http://www.metromagazine.com.au https://theeducationshop.com.au A STUDY GUIDE BY © ATOM 2020 ISBN: 978-1-76061-357-0 ROBERT LEWIS Overview The Great Strike 1917 (Amanda King, 2019) is a 70-minute Despite being a crushing defeat at the time for the strikers, it documentary film about the largely forgotten most serious had lasting consequences for the Australian labour movement. industrial upheaval that occurred at home in Australia during World War 1. It was over 100 years ago, but personal stories rarely spoken about still filter through, illustrating the trauma as well as some Thousands of men and women stopped work; the State positive legacies of the event, which still strongly resonate Government recruited volunteers to break the strike, allowing today. some to carry weapons; trade unions were deregistered and some of their leaders were charged with criminal offences. It The Great Strike 1917 helps us explore several big questions was a time of violent emotions and government and police in history: action against workers, their families and supporters, as well as individual acts of violence by and against strikers. A striker • What does the strike tell us about Australians during was shot and killed. A filmmaker had his film censored and war-time? embargoed. It was Sydney, 1917. • What happens to individuals and to society when a nation is divided during a national event? The stoppage became the biggest and most long-lasting • What happens when people have conflicting ideas about industrial upheaval Australia had seen or has seen since. At citizens right and appropriate patriotic duties? its height the strike stopped coastal shipping, mining, the • How can we remember and commemorate significant handling of cargo on wharves, and transport. It involved nearly events in our past that reflect major social conflicts? one hundred thousand workers in Australia’s eastern states, and thousands more sympathisers. CONTENT HYPERLINKS © ATOM 2020 © ATOM 3 CURRICULUM APPLICABILITY 7 EXPLORING IDEAS AND 16 FURTHER READING ISSUES IN THE FILM 4 BEFORE WATCHING THE FILM 11 BRINGING IT TOGETHER 2 Curriculum Applicability The Great Strike 1917 is a documentary film that is suitable for students in Years 9-12 in History, Civics and Citizenship, and Media Studies. s Using the film in the classroom the Great Strike 1917 has a narrative structure that covers three main The recommended classroom approach is: aspects: 1 Students think about a hypothetical situation to start • the story of the strike, considering the ideas that will be explored in the film • the ways the strike has been largely forgotten in the past, and 2 Students read the background information to the • the ways the story is being remembered and commemorated war that sets the context of the 1917 events (if today, particularly through a 2017 centennial exhibition. necessary) 3 Students watch and analyse the ideas and issues The three strands are integrated in the structure of the film. In this raised in the film. They might watch the film in Study Guide we suggest ways in which the strands can be explored, sequence, or they might isolate the three main either in the order in which they are raised in the film, or as three themes in a revised sequence: The story, memory separate strands that can be isolated for investigation. and commemoration, representing history. Below is a guide to using the film in either of these ways The Study Guide also suggests an approach that can be used to 4 Students consider the film as a representation of help students analyse The Great Strike 1917 as a representation of history, and/or as an example of the documentary history, and also as an example of the documentary form of media. form. THE FILM SEQUENCE CLASSROOM THEMES AND SEQUENCE Approx. Time code The content The story Memory and commemoration Representing history 00:00 – 09:45 The strike starts 1 09:45 – 19:35 The 2017 display and commemoration 8 19:35 – 24:30 The strike spreads 2 24:30 – 25:35 The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) 11 25:35 – 29:25 Impacts on social and working life 3 29:25 – 38:45 The reaction starts 4 38:45 – 41:30 The killing 5 41:30 – 51:30 The cover-up 6 51:30 – 54:50 A forgotten story 10 55:20 – 57:40 Commemoration 9 2020 © ATOM 57:40 – 67:20 The end of the strike and outcomes 7 3 Before Watching the Film s Introducing students to the key ideas and concepts The Great Strike 1917 covers experiences and behaviour that most students will not be familiar with in their own lives. Here is a way to help them tap into the key concepts and experiences that are explored in the documentary film. Imagine that: • Australia today is at war • Others believe we should keep fighting to win • About 1 in 4 of the adults have chosen to enlist • The government is arresting people who try to discourage men from enlisting in the military service • There has been fighting overseas for 3 years • There is a call for a strike to prevent deterioration of working • There have been many deaths and casualties conditions • The war is not being won, but it is not being lost either • The strike is supported by many workers and trade unions • Most believe the war is justified, but are aware of the harm it unions does • The strike is opposed by many people who believe it will hurt • Conditions on the home front are harsh for many, but not all the war effort as essential supplies will be held back from the troops • Wages have been frozen, prices have risen • There are religious divisions – those who are Catholic • The government wants people to work harder and longer but are generally less supportive of the war than Protestants for no more pay because Australia’s main ally is not giving its own Catholics • Some people believe we should make peace as soon as equal civil rights possible and oppose conscription of men for army service © ATOM 2020 © ATOM What would people do? 4 Here are some characters that you can create, to see how they might react. Your task is to create a character by rolling a dice for each of the characteristics in the table above. In this way your class can create a community of various characters, and have them interact. Each time you roll the dice record what you have ‘discovered’ about that character. CHARACTER NAME: Gender M Age 0-15 Connection Y F 15-30 with war? N 30-45 45-60 60+ Politics L Religion P Economic H N C status M IWW O L X Attitude F Attitude H Attitude to S to unions A to war L government P O Roll a dice to assign each of these characteristics to your character using the table below. CHARACTERISTIC DICE NUMBER 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gender M M M F F F Age 0-15 15-30 15-30 30-45 45-60 60+ Direct connection to an Yes Yes Yes No No No enlisted soldier (family or friend) Politics Labor Labor Nationalist Nationalist IWW None Religion Protestant Protestant Protestant Catholic Catholic Other Wage and savings Low Low Low Medium Medium High Attitude to unions For For For Against Against Against Attitude to war Top priority Top priority Top priority Not top Not top Not top priority priority priority Attitude to government Support it fully Support it fully Support it Support it Oppose it Oppose it partly partly 1 Is your character likely to support or oppose 3 Have a class discussion as your character about the strike. the strike? Speak to a character with the opposite attitude to you on the strike and try to convince them to move to your point of view. 2 What are the main characteristics that you think are determining your character’s position on 4 What are the main characteristics that you think are what the strike? divide supporters of the strike from opponents? 2020 © ATOM Now read the background information that sets the context of Australia and the war in 1917, and then watch The Great Strike 1917 to see what actually happened in a similar situation in Australia in 1917. 5 s The Context of the 1917 Strike 1914 1915 Outbreak of war in August when Britain declares war against The first combat involving Australian troops Germany and its allies. occurs at Gallipoli, Turkey. The response to Australian involvement is the creation by Australia is also legally covered by the British declaration of war. many journalists and popular writers of the idea of the ‘Anzac Spirit’. Australia is culturally very much a British nation and most people, including the Australian Labor Party government and much of the The campaign was a failure resulting in labour movement, support Australian involvement in the war. heavy casualties of Australian soldiers. At home in Australia prices and costs started Extensive numbers of people oppose the war and compulsory to soar but wages were frozen.While conscription of men for war service. Among them are members of the promotion of war support and recruitment Labor Party, trade unions and radical political associations, such as continued, so too did opposition the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). 1916 Australian troops started to fight on the Western Front of northern France and Belgium. Casualties were heavy and recruitment numbers began to fall. See chart on the left. Conditions in Australia become harder for many Australian working people and families. The first attempt to introduce conscription of men for overseas service narrowly failed, but passions and divisions within communities grew.