People's History of Australia
Latest Episodes
Ep 11 – The Turkish socialist movement in Melbourne
In the late 1960s, thousands of Turkish migrants began moving to Australia as part of a wave of post-World War II immigration that permanently changed the face of Australian cities. For the Australian
Ep 10 – The epic story of mining unionism in the Pilbara
The Pilbara region of Western Australia is one of the remotest places on the planet. Its also one of the most economically significant regions not just in Australia, but the world, with almost indesc
Ep 9 – The Industrial Workers of the World in Australia
In the early 1900s, radicals and militant unionists across Australia founded the Industrial Workers of the World, arguably the most legendary left-wing organisation in Australian history. The IWW or
Ep 8 – The 1973 Ford Broadmeadows riot
In the decades following the end of the Second World War, Australia witnessed the biggest wave of migration in its history. Millions of people from Asia, Europe and the Middle East immigrated to Austr
Ep 7 – The 1978 Sydney Mardi Gras
In 1978, Sydneys first ever Mardi Gras took place. The Australia in which the parade happened, however, was profoundly different to today. LGBTQI people faced intense discrimination and persecution,
Ep 6 – The 1969 Clarrie O’Shea general strike
In May 1969, Clarrie OShea, the secretary of the Victorian branch of the tram workers union, was jailed for refusing to pay fines his union had been hit with under Australias repressive Penal Powe
Ep 5 – The hidden history of Australia in World War I
Few periods of Australian history are as heavily mythologised as World War I. From school textbooks to Anzac Day ceremonies, were told that Australia was born as a nation on the shores of Gallipoli a
Ep 4 – The life and times of Nick Origlass, the Red Mayor of Leichhardt
In 1971, Nick Origlass, a Trotskyist revolutionary, was elected as the mayor of Leichhardt Municipal Council in Sydney one of the most unusual developments in Australian political history. Nick Orig
Ep 3 – Racists go home! Protesting the 1971 Springbok tour of Australia
In 1971, Australia exploded with protest against a sporting tour by the white supremacist South African rugby union team the Springbok. The Springbok were the ultimate international symbol of South
Episode 2 – The Unemployed Workers’ Movement in 1930s Sydney
In 1929, the world plunged into the most catastrophic economic crisis in modern history – the Great Depression. The effect of the Depression on ordinary people across Australia was devastating. By the