Books on Labour History

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This selection of books relates to labour history in Australia, with special reference to Queensland. It is intended to serve as a starting point for developing a general understanding of the history of Australian labour in its economic, social and political contexts. Scholarly articles on these topics can be found in the Queensland Journal of Labour History, and the ASSLH’s flagship journal, Labour History.

General Histories

Bevege, Margaret; James, Margaret & Shute, Carmel (eds), Worth Her Salt: Women at Work in Australia (1982)

Bramble Tom, Trade Unionism in Australia: a History from Flood to Ebb Tide (2008)

Burgmann, Verity & Lee, Jenny (eds), A People’s History of Australia since 1788 (4-volume series) (1988)

Burgmann, Verity, ‘In Our Time’: Socialism and the Rise of Labor, 1885-1905 (1985)

Burgmann, Verity, Revolutionary Industrial Unionism: The Industrial Workers of the World in Australia (1995)

Byrne, Liam, Becoming John Curtin and James Scullin: the Making of the Modern Labor Party (2020)

Cahill, Rowan & Irving, Terry, The Barber who Read History: Essays in Radical History (2021)

Childe, V. Gordon, How Labour Governs: a Study of Workers’ Representation in Australia (1923)

Clark, Manning, A Short History of Australia, 4th rev. edition (2006)

Connell, R.W. & Irving, T.H., Class Structure in Australian History: Poverty and Progress, 2nd edition (1992)

Dyrenfurth, Nick & Bongiorno, Frank, A Little History of the Australian Labor Party (2011)

Ebbels, R.N., The Australian Labor movement, 1850-1907: Extracts from Contemporary Documents (1965)

Faulkner, John & Macintyre, Stuart (eds), True Believers: the Story of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party (2001)

Fitzpatrick, Brian, The Australian People, 1788-1945 (1946)

Fox, Charlie, Working Australia (1991)

Fry, Eric (ed), Rebels and Radicals (1983)

Gammage, Bill, The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia (2011)

Gollan, Robin, Radical and Working Class Politics: a Study of Eastern Australia, 1850-1910 (1960)

Gollan, Robin, Revolutionaries and Reformists: Communism and the Australian Labour Movement, 1920-1955 (1985)

Griffiths, Phil & Alexander, Hal (eds), A Few Rough Reds: Stories of Rank and File Organising (2003)

Hagan, Jim, The History of the A.C.T.U. (1981)

Harris, Joe, The Bitter Fight: a Pictorial History of the Australian Labor Movement (1970)

Humphrys, Elizabeth, How Labour built Neoliberalism: Australia’s Accord, the Labour Movement and the Neoliberal Project (2019)

Irving, Terry, The Fatal Lure of Politics: The Life and Thought of Vere Gordon Childe (2020)

Irving, Terry, The Southern Tree of Liberty: the Democratic Movement in New South Wales before 1856 (2006)

Kirk, Neville, Comrades and Cousins: Globalization, Workers and Labour Movements in Britain, the USA, and Australia from the 1880s to 1914 (2003)

Kirk, Neville, Labour and the Politics of Empire: Britain and Australia, 1900 to the Present (2011)

Kirk, Neville, Transnational Radicalism and the Connected Lives of Tom Mann and Robert Samuel Ross (2017)

Lowenstein, Wendy, Weevils in the Flour: an Oral Record of the 1930s Depression in Australia (1978)

Macintyre, Stuart, A Concise History of Australia, 5th edition (2020)

Macintyre, Stuart, The Party: The Communist Party of Australia from Heyday to Reckoning (2022)

Macintyre, Stuart, The Reds: the Communist Party of Australia from Origins to Illegality (1999)

McMullin, Ross, The Light on the Hill : the Australian Labor Party, 1891-1991 (1992)

McQueen, Humphrey, A New Britannia (2004)

Metcalf, William, Utopian Dreams and Dystopian Nightmares (2022)

Murphy, D.J. (ed), Labor in Politics: The State Labor Parties in Australia, 1880-1920 (1975)

Oldham, Sam, Without Bosses: Radical Australian Trade Unionism in the 1970s (2020)

O’Lincoln, Tom, United We Stand: Class Struggle in Colonial Australia (2005)

Pascoe, Bruce, Dark Emu: Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident? (2014)

Piccini, Jon; Smith, Evan & Worley, Matthew (eds), The Far Left in Australia since 1945 (2018)

Quinlan, Michael, The Origins of Worker Mobilisation: Australia 1788-1850 (2018)

Reeves, Andrew & Dettmer, Andrew (eds), Organise, Educate, Control: The AMWU in Australia, 1852-2012 (2013)

Rickertt, Jeff, Resistance on the Line: A History of Australian Telephonists and their Trade Unions, 1880-1988 (2008)

Scalmer, Sean, The Little History of Australian Unionism (2006)

Spence, W.G., History of the AWU (1911)

Turner, Ian, In Union is Strength: a History of Trade Unions in Australia, 1788-1983, 3rd edition (1983)

Turner, Ian, Industrial Labour and Politics: the Dynamics of the Labour Movement in Eastern Australia, 1900-1921 (1979)

Queensland Histories

Bowden, Bradley et al (eds), Work and Strife in Paradise: The History of Labour Relations in Queensland 1859-2009 (2009)

Evans, Raymond, A History of Queensland (2007)

Evans, Raymond, Loyalty and Disloyalty: Social Conflict on the Queensland Homefront, 1914-18 (1987)

Evans, Raymond; Saunders, Kay & Cronin, Kathryn, Race Relations in Colonial Queensland: a History of Exclusion, Exploitation and Extermination 3rd edition (1993)

Evans, Raymond & Ferrier, Carole (eds), Radical Brisbane: an Unruly History (2004)

Fitzgerald, Ross & Thornton, Harold, Labor in Queensland: from the 1880s to 1988 (1989)

Fitzgerald, Ross, Seven Days to Remember: the First Labor government in the World: Queensland, 1-7 December 1899 (1999)

Healy, Connie, Defiance: Political Theatre in Brisbane, 1930-1962 (2000)

Jordan, Deborah, Negotiating the End of War: Brisbane Women 1914-1919 (2018)

Jordan, Deborah, Peace and Treaty: Queensland Women & WW1 (2019)

Kidd, Rosalind, Trustees on Trial: Recovering the Stolen Wages (2006)

Kidd, Rosalind, The Way We Civilise: Aboriginal Affairs – The Untold Story (1997)

Menghetti, Diane, The Red North: the Popular Front in North Queensland (1981)

May, Dawn, Aboriginal Labour and the Cattle Industry: Queensland from White Settlement to the Present (1994)

Murphy, D.J., Joyce, R.B. & Hughes, Colin A. (eds), Labor in Power: the Labor Party and Governments in Queensland, 1915-57 (1980)

Murphy, D.J., Joyce, R.B. & Hughes, Colin A. (eds), Prelude to Power: the Rise of the Labour Party in Queensland 1885-1915 (1970)

Murphy, Denis; Joyce, Roger & Cribb, Margaret (eds), The Premiers of Queensland 3rd edition (2003)

Murphy, D.J. & Joyce, R.B. (eds), Queensland Political Portraits, 1859-1952 (1978)

Scott, Joanne & Saunders, Kay (eds), The World’s First Labor Government (2001)

Thorpe, Bill, Colonial Queensland: Perspectives on a Frontier Society (1996)

Queensland Trade Union and Strike Histories

Bailey, Dennis J., Holes in the Ground: Queensland Coalminers in Struggle, 1840-1980 (1983)

Bonnin, Roberta, Dazzling Prospects: Women in the Queensland Teachers’ Union since 1945 (1988)

Bowden, Bradley, A Breed Apart: the History of the Bacon Factories’ Union of Employees 1946-1996 (1996)

Bowden, Bradley, Against all Odds: the History of the United Firefighters Union in Queensland, 1917-2008 (2008)

Dawson, Archie, edited by Murphy, Denis, Points and Politics: a history of the Electrical Trades Union of Queensland (1977)

Dixon, Scott, High Voltage: 100 Years of the ETU in Queensland and the Northern Territory: the Official History (2015)

Forrester, Chris & Tighe, Ashleigh, Queensland Builders’ Labourers’ Federation : Our History 1910-2010 (2010)

Isaro, Dulcie Polowea, The Day Palm Island Fought Back: The Strike of 1957 (2012)

Jerrard, Marjorie, ‘Formation to Arbitration’: the Early Years of the Queensland Branch of the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union 1889-1918 (2000)

Kellett, John, A Fighting Union: a History of the Queensland Branch of the Transport Workers’ Union, 1907-2000 (2001)

Mackie, Pat with Vassilieff, Elizabeth, Mount Isa: the Story of a Dispute (1989)

Murphy, D.J., (ed), The Big Strikes: Queensland 1889-1965 (1983)

Spaull, Andrew & Sullivan, Martin, A History of the Queensland Teachers Union (1989)

Strachan, Glenda, Labour of Love: the History of the Nurses’ Association in Queensland, 1860-1950 (1996)

Svensen, Stuart, The Shearers’ War: the Story of the 1891 Shearers’ Strike (2008)

Thomas, Pete, The Coalminers of Queensland: a Narrative History of the Queensland Colliery Employees Union: Vol 1, Creating the Traditions (1986)

Thomas, Pete, edited by Greg Malory, The Coalminers of Queensland: a Narrative History of the Queensland Colliery Employees Union: Vol 2, Pete Thomas Essays (2007)

Thomas, Pete, Storm in the Tropics: the Historic Mt. Isa dispute, 1964-5 (1965)

Whitehouse, Gillian & Wiltshire, Kenneth, The History of the Queensland Professional Officers’ Association (1987)

Young, Pam, Daring to Take a Stand: the Story of the Union of Australian Women in Queensland (1998)

Queensland Labour Movement Biographies

Beattie, Peter with Loukakis, Angelo, Making a Difference: Reflections on Life, Leadership and Politics (2005)

Day, David, Andrew Fisher (2015)

D’Urso, Salvatore (Ted), Outlook Critical: Essays on my Political Journey (2020)

Ferrier, Carole, Jean Devanny: Romantic Revolutionary (1999)

Ferrier, Carole (ed), Point of Departure: the Autobiography of Jean Devanny (1986)

Fitzgerald, Ross, The People’s Champion, Fred Paterson: Australia’s Only Communist Party Member of Parliament (1997)

Fitzgerald, Ross, ‘Red Ted’: the Life of E. G. Theodore (1994)

Johnson, Audrey, Fly a Rebel Flag: Bill Morrow, 1888-1980 (1986)

Johnson, Murray, No Holds Barred: Hughie Williams, Olympic Wrestler and Trade Union Heavyweight (2003)

Lane, E.H., Dawn to Dusk: Reminiscences of a Rebel (1939)

Mackie, Pat with Vassilieff, Elizabeth (ed), Many Ships to Mount Isa: Autobiography (2002)

Macklin, Kevin, Kevin Rudd: the Biography (2007)

Murphy, Denis, Hayden: a Political Biography (1980)

Murphy, Denis, Ken Laidlaw, a White Collar Union Leader (1979)

Murphy, Denis., T.J. Ryan: a Political Biography (1990)

O’Brien, J.P. (Phil), Towards Peace: a Worker’s Journey (1992)

Peacock, Eve, History, Life and Times of Robert Anderson, Gheebelum, Ngugi, Mulgumpin (2001)

Reynolds, Margaret, Living Politics (2007)

Rickertt, Jeff, The Conscientious Communist: Ernie Lane and the Rise of Australian Socialism (2016)

Sellars, Neil, Fred Thompson: Communist, Union Organizer, Humanist: A Biography (2012)

Stubbings, Walter & Synge, Lesley, Wharfie (2017)

Walker, Jamie, Goss: a Political Biography (1995)

Weller, Patrick, Kevin Rudd: Twice Prime Minister (2014)

Williams, Hughie, Hughie Williams: a Life (2009)

Young, Pam, Proud to Be a Rebel: the Life and Times of Emma Miller (1991)

Queensland Labour History in Fiction and Drama

Balodis, Janis & Grandage, Iain, Red Cap (2007) – a play

Collins, Betty & Syson, Ian, The Copper Crucible (1996)

Devanny, Jean, Sugar Heaven (2002)

Jacobsen, Dale Lorna, Union Jack (2011)

Lane, William, The Workingman’s Paradise: an Historical Novel (1892)

O’Neill, Errol, Faces in the Street: a Story of the 1912 Brisbane General Strike: a Play (1993)

O’Neill, Errol, On the Whipping Side: a Story of the 1891 Queensland Shearers’ Strike: A Play (1991)

O’Neill, Errol, Popular Front: a Play (1988)

Palmer, Vance, The Big Fellow (1959) – Golconda Trilogy No. 3

Palmer, Vance, Golconda (1948) – Golconda Trilogy No. 1

Palmer, Vance, Seedtime (1957) – Golconda Trilogy No. 2