Obituary
Vale Peter Love (1947-2023)
The sudden death of Dr Peter Love has left the labour history community in deep mourning.
Peter was one of the pillars of the Labour History Society, serving on the Federal Executive and as President of the Melbourne Branch for the past 35 years. Always affable and friendly, he was immensely popular and engaging. His presence, guidance and leadership will be irreplaceable. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife Susanne Provis, his family and his countless friends who admired him both as a teacher and an activist.
See the Melbourne Branch website at https://labourhistorymelbourne.org/2023/05/22/citizen-love-teacher-activist-scholar-and-friend/ for more details.
This photo was taken at the unveiling ceremony for the Spanish Civil War memorial in Canberra’s Lennox Gardens in 1993. It shows Peter Love with Lloyd Edmonds one of the last surviving volunteers from that tragic conflict.
Vale William (Bill) Tully 10 Sept 1937 – 12 Oct 2021
The legendary Bill Tully, one of the Labour History Society’s most colourful characters, has passed away at the age of 84.
A man of many talents and just as many interests, he was always engaging and passionate about the things that mattered to him.
Bill was one of our most loyal members and served on the committee in a number of capacities, most recently as Branch Treasurer between 2005 and 2008.
He was a lively contributor to our discussions and made a number of presentations at seminars and other events. One that springs to mind is his vivid account of the life and times of the local activist Ray O’Shannassy whose entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography was penned by Bill.
Bill worked for many years as a senior librarian at the National Library. His interests were wide ranging and he was well known across the wider Canberra community. In addition to his political activism, Bill was a publisher and public broadcaster, author and poet. He also ran the Canberra Recorded Music Society for many years.
(Photo credit: Stephen Holt)
For a more detailed summary of Bill’s life, see the following link to Helen Musa’s fine tribute in the Canberra City News, reposted with permission, at
https://citynews.com.au/2021/passionate-local-arts-identity-dies/
For Humphrey McQueen’s tribute:
Vale Bill Tully
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Vale Stuart Macintyre
As many of you will be aware, our Society’s federal president, Stuart Macintyre, passed away recently. I am passing on this message from the federal society, which includes links to several tributes and the details of Stuart’s funeral, on 30 November in Melbourne:
Chris Monnox
Secretary
We mourn the death of our friend and president, Stuart Macintyre. In the days since Stuart’s death there has been an avalanche of tributes and we reprint three of these on our website. Written by Brian Arrons, Tim Rowse, and Janet McCalman, they speak to the enormous influence of Stuart’s work and to his character and his citizenship.
That citizenship, and Stuart’s generosity, explain why he agreed to take on the presidency of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (ASSLH) at a critical time. Having just lost our institutional funding, Stuart helped us to navigate the Society through this tumultuous period when we relied on donations from members and the journal’s operations were moved to Liverpool University Press.
Fittingly, Stuart’s formative years as historian were in part influenced by his friendships with the founders of the Society, Edward Thompson and Eric Hobsbawm in the UK, and Bob Gollan and Eric Fry, among others, in Australia. For him, the study of history was not simply an academic pursuit, but an expression of a genuine curiosity and a firm commitment to social justice.
Throughout Stuart’s tenure as president, we have been grateful for his counsel and experienced leadership. Stuart was also a book review editor for Labour History, a role that he took up in 2011. In the decade that followed, the journal’s book review section benefited significantly from his knowledge and connections.
Stuart’s leadership of the ASSLH is demonstrative of an egalitarian vision of history, beyond the historical establishment. His innumerable achievements and length of service to his disciplinary community and to academic citizenship shows us what will be lost if the push to an ‘academic capitalism’ is realised.
Stuart’s sustained commitment and collegiality will be sorely missed, as will his gentle humour, warmth, and intellect. Our deep condolences to his family, Martha, Mary, Jessie, Xuan, Tai, Rory, Hamish, Clem, and to all who loved Stuart.
A funeral will be held on Tuesday 30 November at 10am, Wyselaskie Hall, Ormond College, Melbourne. RSVP is required by Saturday 27 November: https://macintyre-funeral-rsvp.eventbrite.com.au
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Frank Mines 1935-2021
Francis John Mines, one of the pioneers of the Canberra Branch of the Labour History Society, passed away on 8 March 2021 at the age of 85. Frank served as a committee member and Branch Secretary during the formative years of the Branch and served as the Society’s national Public Officer.
Frank was one of those rare individuals from the conservative side of politics who was both interested in political history and able to coexist amicably with ardent leftists.
He authored a biography of the DLP leader Vince Gair and presented an interesting paper on Harry Holland at the 2001 National Labour History Conference in 2001. A copy of his paper is accessible on this website.
As a widely respected public servant, he came across as quiet and unassuming but to the surprise of many, had an abiding passion for the hair-raising sport of skydiving.
A former seminarian, he remained a devout catholic throughout his entire life and maintained an avid interest in many areas of learning, including philosophy, history and politics. His deeply held convictions led him to devote much of his time to a range of worthwhile causes.
For instance, in his later years he worked tirelessly to keep the waning Superannuated Commonwealth Officers Association afloat. Prior to its ultimate demise, he was awarded Life Membership of SCOA for his long and distinguished service as ACT Branch Secretary, Federal Councillor and editor of its newsletter.
Frank’s was a life well lived. He was a thoughtful, intelligent and kindly soul. We extend our condolences to his family and friends.
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Vale Don Dwyer (1948- 2020)
Don Dwyer, one of our most treasured comrades, passed away on 11 April after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 71.
Don was born in Queensland to a rural farming family. He was sent to boarding school where he excelled and went on to complete an Arts degree at Queensland University. In his younger days, he was a keen sportsman and played both rugby and cricket.
Like many of his generation, he was drawn to Labor politics during the heady days of the Whitlam Government. With his natural journalistic skills, he found work in local government with the Brisbane City Council and elsewhere before joining the Australian Public Service in Canberra in the 1980s. It was here that Don was in his element. He soon cultivated a wide circle of friends and contacts including at senior levels of the Labor government. He once told me that he loved the Canberra winters, perhaps the only Queenslander ever to do so.
As well as his commitment to the ALP, Don was a longstanding member of the Labour History Society. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of labour history and politics which made him an outstanding contributor to our events and social gatherings. He was a shrewd observer of politics and his insights always seemed spot on.
Don was gregarious by nature and a born raconteur. Despite his aversion to social media, he always seemed to know everything that was going on. He read voraciously, his interests ranging far and wide. Yet despite his abundant talents, he remained modest and unassuming, never wanting to put himself forward. A unique individual, a gentleman, friend and comrade, he will be sadly missed.
Don’s friends in Vintage Reds will be holding a celebration of his life as soon as circumstances permit.
Peter Ellett (with sincere thanks to Janice Flaherty for added detail)
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Victor Isaacs 1949-2019
The passing of Victor Isaacs in October 2019 came as a shock to his many friends and acquaintances. Victor was a valued and respected member of the Canberra Branch of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History and served as our Branch President during the years 2006 to 2009.
His interests were many and varied. Apart from political history, Victor was an authority on railway history and the history of Australian newspapers. He founded the Australian Newspaper History Group in 1999 and lectured extensively on his researches, including for the University of the Third Age.
Throughout his long association with the Labour History Society, he was happy to share his knowledge with his comrades. He presented a number of papers at our events, including at the National Labour History Conference in 2011. A selection of his writings can be found on this website under the ‘Articles and Publications’ menu.
Apart from his gifts as a scholar and presenter, Victor will be fondly remembered for his personal qualities as well. He was a good natured soul with a lively sense of humour. Our sincere condolences to his wife Agnes, his friends and family. He will be sadly missed.
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Barry McGowan 1945-2018
Dr Barry McGowan, who died recently, was a good friend of the Canberra Branch of the ASSLH. He did a part-time undergraduate degree at ANU while working in the public service, majoring in Archaeology and History. For his post-graduate degree he undertook a study of mining communities in SE NSW. Before he finished his thesis he left the public service and began making a living from consultancy work. His clients were regional town councils, tourist organisations and, on one or two occasions, the NSW Police.
Canberra labour historians knew of Barry’s work and he was prevailed upon to give talks to branch members and to take them on a number of bush walks to abandoned mine sites. These outings were always enjoyable. The weather was unfailingly kind to us and Barry drew upon his extensive knowledge to bring the sites alive. By then he was a leading member of the Australian Mining History Association, an organisation fostering the history of mining Australia-wide. He had also become an author, having already published several of his consultancy reports and two books. His fourth book, Dust and Dreams: Mining communities in SE NSW, marked a return to where his scholarly interests began, his analysis now honed by a broader knowledge of small field mining.
Meanwhile the Chinese in 19th century Australia had become another dimension to Barry’s consultancy business. His talks to the branch focussed on the Chinese work gangs that did much of the ringbarking, fencing and dam excavation in the Riverina. He gave us some amusing examples of would be exploiters of Chinese labour finding to their chagrin that they had been themselves outwitted and exploited.
Barry ‘s work added substantially to the history of gold mining in 19th and early 20th century Australian history. While the small fields he studied were part of ‘the rush that never ended’, some of them, particularly those that survived for a long time (the Bywong field just North of the ACT is an example), helped local people to survive as small holders. They offered a way through tough times and/or a way to augment family incomes. Not least among their attractions was the fact that they were close by, ready whenever they were needed and boss-free.
In one way his life mirrored those of the hard working small holders striving for independence and security on the land. His bold decision to leave the Public Service left him with no alterative but to make a success of his writing and his consultancies. That he did so is a tribute to his industry, determination and scholarship.
John Merritt
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Harry Holland – Son of Canberra honoured at last
The Canberra Region Branch of ASSLH had long sought to have some kind of monument erected to the memory of Canberra born labour pioneer Harry Holland (1868-1933). Those efforts came to fruition on 2 February 2011 when a commemorative sign was unveiled at Ginninderra village by the then ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope and acting New Zealand High Commissioner Vangelis Vitalis.
For a report on the event, click here:
Harry Holland web site posting
Transcript of the NZ High Commissioner’s speech:
Holland Speech Vangelis Vitalis
To read what the sign says, click here:
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Canberra centenary event 2013
In 2013, Canberra celebrated its centenary as the nation’s capital. Amid all the hype of the official celebrations, the contribution of the early builders of Canberra was pretty much overlooked. Yet for much of its past 100 years, Canberra was largely a working class town with much of the population employed in building and construction. In order to address this omission, the Canberra Region Branch, with the assistance of Unions ACT, organised a bus tour of significant heritage sites, each of which offered a glimpse into the lives of the early workers of Canberra.
For a report of the event click here;
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The Communist Party Dissolution Bill – 60 years on
Symposium held on 8 May 2010 at the Australian National University hosted jointly by the ASSLH Canberra Region Branch and the ANU. The symposium featured a number of speakers who examined the political and historical significance of attempts by Liberal Prime Minister Menzies to outlaw the Communist Party of Australia in 1950.
A selection of the papers presented at the symposium can be accessed via the following links:
The Communist Party Dissolution Bill and its aftermath – George Williams
An audio recording of Prof Williams’ talk can be downloaded from the ABC web sitehttp://www.abc.net.au/rn/bigideas/stories/2010/2909638.htm
Communist Party Dissolution Attempt, 1950 and 1951 – 60 years on – Malcolm Mackerras
Venona and the Banning of the CPA in 1951 – Frank Cain
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Vale Sigrid McCausland
Members and friends of the Canberra Region Branch of the Labour History Society will be saddened to hear of the passing of Dr Sigrid McCausland, formerly ANU Archivist and an active member of our Society. Sigrid passed away on 30 Nov 2016. She served with distinction as Branch President from 2001 to 2003. This is a great loss to the communities of labour historians and archivists, as well as to Sigrid’s many friends, colleagues and admirers, including here in Canberra. Our condolences to her family and her partner Phil Griffiths.