Fremantle Wharf Riot: 100 Years WA Heritage Festival Sun 19 May 2019 2:00pm – 3:00pm WA Maritime Museum How the conflict surrounding a waterside workers blockade led to the dramatic events known as the ‘Battle of the Barricades’. With SS Dimboola in quarantine under suspicion of Spanish ‘flu in May 1919, a blockade was set up by the waterside workers of the Fremantle Lumpers Union (FLU) who refused to unload her cargo. They aimed to prevent a repeat of the recent strike-breaking activity of the competing stevedores of the National Waterside Workers Union (NWWU). The WWF protest turned ugly when then premier Hal Colebatch and authorities tried to subvert the blockade by delivering NWWU workers down to the port by river. In the fracas that followed, WWF worker Tom Edwards was hit on the head with a police baton, sustaining injuries that led to his death several days later. Join us for an illustrated lecture by Bobbie Oliver as we look back to Fremantle of one hundred years ago, to consider the labour history that emerged as allegiances were declared in the Battle of the Barricades. Details Cost: Free with WA Maritime Museum entry. Bookings: Essential by calling 1300 134 081 or by using the below link. Register Here About the Lecturer: Associate Professor Bobbie Oliver is an Honorary Research Fellow in History at The University of Western Australia. Prior to her retirement in 2018 she was Associate Professor of History at Curtin University. She is the author of several books on the labour movement including the official history of the State ALP, Unity is Strength. Her most recent book is A Natural Battleground: The fight to establish a rail heritage centre at Western Australia's Midland Railway Workshops (Interventions, 2019). This event is part of the WA Heritage Festial. Caption: Thomas Charles Edwards' funeral procession in Fremantle, 1919. Credit: State Library of Western Australia