Editorial.
Balnave, Nikola ; Brigden, Cathy ; Patmore, Greg 等
Welcome to the 100th issue of Labour History. The journal has come
a long way since it first appeared, in January 1962, as the Bulletin of
the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. There were two
more issues produced in 1962, one in May and one in November. While the
production of Labour History today still bears some similarities to that
of the Bulletin, such as the concern for quality controls and the
demands of deadlines, there have also been major changes, some linked to
the electronic revolution. Labour History moved early to take advantage
of the internet through its relationship with the History Co-operative
and now JSTOR.
The journal's founders sought to create a forum for the
publication of labour history research and debates, and this goal has
been fully realised. The present issue demonstrates as much by surveying
some of the most important areas in Australian labour history. There is
an overview piece by Frank Bongiorno which provides general insights
into the development of Australian labour historiography. This is
followed by articles on particular topics: industrial labour, labour and
politics, labour biography, convicts, the role of the state, the labour
process, consumption and comparative labour history. These contributions
examine how Australian labour historians have treated these topics,
highlighting gaps and possible paths for future research.
The initial call for papers for this commemorative issue covered a
very broad range of topics. The fact that some of the enduring themes in
labour history scholarship and debate are not represented in this
special issue is due, not to design, but to general constraints, such as
time, that relate to the writing of any paper. Though topics like
gender, race, volunteer labour and culture are not featured, the current
contributors have, where possible, taken them into consideration. The
journal has a tradition of leading other fields of study--such as
general Australian history and industrial relations--in the discussion
of these topics and will continue to do so. At the same time, the
articles that are on offer in this issue cover many of the domains that
are rightly of central interest to the discipline--and we are confident
that they will make their mark.
We would like to thank all the authors who have contributed to this
issue and the referees who gave up their time to examine the papers.
Particular thanks go to Margaret Walters and Carl Power for their
assistance in the Labour History office, at the University of Sydney,
and the Editorial Board of Labour History for their support of the
project. We also acknowledge the selfless labour of all those who have
participated in the production of Labour History since those early days
at the Australian National University five decades ago.
Nikola Balnave
Cathy Brigden
Greg Patmore
Lucy Taksa
