We would like to acknowledge the East Kulin Nation who are the traditional owners of the country on which we gather for this conference.

On behalf of the labour movement in Melbourne, we welcome you to the 10th National Labour History Conference. The Australian Society for the Study of Labour History's Melbourne Branch is proud of its close association with the wider movement. Indeed, this Conference is sponsored by the Trades Hall Council and several affiliate unions, as well as the University of Melbourne and Swinburne University of Technology. Our collective exploration of Labour Traditions is led by a mix of activists and academics. In the nature of the Labour History Society, most of our members are proudly both.

This conference occurs at a historical moment when the labour movement is at a crossroad, as organised labour confronts a sustained attack from militant employers and a truculent Federal Government. It is, therefore, especially timely to consider the movement's traditions. These traditions are more than merely memories of a shared past; they also contain sources of reflection and inspiration for present and future struggles. The breadth of our interests is evident from the programme and embodied in the papers printed here.

The people and organisations who have helped us get here are too many to list individually. They can rejoice in both our gratitude and the modesty of their anonymity. However, on behalf of the Organising Committee, we wish to thank the following for their support in different ways: Joy Damousi, Jackie Dickenson, Terry Irving, Gabrielle Murphy, Judith Smart and Margaret Walters.

We also wish to single out one group who are necessarily anonymous: the referees. Academic refereeing of conference papers is a necessary but thankless task. You know who you are and we thank you. We did not request referees to correct stylistic imperfections in these papers and, as editors, we have allowed authors some stylistic variations.

Julie Kimber, Peter Love and Phillip Deery