Hughie Williams interviewed by Lindsay Marshall in the Decades of Division oral history project [sound recording]
- Bib ID:
- 4732289
- Format:
- Audio
- Author:
- Williams, Hughie, 1933-, interviewee
- Online Access:
- National Library of Australia digitised item
- Access Conditions:
- Access open for research, personal copies and public use.
- Description:
-
- 2009
- 2 sound files (ca. 173 min.)
- Series:
- Decades of Division oral history project.
- Technical Details:
- Mode of access: Online.
- Summary:
-
Hughie Williams talks about his early family life; his schooling; how poverty and unemployment shaped his political outlook; 1949 coal strike; Labor Government's strike-breaking tactics; outcomes of coal strike; financial impact on families; his attitude towards the Labor Party; the lack of government support for poverty-stricken families; leaving coal mining, to work for the PMG Dept.; Occupational health and safety; representing Australia in wrestling; National Service; sawmilling in Maitland; Trade unions; moving from NSW to Queensland; his first contact with Transport Workers' Union (TWU); joining Labor Party (1957); the Communist Party in the 1950s and 1960s.
Williams discusses his deeper involvement with Transport Workers' Union in the 1960s; his work as TWU organiser from October 1972; the Joh Bjelke-Petersen government; Arch Bevis Snr; Len Ward; becoming acting secretary of the TWU; becoming State Secretary at 1983 union election and subsequent loss of this post; surviving for six years as an unpaid official; his return as state secretary and the changes made; the anti-union approach of conservative governments; Springboks tour; Cooke Inquiry and findings; Jack Egerton; Federal intervention in the Labor Party in Queensland; Ed Casey; Tom Burns; the future of the relationship between unions and the Labor Party.
- Biography/History:
-
Hughie Williams is a former miner and builder's labourer. He is the current State Secretary of the Queensland Branch of the Transport Workers Union of Australia.
- Notes:
-
- This interview is part of a joint project between the Queensland Chapter of the Don Dunstan Foundation and the National Library of Australia.
- Recorded on 23 October and 28 October 2009 at Brisbane, Qld.
- Index/Finding Aid Note:
- Timed summary (8 p.) and corrected transcript (typescript, 75 leaves)
- Subject:
- Occupation:
- Trade union officials
- Other authors/contributors:
- Related Records:
-
This belongs to the Decades of Division oral history project.
This collection contains 20 records. - Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2079 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Sound Recording
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 2009
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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