. The SocialDemocratic Party, founded in 1871, also had officesthere. Although relations between trade unions andassociatedpoliticalpartiesarenotalwaysascongenialas all would want, the alliance was remarkablyproductiveforalongtime,buildingthefoundationsofthe welfare state. For over 100 years the Workers’BuildingwasasignificantsiteinthepoliticaleconomyofDenmark.

TheWorker’sMuseum.

AsinourowncaseinMelbourne,theunionsandpartysteadilyoutgrewthebuildinganditbegantodecline.In1982theWorkers’Museumtookoverthebuildingand it was formally listed as an historic site a yearlater. By the mid-1980s much of the necessaryrestorationworkwascomplete.Theoldunionofficesandconferenceroomswereconvertedintoexhibitionareas, housing both permanent and temporaryexhibits.TheSorensenfamilyflatof1915isafaithfulrecreation of working class domesticity and its

I’llbethere!Songsandstoriesofsolidarity TheWorkers’MuseumCopenhagen

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privations. The exhibition on living conditions in the1950s forworkingpeople is sharply evocative of thesocial changes emerging in the post-war period,especially thegrowing influenceofAmericanculture.The survey of industrial work from the mid-nineteenthcenturyperiodofearlyindustrialisationtothepresenthasaseriesofdisplaysthatcharttheshiftinmechanisation,technologyandprofoundchangestothelabourprocess.

ThemostarrestingofthepermanentexhibitionsistheAssembly Hall, or the Banqueting Hall as it issometimes called. When the Museum took over thebuildingtheHallwasthefirsttoberescued.Likeourown Melbourne Trades Hall, it has suffered mostinappropriate “modernisation” combined withunderlying neglect of its essential qualities. Overseveralyearsintheearlytomid-1980sitwasrestoredtoitsoriginal1913state.Itisnowapopularplaceforconferences, parties and public gatherings. Theexcellent acoustics also make it very suitable forchambermusicconcertsandtheatricalproductions.Itistrulyalivingmuseuminhowitisnowused.

AssemblyHall,Workers’Museum.

In 2004 the Workers’ Museum merged with theLabour Movement Library and Archives, which hadbeen established in 1909. They contain the majorholdings of archival material on the Danish labourmovement and left politics. It includes some 2,500organisational and275personal collections. There isanextensivecollectionofbooksandperiodicalsontheDanish and international labour movements. Thereare about 22,000 photographs available on theirdatabase,someofwhichcanbepurchasedonline.Thepostercollectioncoverstheperiodfromaround1900to thepresent.Therearemore thana thousand flagsand banners in the collection. Facsimiles of some

items can be bought in the Museum’s well-stockedshop.

AgoodplacetofinishavisittotheWorkers’Museumisthebasementcaféandpubwhichservestraditionalfood and drink in a dining area restored to its 1892appearance. If you intend tohave lunch there,wedonotadvisehavingmorningteabeforeyourvisit.

TheWorkers’MuseuminCopenhagenisanexemplarycaseofhowaheritagebuildingcanbebroughtbacktolifeafterlamentableneglecttoservemuseum,archivalandresearchpurposesinaninformativeandengagingway.

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Several events are taking place in Melbourne tocommemorate the 1916Uprising. Sponsored by theState Library of Victoria and the University ofMelbourne,anacademicconference,exhibition,paneldiscussion,anddocumentaryscreeningwilltakeplaceinAprilthisyear.

Details on the conference (held at the University ofMelbourne, 7-8 April) can be found at the website(http://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/1916-australasian-perspectives/).Conference registrationis$60forthetwodaysandincludesmorningandafternoontea,andlunchforbothdays.

The Irish Rising: “A terrible beauty is born” is thenamegiventotheexhibitionwhichisbeingheldintheCowanGallery, State LibraryofVictoria. It runs from17March2016–31July2016.Entryisfree.

Thepaneldiscussionwill takeplaceon9April2016,2:00pm–3:15pm.ChairedbyMaxineMcKew,“Sixdaysthat shook an empire: the centenary of the IrishRising”, the panel is in the Village RoadshowTheatrette.Registeronline:https://register.eventarc.com/32829/six-days-that-shook-an-empire-the-centenary-of-the-ir ish-rising-1916-saturday-9-april

A documentary screening of The Irish Rising thatshookAustralia takesplaceafter thepaneldiscussion(3:30pm–4:15pm). Register through the paneldiscussionlinkabove.

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ApplicationsarenowopenfortwoResearchFellowships(to Victorian residents) at the University ofMelbourneArchives. Each fellowship will be awarded $15,000.Applications close on Friday 13 May 2016. DetailsavailablefromtheArchiveswebsite:http://archives.unimelb.edu.au/resources/williamson-foundation-fellowship

CommemoratingIreland’s1916EasterRising

HughWilliamsonFoundationResearchFellowships

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HumphreyMcQueen

Ho!Ho!Ho-chiMinh!Wewillfightandwewillwin!

Atsomeriskoffallingintoanecdotage,I’dliketoinsertafewpoliticalthoughtsaboutthetourbythewarcriminalKy in January1967duringwhich Ihad thepleasureofbeingpartofprotestsinthefourcitieshepolluted.

After returning to Brisbane for the school holidays inDecember, I helped anti-war activists bring outthousandsofcopiesofafour-pagenewssheetnobiggerthanonecouldcarryon the footpathsunder theLaborgovernment’s social-fascist laws, which Bjelke-Peterseninheritedwhenheflukedthepremiershipafewmonthslater. If thepageswere small, the typefaceon the frontwasaslargeastheprinterpossessedtoproclaimnothingbut“STOPKY”.

BeforetheHitler-lovergottomyhometownIhadleftforCanberra, which was his first stop. The anti-warcommittee there had decided that posters were notgoingtobeofmuchusesincethewalloperswouldnotletusgetcloseenoughforhimeventoseethem.Whathecouldnotmiss,andwhatwouldgetrightuphisnostrils,wereNLFflags.Sotheflagsweresewn.Whenwejoinedthe protest, instead of being assaulted byNSW cops, itwasTomUrenwhotriedtotearthemdown.

Ky’s next stop was Sydney to be met by the Saturdaymorning rally at Kirribilli under the northern pylons. Ibrought the Canberra flags but the idea had caught onandmorewerebeingturnedout.Theyweresupposedtoplay a part in an action so stupid that I cannot believethatweevercameupwithit.HallGreenlandandIagreedthatoncewegottoKirribilliHousewewouldthrowourflagsover thewall andgoover after them.Fortunately,thepoliceblockedoffthenarrowstreetatthebottomofasteepdipatleastakilometrefromourrendezvouswithfracturedskulls.Thethousandswhohadmarchedfromtherallycouldneithergoforwardnorhomeasthepoliceinspector and Uren, from the high side of the dividedroad,wereurgingustodothroughapolicemegaphone.Tocallonthemassestoholdtheirplace,HallandIranbacktowardsthestartofthesplitinthestreet.Meanwhile, Bob Gould was clawing his way up thesandstone dividing wall screeching “I want to speak! Iwant to speak!”. Irrespective of the crowd’s feelingstowardBob,theyweremesmerised.Surelyhemustfall.Butno,wellbeforeHallandIcamepantingup,Bobhadcrookedhisarmaroundawhiteguard-railpost,keepingup his “I want to Speak!”, doing better impressions of“Cocky”CalwellthanArthurwascapable.SoamazedwasthepoliceofficerthathehandedBobthemegaphoneashe pulled himself to safety. Waving the flags, wedoubtlessdenouncedallandsundry,CalwellandtheNLFexcepted.AfterKyleftGovernmentHouse,wewatcheda

ManlyferrymakingitswaytoCircularQuaywithseveralhundred coppers on board – the reception committeeinside the grounds of Kirribili from whom Providencehaddeliveredus.

Entrustedwith the flags thatnight, I took theSouthernAuroraforMelbournetoresumeteaching.Moreflagshadbeenmadethere.Whenweraisedthem,theSecretaryofthe Council for International Cooperation andDisarmament(CICD),SamGoldbloom,cameovertosayhowgladhewastoseemebackintownandhowmuchhe supported our support for the NLF, but Arthur hadasked him to request us not to spoil the protest bydisplayingthem.Noneofuswasofamindtotakeordersfrom the revisionists – doubly so with the memory ofArthur’swelcome thedaybefore.AsGoldbloommovedaway, Arthur was making his way over to thank us,shaking my right hand while the left one held theoffendingsymbolofanti-imperialismsodeartohim.

Asamusingassomeofthesedetailsremain,theyarebutfrostonthegroundcomparedwiththepoliticalcontextof1966to1968,acourseofeventsnowsodistortedthatit is widely believed that it was Whitlam and notMcMahonwhowithdrewthetroops, to leaveonly fortyadvisersbythe1972elections.

ProtestingagainstKy’svisittoAustralia.NAA,imageno.A1200,L60152

Calwell’s “last hurrah” had been to lead the ALP toelectoral disaster at the 1966 poll by holding to aprincipledandtotaloppositiontoconscription,homeorabroad,andtowhathecalled“thatfilthylittleAsianwar”.Helping him towards defeat was the treachery of hisdeputy, Whitlam, who undermined his anti-Vietnamstanceateveryopportunitytopositionhimselfasleaderoftheloyalopposition–justashehaddonein1966bywelcomingtheIndonesianmassacres,foreshadowinghisbastardrytowardstheslaughteroftheEastTimorese.ThefailureoftheelectoratetofulfillCalwell’sfaithbasedontheanti-conscriptionvotesof1916and1917setmedownthetrackofwritingANewBritannia,subtitledAnargument concerning the social origins of Australianradicalismandnationalism.

Kyand1967

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In1966,a trioofushadputout leaflets calling for theanti-war movement to back the NLF. Next year, theMonash Labor Club became the target of speciallegislationtostopitaidingtheenemy.Bythen,Whitlamhad got the ALP National Conference to endorse thedisgrace of staying in Vietnam to help our great andpowerful friend extricate itself from an unfortunatemistake. After ten years in the ALP, I did not need torenewmymembership. Inthosestrangetimes, I joinedother revolutionaries in handing out how-to-vote cardsfortheLiberalReformcandidateintheCorioby-election.One bright spot came when Ramparts exposed CIAfunding ofQuadrant. In themood of despair followingCalwell’s defeat, a blow-in like me could becomeSecretaryoftheVietnamDayCommittee,organisingtheJuly4protestattheU.S.ConsulateonStKildaRd,whichledtoanotherrun-inwithGoldbloom.

Protestors at a later “July 4” demonstration. Taken from the ASIOsurveillancefilmoftheday.Availableathttps://vimeo.com/91823632

Knowingeverytrickinthebook,Samhadalreadyinvitedme onto the CICD executive where the July monthlymeeting provided a memorable moment. We met twodays into the Six DayWar,which no one in this peaceorganisationmentioned.Nextmonth,theyreturnedwiththeircraftedmotionsappeasingeithertheSovietlineortheZionistswhogavetheCICDmostofitsfunding.

Soanti-warworklimpedalonguntilthatmorning,ayearafter Ky’s visit, whenwe turned on our radios to hearthatVCflagswereflyingovertheU.S.EmbassyinSaigon.LBJresigned.EvenWhitlamhadtotacktothewindfromthe East. That was just the start: Paris … Shanghai …Prague…Chicago…thoughnotuntilMay1975couldwecelebrate the success ofwhat our hope had been from1966:“Drivethemurderingswineintothesea!”

Onemorething.Letnobodyhereboastthatwestoppedthe war against the peoples of Indo-China. We did nosuch thing. That victory was won by the peoplesthemselves, killing the invaders and their runningdogsandbeingmassacredattheirhands.

Onesideright!Onesidewrong!VictorytotheVietCong!

[SeealsoPhillipDeery’sarticleinLabourHistory,“‘LockupHolt,ThrowawayKy’:TheVisittoAustraliaofPrimeMinisterKy,1967”,no.109,November2015.]

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TeresaPitt

Thursday 19 November 2015 marked the 100thanniversaryof the judicial executionof JoeHill – thefamous Swedish-American labour activist andsongwriter– inSaltLakeCity,Utah.Fifty-oddpeoplegatheredat theVictorianTradesHall that evening tocommemorate theeventwith speeches, a songanda^ilmscreeningtocelebrateJoeHill’slastinglegacy.

Until about four years ago I had barely heard of JoeHill, a.k.a. Joseph Hillström, born Joel EmmanuelHägglund in Sweden in 1879. Then a friend ofmine(thanks, Evelyn!) lent me a very poor-quality DVD,blurry and with terrible sound quality, that wasprobablyabootlegcopytapedonVHSfromalong-agotelevisionscreeningandthentransferredtoDVD.ShetoldmeIjusthadtowatchit.

It was the acclaimed bio-pic Joe Hill, by the notedSwedish director Bo Widerberg (Elvira Madigan).Releasedin1971, itwontheJuryPrizeattheCannesFilm Festival that same year, andwas nominated forthe Palme d’Or. It was also nominated for the UNAward at the BAFTA Awards 1972. I watched it andwasstunned.

Asanamateur^ilmbuff(IrunaFilmStudiesclassasavolunteertutorwithYarraCityU3A)Iwaskeentogetholdofadecent-qualityDVDofthe^ilmtoaddtomypersonal DVD library. So I started searching. I soonrealised that none of my usual internet sources forDVDshadacopyofthe^ilmforsale.SoIwenttotheIMDbpage for the ^ilmand foundanumberof postsfrom Joe Hill fans around the world who were alsosearching for a copy. I added a post of my own,beggingforinformation.IalsoaddedapostononeoftheseveralJoeHillwebsites.

In 2013 I received an email from the LiverpoolSocialist Choir (UK), telling me that they wereplanning a big celebration for the centenary of JoeHill’sexecutionin2015,andenquiringifIhadhadanylucktrackingdowntheDVD.Theansweratthattimewasno,butthisstartedmethinking…

Earlyin2014,someoneinSwedenemailedmetosaythatTomasEhrnborg,anAudiovisualMediaproducerfrom the National Library of Sweden, was in theprocessofreassemblinganddigitallyremasteringthelong-lost ^ilm, and that it would be available in timefortheNovember2015centenary.

It is interesting to speculate on why this incrediblyimportant , i f somewhat controversial , ^ i lmdisappearedfromthefaceoftheearthforfortyyears.Iguessradical,anti-establishment^ilmslikethisneedto be kept from the viewing public. Tomas Ehrnborgtoldme that they had to go down into the vaults of

CelebratingJoeHill

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ColumbiaPictures,wheretheoldreelswerescatteredandburiedamongthedustanddebris,andthatittookweeks to retrieve them all. We can be grateful, Isuppose , that they weren’ t destroyed . Socongratulations and thanks must go to the NationalLibraryofSwedenforbringingitbacktolight.

The centenary celebration included a wonderfulperformanceof “IDreamedISawJoeHillLastNight”by theVictorianTradeUnionChoir,anda thoroughlyrousingspeechbyPhilCleary,whospokeof JoeHill’slegacy, theenduring importanceofhissongs,andthelessons he has to teach us about the ideals ofinternationalism and universalism in the labourmovement.Itwasveryhearteningtoseethat,besidestheusualoldlefties,therewereanumberofyoungerpeople in attendance, who were so interested inhearing the Joe Hill story. Sincere thanks to theMelbourneASSLH for theverygeneroussubsidy thatenabledthiseventtotakeplace.

PS:thefamousUShorrorwriterStephenKingnamedhissonJosephHillstromKinginhonourofJoeHill.

SOURCESJoeHill(sometimesmistakenlycalledTheBalladofJoeHill),1971bio-pic directed by Bo Widerberg. Restored and digitally re-masteredin2015bytheNationalLibraryofSweden.EnquiriesretheDVDtoTomasEhrnborg,AudiovisualMediaProducer,NationalLibraryofSweden,attomas.ehrnborg@kb.seJoeHill,the2000PBSdocumentary,producedbytheUniversityofUtah. Can be viewed at http://www.kued.org/whatson/kued-local-productions/joe-hillJoeHill, the 2012 Swedish documentarywith English subtitlesA^ilm by Anders Wesslén and Karl Larsson. Music by JoakimWestlund,AndersÅborg,TheGiant'sDreamandPerErikWesslén.Can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oi4zt1rMsEAnextremelycritical1971reviewoftheBoWiderberg^ilmcanbefound at http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1971/12/16/joe-hill-pbiography-you-say-noonly/http://www.joehill.orgGibbsSmith,JoeHill(Utah:UniversityofUtahPress,1969).

Franklin Rosemont. Joe Hill: The IWW & The Making Of ARevolutionary Working Class Counterculture (Chicago: Charles H.KerrPublishingCompany,2002).WilliamM. Adler,TheManWhoNever Died: The Life, Times, andLegacyofJoeHill(Bloomsbury:AmericanLaborIcon,2011).

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Chris White has reviewed two books that will be ofinteresttoRecorderreaders.DaniCooper’sLivelihoodsandLiberationStruggles:30yearsofAustralianworkersolidarity For Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, which usesinterviewstotelltheremarkablestoryofAPHEDAandits achievements over the last thirty years;andGrahamF. Smith’sSpeakUp,ReachOut. A Life toReckon With (Wake^ield Press). Graham, a formermember of the South Australian Communist Partywas,Whitewrites,“anoptimisticeducatorandteacherunion activist.” We encourage you to read bothreviewsonChris’swebsite,chriswhiteonline.org

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PaulRodan

Paul Strangio, Paul t’Hart and JamesWalter, Settling the Office: TheAustralian Prime Ministership fromFederation to Reconstruction (TheM i e gunyah P re s s , Me l bou rneUniversity Press, Melbourne 2016),312pp, $49.99 Hardback, $29.99Ebook.

Its authors describe this book as “thefirst comprehensive history of the Australian primeministership”. They seek to go beyond the substantialbiographies and attendant focus on individuals toaddress the “sequential development of the role”.Naturally, they cannot do this without examining theperformanceofprimeministersanda certainamountofbiography isunavoidable in identifying the featureswhichstructuredthedevelopingoffice.

Some clarification of nomenclature is useful. The“office” being examined is not the bureaucraticdepartment (the latter-day Prime Minister andCabinet), but the primeministership as an essentiallypolitical office and the development of its power andauthority.Oneoftheseveral“littleknownfacts” inthebook is the revelation that the original version of a(bureaucratic) Department of Prime Minister waslocated in theExternalAffairsDepartment.Aseparatedepartmentwouldcommenceoperationin1911.

Two key points emerge in the opening decade offederation. The first is the colonial parliamentarybackgroundofmanyof themain actors, versed in theWestminstersystemandcapableofaswifttransitiontothe national stage. The second is the absence of a

Twobooksofinterest

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disciplined political party contest, so that personalitybecameacriticalissueinthestructureofalliancesandconsequential emergence of prime ministers. Theauthors make the important point that in the firstdecade,primeministersusuallycameandwentonthebasis of fluid parliamentary numbers: the voters asking-makers would come soon enough as the partysystem solidified, but even as late as 1941, thegovernment could change on the floor of parliament,without any role for the electorate, a situation whichwould not then reappear as even a remote possibilityforanotherseventyyearswiththehungparliamentof2010-2013.

At one level, the emergence of Labor as the firstdisciplined party should have hastened thedevelopment of a strong primeministerial office. But,the authors emphasise the countervailing factors ofcaucus and the extra-parliamentary machinery,constituting a constant check on any leader at oddswith the party’s “democratic collectivism” (71).WhileFisherhadnoproblemswith this, the samecouldnotbe said of his successor. Themegalomaniacal Hugheswould ultimately split the ALP and also inflicteddamage on the conservatives who subsequentlyembraced him. Hughes, “bloated by war time powerand capricious by nature” (120) found that hisidiosyncraticversionofprimeministerialofficedidnotsurvive him. He created a Labor mistrust of the veryconcept of leadership which would bedevil his ALPsuccessorsandwouldbe lamentedbyGoughWhitlamdecadeslater.

From left Andrew Fisher, Billy Hughes, Joseph Cook, 1914.Photographerunknown.

The conservative Bruce introduced cabinet processeswhichwouldbe largely recognisable tous today,withformalagendasandrulesforcabinetdeliberation,alongwith a curious tool for preserving cabinet solidarity –ministers could absent themselves if a particular itemmightresultinadecisiontheycouldnotsupport(246).This is a useful illustration of the extent towhich theconservatives trailed Labor in the development of theparty discipline which is, effectively, the necessarypartnerofcabinetdiscipline.

ThehaplessJimScullinwasnotforlongabletorelyonany discipline, cabinet or caucus, as the ALP enduredacrimonious differences over conflicting economicpolicies to deal with the Depression. A second Laborsplit was the most obvious consequence, but the

authors draw attention to the ad-hoc and incompletecabinet record-keepingwhich also ensued. Therewaspartial improvementunderLyons,but theauthorsseehim as more of an amiable vote-winner than adeveloperoftheprimeministerialoffice.Bythestartofthe 1940s, the conservatives (under Menzies Mark I)wereincreasinglyindisarray.

The Curtin/Chifley years saw the most importantdevelopmentoftheprimeministerialofficeinthehalf-century covered by this book. They “would use partymechanisms to influence outcomes, including as ameans of persuading cabinet” (247). Theircomplementary personalities allowed them to winmostofthebattlestheyhadtowageandthestructuresand systems they put in place were rational andeffective.Theiruseofexternalexpertise(thinkNuggetCoombsetal)markedanimportantpointofdeparture,and both would prove adept in a now indispensablecomponent of prime ministerial authority – effectivecommunication with the voting public. Mostimportantly,CurtinandChifleyusedthewarpowerstoenhance thepowerof the commonwealthvis-à-vis thestates, a trend which was to prove irreversible. Still,there were limits, as Chifley’s over-reach on banknationalisationwastodemonstrate.

For me, appreciation of the section on Curtin andChifley was enhanced by a parallel reading of StuartMacintyre’s splendid Australia’s Boldest Experiment:WarandReconstructioninthe1940s.

The three authors are distinguished scholars ofAustralian political history and are to be commendedfor this important contribution; the second volume(covering the post-1949 period) is awaited withinterest.IfIhaveonegripewiththisexcellentbook,itisthe title – “Settling theOffice” –which sounds all toomuch like a section of an Ikea catalogue. Clearly,someone in the imagination department at MUP wasouttolunch.

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JohnTully

James Green, The Devil Is Here inTheseHills:WestVirginia’sCoalMinersand Their Battle for Freedom (NewYork: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2015).440pp.HardbackUS$28.00

Unionactivistsandscholarsoflabourhistorywill^indthisbookhardtoputdown. James Green tells the story ofWestVirginia’scoalminersina^inely

pacednarrative,withtheknackofestablishingavividsense of time and place. While Green as a trainedhistorian is rigorous in his use of sources, he hasneverthelessfollowedtheadviceofhisfriendHowardZinn “to take chances and to always write for the

TheDevilIsHereinTheseHills

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public”. Indeed, this story is too important to remainthepreserveofscholarsalone.AmericansreveretheirConstitution and Bill of Rights, but these were longdenied to West Virginia miners, and even today the^ight goes on, as Green mentions at the end of hisbook.

Portions of theminers’ struggle are reasonablywell-known. Robert Shogan, for instance, has told theincredible story of the 1921 miners’ uprising in hisbook The Battle of Blair Mountain and John Sayle’sacclaimed ^ilm Matewan, which was screened inAustralian cinemas in the 1980s, gave the ^lavor ofthosegrimtimes. JamesGreen,however,hasgivenusan overview of the United Mine Workers’ Union’sbattlesinthestatefromtheunion’sinceptionin1890to its great breakthrough in 1933, when the UMWUtookadvantageofthepassageofSection7(a)ofFDR’sNational Industrial Recovery Act to organisemost ofthestate’smineworkers.

MaryHarris“Mother”Jones.Photographerunknown.

Larger-than-lifecharacterssuchastheunion’sbullishpresident, JohnL.Lewis,andthe legendaryorganiserMother Jones,paradethroughthebook’spages.Theyarejoinedbylesser-knownactivistslikeFrankKeeneyand FredMooney and supporters such as Sheriff SidHat^ield,whofamouslyshotitoutwithminecompany“gun thugs” atMatewanand triggeredoff the closestthingtoacivilwarsincethedefeatoftheConfederacy.Green also recreates the lives of the multitudes ofordinary miners, black, white and immigrant, andtheirfamilies.Allofthisissetagainstthebackdropofthe stark beauty of West Virginia’s toweringmountains, which brooded over the company-owned“camps”andmines.

Green’s portrayal of the sheer savagery of the classstruggleontheWestVirginiacoal^ieldswillcomeasashock to Australian readers. We recall the death ofNorman Brown on the northern NSW coal^ield in1929, but a colossal number of USminers lost theirlives in industrial battles. One reporter, for instance,“calculatedthat180unionmenwerekilledonpicketlines andmarcheswithin a thirty-month period thatbeganinJanuary1902”.

The daily lives of theminers and their familiesweregrindinglyhard.In1917-18,aminerwasaslikelyasaDoughboy todie on the job.Greenpaints vividwordpictures of the conditions in the camps: unpaved

streetsturnedintoquagmiresinwetweather,andcoaldust coating everything when the wind blew or themile-long coal trains thundered past the miners’shacks.

The West Virginia mine operators were ruthless.Green lets their actions and words speak forthemselves. One colliery owner, Justus Collins,lectured his staff to “never lose sight of the fact thatthesolepurposeoftheorganizationistomakemoneyfor their stockholders”. West Virginia boasted hugereserves of high-quality, bituminous coal, but cut-throat competition ensured that safety and a livingwageweresacri^icedtokeepdownproductioncosts.

For many Americans, West Virginia epitomised theruggedindividualismofthefoundingAmericanmyth;its tough “Scotch-Irish” hill farmers subsisting onslanting^ields,everjealousoftheirindependence.Thestate’smotto,MontaniSemperLiberi—“mountaineersare always free”—reinforced the stereotype. Manymountaineers,however,wereforcedoffthelandinthe1880s,whenspeculatorssnappedupthelandforcoalmining.All toooften, the farmersendedup toiling inthe“deepdarkmines”forout-of-statemineowners.

Atthecoreoftheminers’grievanceswasthefactthatsomuch of the landwas owned by the coal ownersthat miners had little choice but to live in companyhousing in company camps: 79 per cent in WestVirginia compared to 24 per cent in Ohio. Thetownships were seldom incorporated with localgovernment and almost every aspect of the miners’liveswerecontrolledbythemineowners.

Strikingworkers,WestVirginia.1922.Unknown.

Wageswere paid in part or in full in company scrip,redeemable at the company owned stores, for poorquality goods at in^lated prices. Independentstorekeepers were forbidden and scrip wasexchangeable only at prohibitive rates.Green tells usthatsomeoperatorsreliedontakingsfromthestorestotopupminingrevenueslostduringdownturns!

Unionactivitieswerestrictlyprohibited.Minersweresackedforreadingunionorsocialistnewspapersand

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strikers were evicted from their houses. Manycompaniesforcedtheiremployeestosign“yellowdog”individual contracts inwhich they swore to never tojoin the union.Worst of all, order in the campswaskeptbyprivatepolice,thehatedBaldwin-Feltsagents.The owners could also rely on corrupt of^icials,reactionarypoliticiansandjudgestodotheirbidding.Theminers’ story, Green tells us,was “above all, thestoryofapeople’s^ighttoexercisefreedomofspeechand freedom of association inworkplaceswhere therightsofpropertyownershadreignedsupreme”.Theydid push back the mine operators in 1933, when awaveofindustrialunionismspreadacrossthecountry.The owners were forced to adopt a union pay scaleandminesafetywasvastlyimproved.

West Virginia today is one of the poorest states inAmerica.TheUMWAstillhasto^ighthardtomaintainwage levels. There is a constant battle for safety. In2010, the Massey Corporation’s Upper Big BranchMineblewupwiththedeathsof29miners.Massey’sformerCEO,DonBlankenship,isnowontrial,indictedforconspiracy to impede federalminesafetyof^icers,making false statements, and fraud. Blankenship andothers like him have also caused environmentaldamage on a colossal scale by blasting the tops offentiremountains.

Conservativeswill dislikeGreen’s book, but theywill^ind itdif^icult to refutewhathe says.Hisheart is intheunion,buthisbookisarichhistory,notapolemicanditshouldwithstandthetestoftime.

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TheBrisbaneLabourHistoryAssociationwillrunthe2017 biennial Labour History Conference. TitledWorkers of the World, a call for papers will soon bereleasedon thebranch’swebsitehttp://asslh.org.au/branches/brisbane/The15thbiennial labourhistoryconference will be held at Emmanuel College at theUniversityofQueensland,Brisbane,23-25September2017.

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Pat Laughren’s 2007 doctorate can now bedownloadedfromtheinternet.PicturingPolitics:SomeIssuesintheDocumentaryRepresentationofAustralianPolitical and Social History (Grif^ith University,Brisbane), comprises awritten thesis aswell as fourdocumentary ^ilms:RedTed and theGreat depression(1994),TheLegendofFredPaterson (1996),TheFairGo:Winningthe1967Referendum(1999),andStoriesfrom theSplit: the Struggle for the Souls ofAustralianWorkers (2005). This is a remarkable collectiondeveloped over ^ifteen years. The ^ilms can bedownloaded or v iewed onl ine at ht tps ://www120.secure.grif^ith.edu.au/rch/items/0ff83685-d4e5-8996-057f-e6b1039a5165/1/

Formoreinformationonthecampaign,visittimorseajustice.com

****Inaddition to theEastTimorsolidarityprotestabove,there are a number of other important actions takingplace across Melbourne in the coming weeks. TheAsylum Seekers Resource Centre has launched its#RightThingToDo campaign to close the detentionfacilities on Manus Island and Nauru. Information onhow you can join the campaign is available from theASRCwebsitehttp://www.asrc.org.au/rightthingtodo/

****In recentweeks the Safe Schools Coalition has comeunder attack from conservatives within the LiberalParty. This organisation has helped countless schoolagechildrento feelvaluedandrespected,seehttp://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.aufortheirwork

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President:PeterLove<pjlove@me.com>Secretary:BrianSmiddy<tel:94355145>

Treasurer:PhillipDeery<phillip.deery@vu.edu.au>Website:hep://www.asslh.org.au/branches/melbourne

Facebook:heps://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryMelbourneInstagram:instagram.com/labourhistorymelbourne

Recorderispublishedthree^mesayear.Theopinionsofthecontributorsaretheirownandnotnecessarilythoseoftheeditororexecu^veoftheASSLH,MelbourneBranch.Sendallcontribu^onsandqueriestotheeditor,JulieKimber(jkimber@swin.edu.au).Commentarynotaeributedtoanauthoriswrieenbytheeditor.RecorderispublishedwiththegeneroushelpofEllen

andBrianSmiddyandKevinDavis.

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