People’s History of Australia is a podcast and blog looking at Australian history from the perspective of ordinary people fighting together for a better life.
Ep 26 – War on the waterfront: the 1998 maritime dispute
In April 1998, Australia suddenly erupted into industrial war. Security guards with dogs and balaclavas swarmed docks across the country, threw out all 1,400 unionised workers at Patrick Stevedores, and then replaced them with a non-union workforce. Blockades sprang up at major ports, thousands of workers walked off the job to support the sacked wharfies, and the country seemed poised on the brink of a general strike.
This moment was the culmination of a years-long plan by the federal government and major employer associations to completely destroy waterfront unionism in Australia. As an island nation, Australia’s entire economy is heavily dependent on a small number of ports, and the workers in those ports have extraordinary strategic power. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, waterfront workers had used that power to not only heroically fight for and win improved working conditions, but to support struggles by other workers across Australia and the world. It was this proud tradition that the government set out to annihilate in 1998.
This was one of the most significant battles between workers and their employers in Australian history, and in this episode we’re joined by Tom Bramble, a retired industrial relations academic, to discuss and analyse the dispute. Tom is the author of War on the Waterfront, a gripping history of the confrontation, as well as several other works on trade unionism in Australia.
You can read War on the Waterfront here (https://libcom.org/article/war-waterfront-tom-bramble), and you can also buy Tom’s book on the history of Australian trade unionism here (https://shop.redflag.org.au/products/trade-unionism-in-australia), while you can read his thesis about rank-and-file car industry workers here (https://www.academia.edu/2763959/The_contingent_conservatism_of_trade_union_officials_a_literature_review). Sign up to our Patreon now (https://www.patreon.com/c/peopleshistoryofaustralia) to have the chance to get a free copy of Tom’s book and support our podcast!
Find out more and get tickets for Radical Melbourne, our upcoming festival on 21 November, here (https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/radical-melbourne-a-peoples-history-festival-tickets-1993974587668?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios&sg=b2083a1940136d1d26b15b8ea798eca5469c80c18eacb543952fe5ecf553213fc3bfd96981c9963209003b1223bddc8e42ccb3e54ef9d0c840b110174482e74a193f5140513a134154fcc40d07&utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e0_tv4_a1demo0j5ysjqh&fbclid=IwY2xjawUViqZwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMUVPWDA0SURvN3hrQ05BV05zcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeem2FjA_HrYhWoP7_VQpskQNEhE9lMIL5KSa-c4WWuSFJOlNaZvsi4RdM_f8_aem_65jmWBhhwf70Te_ACsR44A)!
Opening and closing music courtesy of Glitter Rats (https://soundcloud.com/glitterrats). People’s History of Australia logo design courtesy of Nissenbaum Design (https://nissenbaumdesign.com/nissenbaum-design) design.
15 Apr 2026
Ep 25 – Resisting the invasion of Sydney, 1788 – 1817
The idea that Australia was invaded in 1788 is strangely controversial. A Google search for the phrase ‘Was Australia invaded’ provides an AI-generated answer claiming that ‘Australia has not experienced a full-scale foreign military invasion of its mainland’. The Wikipedia history of Australia makes no mention of invasion or indeed any warfare between between Aboriginal nations and the colonisers at all, and large numbers of articles ask ‘Was Australia invaded in 1788?’ as if the issue is somehow not obvious.
At the time the British Empire invaded Australia in 1788 however, no one was in any doubt as to what was happening. The first convicts came ashore escorted by a significant body of armed troops, the first structure built in the colony was a military one, and colonial authorities constantly referred to the fact that they were at war. For their part, Aboriginal people quickly realised that they were dealing with a military invasion of their land, and fought back heroically.
In this episode, we chat with historian Stephen Gapps, author of the pioneering book The Sydney Wars, about First Nations’ resistance to the invasion of Sydney. Contrary to claims that relations between the colonists and Aboriginal people were mostly peaceful after a short period of confusion and misunderstanding,The Sydney Wars shows how both sides were aware that they were involved in a war for survival. And contrary to accounts that depict the conflict as a one-sided series of massacres and Aboriginal defeats, Stephen’s research reveals that First Nations warriors used sophisticated military tactics and waged a protracted war of resistance across three decades that often had the invaders on the back foot.
You can buy The Sydney Wars here (https://unsw.press/books/the-sydney-wars/). Sign up to our Patreon now (https://www.patreon.com/c/peopleshistoryofaustralia) to have the chance to get a free copy of Stephen’s book and support our podcast!
Opening and closing music courtesy of Glitter Rats (https://soundcloud.com/glitterrats). People’s History of Australia logo design courtesy of Nissenbaum Design (https://nissenbaumdesign.com/nissenbaum-design) design.
15 Nov 2025
Ep 24 – Art is a weapon: the New Theatre in Australia
In contemporary Australian mass culture, it’s hard if not impossible to find any representation of life as it’s lived by the majority of the population. Few movies, plays, TV shows or documentaries reflect what it’s like spending most of your waking life working to make a boss rich, struggling to keep up with bills, or...
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4.8 / 5
42 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 45 / 100
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