Who remembers the Fairlea Five? That group of middle aged, middle class women who were arrested under a charge of Wilful Trespass for distributing leaflets on conscientious objection to boys registering for national service. The five women were Joan Coxsedge, Jean McLean, Chris Cathie, Jo Maclaine-Cross and Irene Miller. Already well known for their protest [...]
Ever wondered about the Luddites? I must confess I knew very little of the Luddites and next to nothing about General Ned Ludd and the Army of Redressers. Who were they? What were they on about? It must have been a lot more than just smashing up machinery, starting with stocking frames. I don’t know [...]
Recently we reviewed an article by Professor Stuart Macintyre on Gold and the birth of democracy in Victoria, going back to the 1850s. As well as the birth of parliamentary democracy, this time saw the growth of unions. The diggers faced a hard life on the gold fields, and diggings per se. Death and injury [...]
Have you ever heard of by-law 418? Back in 1968, anti-Vietnam War campaigners in Melbourne hadn’t heard of it either. Probably because by-law 418, a law against littering, had been on the books for more than 100 years but had never been used. That was until the beginning of 1969, when the Melbourne City Council [...]
When Glen talks of racism in our past, he always makes a point of reminding us that racism was structured into Australia from the first days of European settlement. This year he has a satchel full of snippets dealing with racism, past and present. One story I’m looking forward to is the tour of a [...]
A month is a long time to be away and everyone is getting a little ragged round the edges. Glenn especially. He’s positively champing at the bit. Thanks for all the messages over the holiday season, the friendly solstice greetings, the best wishes for the new year and the (very welcome) queries on the date [...]
