The Workers’ Rights Movement

Numerous items in the Library’s collection are borne out of protests that took place during the workers’ rights movement. While there were countless protests across the decades, this guide will focus on a small selection which are well-documented by the Library’s collections. In this section you will find information about the Eureka Stockade, the formation of trade unions, the Cummeragunja Walk-off, the Pilbara Strike and the Gurindji Strike / Wave Hill Walk Off.

Eureka Stockade

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The National Library holds some of the rarest materials for the Eureka Stockade in its collection. This includes an original fragment of the Eureka Stockade flag, eyewitness accounts from miners and letters written by British Army officer Charles Pasley. Both the journal entries from the gold miners and the letters from Charles Pasley give an insight into what conditions were like at the time and provide details about the Eureka Stockade that cannot be found anywhere else.

There is also a range of related material from the pictures collection, with a colonial wood engraving of the Eureka encampments to the photographs from the set of ‘Eureka Stockade’ film from 1947. It is through this material that we can gain a visual into how things looked at the time and see the diversity of people involved in the Eureka Stockade. In addition to the unique material mentioned above, there is a wide variety of resources available from our collection of books, digitised newspapers, and eResources.

While much of the collection material can be found by searching the terms ‘Eureka Stockade’, there are other useful search terms, such as:

• Peter Lalor 1854
• 1854 Ballarat
• Charles Pasley
• Gold miners 1854 Australia

To achieve the best result, we suggest narrowing the results using the ‘subject area’ and ‘format’ field options.

Cummeragunja Walk Off

The Cummeragunja Walk Off was one of the first recorded strikes by First Australians on the Australian mainland, taking place in 1939 (the Torres Strait Maritime Strike occurred three years prior). While the National Library does not have a large amount of material for this protest, what is contained in the collection is quite unique.

One such item is a book containing newspaper clippings from the time of the strike, called ‘Exodus from Cummeragunja: news clippings 1938 to 1961’. It was researched and compiled by Bill and Lynne Lumley for the Bangerang Cultural Centre in Shepparton and provides an incredible insight into the motivation for the walk off and the events that occurred on Cummeragunja Station beforehand. In addition to the unique item mentioned above, there is variety of resources available from our collection of books, digitised newspapers and gazettes, pictures, audio and eResources.

Here are some search terms that you might use in our Catalogue or Trove. An important note to keep in mind is that there are various spellings of Cummeragunja. In this guide we have listed the spelling that yields the most search results, but alternative spellings will achieve different results.

• Cummeragunja
• Cummeragunja walk off 1939
• Cummeragunja Station
• Bill Onus

Please keep in mind that some of the search phrases for this material will often relate to historical wording and language. This means terms that we would today consider highly offensive may appear in your search.

The Pilbara Stockmen’s Strike

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In 1946, on May 1st, eight hundred First Australian stockmen and pastoral workers walked off stations across the Pilbara, making it one of the biggest strikes of the era. The Library’s digitised newspapers and gazettes are a rich source of knowledge on this topic, with numerous titles providing insights into opinions of the strike at the time. Titles of particular focus are those from Western Australia including ‘The West Australian’ and ‘The Workers Star’.

Another unique item from the Library’s collection is an audio recording of Don McLeod interviewed by Mary Anne Jebb. Don McLeod was a non-Indigenous man who assisted with the organisation of the strike, working with those of the Pilbara Strike at a time when there were laws and policies in Australia promoting segregation and preventing Indigenous and non-Indigenous people from coming together. The interview details McLeod’s firsthand experiences as a participant of the strike, as well as information about the policies of the Western Australian Government at the time.

In addition to the unique material mentioned above, the collection includes a variety of documentary resources, particularly books and eResources. Here are some search terms that you might use in our Catalogue or Trove:

• Pilbara Strike 1946
• Don McLeod
• Dooley Bin Bin
• Clancy McKenna
• Peter ‘Kangkushot’ Coppin

Please keep in mind that some of the search phrases for this material will often relate to historical wording and language. This means terms that we would today consider highly offensive may appear in your search.

The Gurindji Strike / Wave Hill Walk Off

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The 1966 Gurindji Strike is one of the most well-known protests in Australia, with the event gaining national attention. It inspired singer-songwriter Kevin ‘Kev’ Carmody to write ‘From Little Things, Big Things Grow’, a popular Australian anthem.

The National Library holds a large variety of different materials that relate to the Gurindji Strike. Some of the most notable include an audio recording of Vincent Lingiari interviewed by Frank J. Hardy and audio captured from Wave Hill Station, photographs from the returning of Aboriginal Land at Wattie Creek in 1975 and digitised newspaper articles from 1966.

This material provides excellent details about what occurred leading up to the Gurindji Strike and what took place after the walk off. In addition to the unique material mentioned above, there is also a variety of resources available through our books, digitised magazines and journals, manuscripts, archived websites and eResources.

Here are some search terms that you might use in our Catalogue or Trove:

• Gurindji Strike
• Vincent Lingiari
• Gurindji walk off wave hill station
• Wave Hill Station

Some useful items in our collections would include: 

• Unlucky Australians
• Hidden histories : black stories from Victoria River Downs, Humbert River and Wave Hill Stations

Please keep in mind that some of the search phrases for this material will often relate to historical wording and language. This means terms that we would today consider highly offensive may appear in your search.