Film- The GREAT STRIKE 1917(2018; 69 minutes) By Amanda King

Film starts 6:00, panel starts 7:15 PM

The director, Amanda King, and the producer, Fabio Cavadini, will be present to introduce the film and participate in a Q&A.
To this day, the Great Strike of 1917 is still Australia’s largest industrial upheaval. The story of the Strike has long been dormant in archives, and is now re-told with original film footage from the era by documentarian Amanda King.

Sydney, 1917: Thousands had joined protest marches through the streets, the government recruited volunteers to break the strike, issuing some of them with guns; unions were deregistered and union leaders charged with conspiracy. It was a time of violent emotions, state violence and individual acts of violence by and against strikers. A striker, Mervyn Flanagan, was shot and killed.

With the introduction of a new ‘timecard’ system, known as Scientific Management or Taylorism, originating from the United States, transport workers stopped work, triggering the strike.

The documentary examines the industrial, social and political context of a struggle that had lasting consequences for the labour movement in Australia. Personal stories and legacies filtered through generations of families for years to come, reflecting on the fight for decent conditions and fair treatment in the workplace, which still strongly resonate today.