Labour History in Australia Since 1975: A Retrospective and a Look Forward, Canberra Region Branch Conference, ASSLH, 4-5 December 1999

Abstract

John Merritt, the editor of Labour History from 1975 to 1986, made the above comments during his opening address at the conference, Labour History in Australia Since 1975: A Retrospective and a Look Forward. The Canberra Branch of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History organised this conference, held in December last year, to recognise John Merritf s role in the study of Australian Labour History. John Merritf s comment reflects his concern with the professionalisation of history in general and labour history in particular. He was also worried about the practice of 'slaughtering straw men' and the growing alienation of Labour History's non specialist readers. Some of the issues raised by John were addressed in other conference papers directly, some were not. However, the conference did provide a forum for a presentation of different views and opinions within a broad commitment to the genre and the many individuals who have contributed over many years to the Australian labour history tradition. Some papers countered Merritf s remarks on professionalism, with practical papers that engaged the audience through reminiscence, story telling, political intrigue and personal histories. Stuart Macintyre gave the audience a taste of his current research on the history of the Federal Labor Caucus which he is currently editing; Ann Curthoys recounted the events surrounding the hosting of the Labour and Women conferences in the 1970s and 1980s; and Eric Fry presented a memoir of the labour history society. Papers by Sean Scalmer, Ben Maddison and Lucy Taksa were a source for much debate and questioning from the audience, as they combined some of the theoretical lessons from the past with new insights. Following a full agenda on Saturday, conference participants were rejuvenated on Saturday night, with the conference dinner held outside under the green leafed canvas of the National Botanical Gardens. Comrades used the opportunity to catch up and talk about some of the issues raised that day. Also, during the evening Sigrid McCausland offered a brief update on the fight to retain the Noel Butlin Archives Centre (NBAC) at the Australian National University (ANU). Those that made it to the early morning session on Sunday were presented with three fine papers addressing the broad theme of race, ethnicity and labour. Julia Martinez and Sarah Gregson both took issue with the notion that the labour