Editorial

Labour History begins a new era with this issue because subscribers will now have online access to the journal as well as continuing to receive the printed publication. Labour History is part of a stable of journals that forms the History Co-operative administered by the University of Illinois Press. Other journals include the American Historical Review and Labour/Le Travail. The new arrangement exposes Labour History to a vast international audience and allows easier access to the journal for teachers and students. While the journal continues its commitment to publishing Australasian labour history, the association with overseas publications emphasises the important role of Labour History in fostering comparative research and conceptual debates of international significance.	1
This issue contains a series of articles on trade union mobilising and organising. The trade union movement has traditionally viewed labour history as having an educational role as labour history reminds us why trade unions were formed and what advances they have gained for workers. Labour history also has a more fundamental role for trade unions: it can shape present policy by critically evaluating what tactics were pursued in the past and their applicability in the current climate. The choice of theme underscores the ongoing links between trade unions and labour historians since it arises from a suggestion made by Michael Crosby from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), and the series of articles is introduced by Greg Combet, the Secretary of the ACTU.	2
The thematic section consists of six articles. Rae Cooper and I present an overview of current issues relating to trade union membership and organising, and we examine how Australian labour historians have dealt with the question of trade union organising. Ray Markey argues that the emphasis on arbitration as an explanation for union growth in the early 1900s was based on a misreading of the statistical data. He sees strong similarities between the 1880s and 1900s in terms of union growth, and contends that peak union councils played a major co-ordinating role in union growth in both periods. Rae Cooper reinforces Markey’s argument concerning the role of peak councils by focusing on the work of the Organising Committee of the Labor Council in the first decade of the twentieth century. The articles on Broken Hill, by Bradon Ellem and John Shields, and Rockhampton, by Barbara Webster, provide insights into the organising activities of unions in regional Australia. Evan Roberts reminds us of the benefits of comparative labour history in understanding issues such as union organisation. His study of retail employees’ unions in Wellington (New Zealand) and Saint Paul (Minnesota, USA) draws attention to the problems of basing an organising strategy around a particular issue and not sustaining a long-term commitment to unionism or an ‘ethic of collectivism’.	3
The two unsolicited articles show the continued interest of Labour History in social history and Aboriginal history. Caroline Evans examines Tasmania’s Neglected Children’s Department which arose out of public anxiety about children roaming the streets during the 1890s’ Depression. Caroline’s study challenges the traditional focus on elites in policy-making, and argues that foster mothers, through their negotiations with the Department, played a key role in shaping policy. Jackie Hartley highlights the link between organised sport and political activism. Her case study is the Redfern All Blacks Rugby League Club, an all-Aboriginal Sydney football club, in the early 1960s. The club fostered a distinctive Indigenous identity that challenged assimilation. The club also became involved in more direct forms of action through the Aboriginal-Australia Fellowship and the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines.	4
In addition to the refereed articles, there is a range of other items including our highly regarded Book Reviews section. We also have a Review Article written by Marian Simms which covers seven publications concerning Federation. This issue includes the Inaugural Address of the Friends of the Noel Butlin Archives by Rae Frances. There is an examination of sources for Scottish Labour History in the Manuscripts Division of the National Library of Scotland by Alan Bell. Alan stresses the potential of this collection for comparative labour history research between Scotland and Australia. Donica Belisle reviews the conference celebrating the fiftieth issue of our Canadian counterpart Labour/Le Travail. There are obituaries for Royden Harrison, Audrey Johnson and William Latter. Finally, Duncan Waterson has reflected on the selection of ‘official’ historians.	5
Greg Patmore

Content in the History Cooperative database is intended for personal, noncommercial use only. You may not reproduce, publish, distribute, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, modify, create derivative works from, display, or in any way exploit the History Cooperative database in whole or in part without the written permission of the copyright holder.