Red Square - the Myth and the Reality
The Government Railway Workshops at Midland had few lengthy industrial disputes during its 90 years of existence, yet despite this apparently calm exterior, it was a highly contested site, divided not only into 'blue' and 'white-collar' territories or 'works' and ...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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2005
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19323 |
| _version_ | 1848750000518987776 |
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| author | Oliver, Bobbie |
| author_facet | Oliver, Bobbie |
| author_sort | Oliver, Bobbie |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The Government Railway Workshops at Midland had few lengthy industrial disputes during its 90 years of existence, yet despite this apparently calm exterior, it was a highly contested site, divided not only into 'blue' and 'white-collar' territories or 'works' and 'management' but within those broad demarcations into the territory of particular trades, between whom a lively rivalry flourished. Yet of all these places, the two that most excite the memory of past employees and catch the imagination of visitors to the site a decade after the closure of the Workshops are the flagpole and 'Red Square'. This paper discusses the various roles of 'Red Square' as a site for the propagation and spreading of political ideas, a symbol of workers' defiance against the Workshops 'hierarchy' and a site for myth making. It concludes with a consideration of how areas such as 'Red Square' might be interpreted and maintained in any significant way in the process of re-developing the site. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:29:52Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-19323 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:29:52Z |
| publishDate | 2005 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-193232017-02-27T14:47:56Z Red Square - the Myth and the Reality Oliver, Bobbie Communist Party of Australia Midland Railway Workshops Western Australian Government Railways/Westrail Workshops Jack Marks Western Australian labour history Trade unions Political parties The Government Railway Workshops at Midland had few lengthy industrial disputes during its 90 years of existence, yet despite this apparently calm exterior, it was a highly contested site, divided not only into 'blue' and 'white-collar' territories or 'works' and 'management' but within those broad demarcations into the territory of particular trades, between whom a lively rivalry flourished. Yet of all these places, the two that most excite the memory of past employees and catch the imagination of visitors to the site a decade after the closure of the Workshops are the flagpole and 'Red Square'. This paper discusses the various roles of 'Red Square' as a site for the propagation and spreading of political ideas, a symbol of workers' defiance against the Workshops 'hierarchy' and a site for myth making. It concludes with a consideration of how areas such as 'Red Square' might be interpreted and maintained in any significant way in the process of re-developing the site. 2005 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19323 fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Communist Party of Australia Midland Railway Workshops Western Australian Government Railways/Westrail Workshops Jack Marks Western Australian labour history Trade unions Political parties Oliver, Bobbie Red Square - the Myth and the Reality |
| title | Red Square - the Myth and the Reality |
| title_full | Red Square - the Myth and the Reality |
| title_fullStr | Red Square - the Myth and the Reality |
| title_full_unstemmed | Red Square - the Myth and the Reality |
| title_short | Red Square - the Myth and the Reality |
| title_sort | red square - the myth and the reality |
| topic | Communist Party of Australia Midland Railway Workshops Western Australian Government Railways/Westrail Workshops Jack Marks Western Australian labour history Trade unions Political parties |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19323 |