The ASSLH’s 18th Biennial Conference: (Re)Sources: Historical Inquiry and Labour History Archives, will be held at the Research School of Social Sciences Building (Building #146, Ellery Crescent), ANU, Canberra, on 23-25 November 2023. The ASSLH (ACT) invites historians, activists and professionals in the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) sector to present papers on sources and […]
OUT NOW: Labour History, no. 124
From their writing in newspapers, novels of their workplaces, to the personal correspondence and memoirs they composed, workers have left creative sources historians are now mining for insights into labour’s social and political history. The May 2023 issue, no. 124, brings several articles taking this approach along with other investigations into labour history. Click here […]
The work of the Perth Branch of The Australian Society for the Study of Labour History has been acknowledged by the History Council of Western Australia. Read about their award here.

In 2022, Labour History, the journal of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History celebrated its 60th anniversary. During the year, six seminars were held to showcase the work being produced in the journal and to discuss the past, present, and future of studies in labour history. The seminars were held online and recordings […]
In April 2022, the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History launched its new biannual magazine, Radical Currents, Labour Histories. The magazine brings together the latest research on labour history, book reviews, news and articles from across Australia. You can read the first issue online here.
Labour History Prizes
The winners of Labour History’s five prizes for 2021 were announced at our 17th Biennial Conference in April. Congratulations go to Phoebe Kelloway, Daniel Hannington-Pinto, Katherine Keirs, William Burns, and Naina Manjrekar. CONTINUE READING …
Vale Stuart Macintyre

We mourn the death of our friend and president, Stuart Macintyre. In the days since Stuart’s death there has been an avalanche of tributes and we reprint three of these below. Written by Brian Aarons, Tim Rowse, and Janet McCalman, they speak to the enormous influence of Stuart’s work and to his character and his […]
A 1995 special issue of Labour History revisited in 2020. With work from Indigenous scholars and activists. Read an interview with Ann McGrath, Kay Saunders, and Jackie Huggins, the editors of the original issue, as they explain why it remains so relevant today and why now was the right time to bring it back in to focus, […]
Labour History, no. 116 (May 2019) Maritime labour has a history as old as labour itself and is of continuing significance in the modern world. This issue includes a thematic, edited by Diane Kirkby, which recognises the vitality of maritime labour studies with articles on a range of topics: employment conditions on British steamships, Lascar […]
Launch Invitation
Labour History and the “Coolie Question” A special issue of Labour History, no. 113 (November 2017) edited by Diane Kirkby and Sophie Loy-Wilson Launch hosted by Julia Martínez When: 6–7.00pm (EST), Friday, 8 December 2017Where: Faculty of Law Boardroom, level 5, Building 5B, UTS, Haymarket NSW 2000. Go to the Faculty of Law entrance on Quay […]