my favourite town! People thought we were weird going to Broken Hill for holidays all the time years ago. What a tribute to working class struggle, and it was some of the most radical for decades from 1892. at this link you get an account of the centenary celebration of the 1909 lockout. Theres an audio of the speech I gave at it along with others. or read my article Militant spirits from the book Rebel Women edited by myself and Tom OLincoln (available from Socialist Alternative): https://anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/interventions/rebelwomen/militant.htm The book was very popular at the event, some people knew about my article because the book is in the local library and my honours thesis its based on is in the local archives held there. But also Liz Ross has an article in the book about the 1986 nurses strike in Victoria and there were nurses union members there. The union traditions have been eroded somewhat today with the decline of the mining, but remnants of it are scattered around the city and many locals know about it. The miners memorial, the structure on the left on the top of the line of load has the red flag flying and the history of miners sacrifices for BHP. Great place to visit, and while youre there if its not mid-summer, visit Mootawingee National Park, marvellous rock engravings and ancient paintings plus gorgeous walks. Then on the Darling withing driving distance is the remains of the Rodney, a ship brining scabs down the river during the 1894 shearers strike burnt by striking workers. Its history is explained in a pamphlet by Mick Armstrong available from Socialist Alternative. Ill see if I can take a photo of a photo I have of it, an iconic remnant that the locals have marked with a stone memorial in 1994 when they re-enacted the burning of the Rodney (Ive never recovered from the disappointment of missing that, didnt know about it til a year later). Or I might have photos from a trip there taken by Corey Oakley or Katie Wood The classic Industrial History of Broken Hill by George Dale is a great place to start reading (after Rebel women :) )
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 00:43:49 +0000
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