University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2014 Australian working songs and poems - a rebel heritage Mark Gregory University of Wollongong, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. 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For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL INQUIRY History and Politics Australian Working Songs and Poems – A Rebel Heritage Mark Gregory "This thesis is presented as part of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Wollongong" June 2014 MARK GREGORY, Master of Arts, Macquarie University 2007 SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL INQUIRY Thesis certification I, Mark Gregory, declare that his thesis, submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History and Politics, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. (Signature) Mark Gregory 30 June 2014 i ABSTRACT Songs and poems about work and working conditions in Australia provide a rich lode for the historian. This thesis examines the origins and uses of this lyrical material as an important part of the culture that influenced the way the Australian labour movement developed. Analysis of the one hundred and fifty songs and poems produced across a time frame ranging from colonisation to the Second World War and cited in this work reveals a long history of composition, publication and performance of this lyrical material. The material describes and argues a contending world view among organised workers, especially about rights and the way inequality affects those who labour. These popular vernacular narratives also indicate the transplanted culture of those who were transported to Australia and demonstrate the refashioning of this culture to meet the very different circumstances they faced in the new colony. The Australian labour movement with its trade unions and political organisations, its banners, meetings, marches, speeches, its connections to similar movements overseas, its defeats and victories, has at its heart a significant tradition of working song and poetry. At the core of this lyrical material lies a determination to assert what power and agency is available in each period to gather support in order to bring about radical social change. Embedded in the songs and poems is powerful evidence for the historian of a rebellious tradition that proclaims working class attitudes and concerns. This thesis examines the provenance and the use of this lyrical material from the colonial beginnings to the Second World War, reflecting on its trajectory over time. Symbolically, it can be argued, this lyrical material reinforces the legitimacy of the rebellious traditions of the labour movement, essential to the legitimacy and agency of the movement itself. My aim in this thesis is to significantly expand our understanding of the role played by lyrical material in the Australian labour movement and how the existence and continued production of such material constitutes a heritage where meaning and values are always under discussion and are revised by continuous negotiation. ii History from below encourages attention to the cultural traditions of the labour movement especially those that show a radical approach and determination to change class society, opening it up to embrace equality as fundamental. The Australian labour movement has proved itself capable of extending rights to benefit the whole of society, even overcoming its own prejudices in the process of exposing, challenging and often confounding self-interested hegemonic ruling power. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thanks go to my supervisors Dr. Anthony Ashbolt and Dr. Glenn Mitchell for the encouragement and advice that enabled me to present my research in this thesis. Thanks to fellow higher degree students of both Macquarie University and the University of Wollongong who showed continued interest in my research and ideas over a period of four years. Thanks to all those in the Australian folk song movement, the Illawarra Folk Club and the National Folklore Conference who have encouraged me at workshops and festivals and helped me develop some of the themes of my work. Thanks to Dr. Hugh Anderson and Emeritus Professor Robert Fagan for their generous encouragement and advice over many years from the germ of my ideas to the finished work. Hugh Anderson gave me access to his personal collection of songs and poems while Bob Fagan unstintingly played the special role of adjunct supervisor for my work. Thanks to Dr. Rowan Cahill and Emeritus Professor Terry Irving for their timely encouragement and support during the most difficult period of the work. Thanks to Nick Franklin and Michelle Rayner for their enthusiastic support for the Frank the Poet radio documentary and to Les Murray, Professor Bob Hodge, Associate Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart and Emeritus Professor Bob Reece, for their invaluable insights and their generous input to that project. Thanks to my partner and fellow rebel, Dr. Maree Delofski, and my daughter Morgan for their critical input and unshakable faith in my work. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT…...…………………………………………………………………………i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.……………………………………………………………iv TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………..v LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………….…vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS………………….………………………………………vii Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….1 1. Convict Era Broadsides and Ballads and the Working Poor……………………22 2. Francis MacNamara: A Convict Poet in Australia………………………………80 3. The Eureka Massacre: Lyrical Accounts and Vernacular Reflections………..145 4. Lyrics, Sounds and Symbols – Culture of the Eight Hours Movement………..214 5. Australian Railway Songs and Poems - Tethered to the World..………………275 6. Songs and Poems of War and Depression in Australia…………………………318 7. A Common Cause – Working Songs of Struggle, Work and Peace……………364 Conclusion and Suggestions…………………………………………………………420 REFERENCES..………………………………………………………………………428 APPENDIX A Frank the Poet: The Making of the Radio Documentary..……………449 APPENDIX B Frank the Poet: ABC Hindsight radio CD……………………………455 v LIST OF FIGURES Fig 1. Daily News headline 21 November 1917. p. 19. Fig 2. The People’s Charter. p. 61. Fig 3. Convicts writing at Cockatoo Island. p. 77. Fig 4. Geelong Advertiser, 6 December 1854. p. 145. Fig 5. Trades’ Hall - Melbourne 1859. p. 235. Fig 6. Shearing the Rams Stamp. p. 255. Fig 7. Click Go the Shears Stamp set. p. 260. Fig 8. Reproduction of original Eight Hours Banner. p. 261. Fig 9. 1885 Melbourne Wharf Labourers Union metal token. p. 263. Fig 10. Trades Hall Melbourne 1906. p. 264. Fig 11. Sydney Morning Herald headine. p. 322. Fig 12. Early IWW songbook. p. 327. Fig 13. Queanbeyan Age and Queanbeyan Observer graphic. p. 330. Fig 14. Daily News headline. p. 331. Fig 15. Sydney Morning Herald headline. p. 359. Fig 16. “The Hungry Mile”, 1930. p. 391. Fig 17. “Blood on the Coal.” p. 407. Fig 18. Canberra Times 1949 miners’ strike. p. 411. Fig 19. Aborigines’ Day of Mourning. p. 423. Fig 20. ‘A Convict’s Tour to Hell’ from the Trimingham MS. p. 449. Fig 21. Frank the Poet radio CD Cover. p. 455. vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS (AACo) Australian Agricultural Company (ABC) Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABCC) Australian Building and Construction Commission (ACT) Australian Capital Territory (AEU) Amalgamated Engineering Union (AFULE) Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees (ALF) Australian Labour Federation (ALP) Australian Labor Party (AMA) Australian Miners' Association (ARU) Australian Railways Union (AWPA) Australian Women’s Peace Army (AWU) Australian Workers' Union (CMPA) Coal Miners Protective Association (ILO) International Labour Organisation (IWW) Industrial Workers of the World