These proceedings carry some of the papers delivered at the 14th Biennial Labour
History Conference, 11-13 February 2015. Titled Fighting Against War: Peace
Activism in the Twentieth Century, the conference was held at the University of
Melbourne. A conference book of refereed papers has been published under that title and
these proceedings carry the non-refereed papers received for publication. There is one
exception to that rule: the paper written by Warwick Eather and Drew Cottle, published
below, which underwent double-blind refereeing. It is an important paper, which
demonstrates with compelling evidence that the rabbit was anything but a curse to the
many men, women, and children who took advantage of the rabbit industry’s resilience
during the economic storms for much of the twentieth century. It exemplifies how
meticulous research in labour history can provide an entirely new understanding of an
otherwise much-maligned animal in Australia.
The next three papers all concern opposition to nuclear testing, from the 1950s to the
1980s. When read together, they provide a convincing argument for the importance and
efficacy of the diverse anti-nuclear movements in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific
Islands. Whilst there are inevitable overlaps, these papers emphasise different and
often neglected dimensions: the struggle for recognition of and compensation for the
devastating effects of nuclear testing; the internal dynamics of the various nuclear
disarmament organisations; and an evaluation of their impact on government policy,
culminating in the Rarotonga Treaty of 1985.
The last three papers cover aspects of World War I, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War.
The first focuses on the role of one redoubtable woman, Ettie Rout, in challenging
popular misconceptions about venereal disease held by military authorities and
the soldiers themselves. The next paper examines the life of a Czech Lutheran pastor,
Professor Josef Hromádka, who visited Australia twice during the 1950s. Hromádka
attempted to juggle Christianity with Socialism, which – in the prevailing climate of
strident anti-communism – provoked hostile receptions and Cold War invective. The final
paper in this collection brings to life, through the reflections of a “participant observer”,
the preparations, conduct and impact of Adelaide’s largest anti-war demonstration: the
protest against the invasion of Iraq in 2003 organised by the NoWar collective. Its efforts,
undertaken by a broad range of rank and file activists, is a fitting reminder, and
exemplar, of the theme of our conference: peace activism in the twentieth century.