Australian National Maritime Museum celebrates 150th anniversary of the Maritime Union with historic mural on display
The Australian National Maritime Museum today unveiled the historic The Wharfies’ Mural, to mark the 150th anniversary of waterside worker trade unionism in Australia.
The mural, a powerful and compelling example of Australian workers’ cultural expression, originally adorned the canteen walls of the Waterside Workers’ Federation (WWF) building, in Darling Harbour. It is the collective effort of nine artists, including waterside labourers, or ‘wharfies’, painted in stages mainly between 1953 and 1965.
Vital to the Australian economy, wharf labouring was hard, dangerous, low-status work. The maritime unions had long fought for improved wages and conditions and took a lead role in national campaigns for social justice, minority rights and anti-war activism. This mural celebrates and memorialises that history.
The WWF encouraged the cultural and artistic development of its members. With the support of union leader Tom Nelson, artist and wharfie Rod Shaw and wharfie art student Sonny Glynn developed a design that could intertwine maritime and labour history.
Rather than elite activities, artistic creation and appreciation were seen as accessible to everyone. Engagement with realist art and so-called ‘conscious propaganda’ informed the production of banners and placards used in events such as the May Day march and set the creative groundwork for the mural’s creation. To this day, the Maritime Union continues this tradition with annual art prizes and film festivals drawing on the artistic and creative talents of its diverse membership.
The Socialist Realism cultural movement, which influenced the design of the Wharfies’ Mural, emerged in 1930s Russia, and focused on depicting social or physical realities, rather than subjective or idealised views. Socialist Realism sought truthfulness in artistic subject, with a view to educating working people in the history, struggles and spirit of socialism. The WWF formed a partnership with the Studio of Realist Art (SORA). The Mural was ultimately a collective effort, reflecting the social and political ideals of those involved. Notable for the times, three of the nine artists were women, Vi Collings, Evelyn Healy and Pat Kelk Graham.
Through the 1950s and into the 1970s, thousands of wharfies ate their meals in the Sydney canteen, overlooked by the giant mural. In the 1980s, as the Sydney Harbour foreshore transformed from its industrial origins into a combination of residential development and a burgeoning tourism precinct, Sydney’s maritime industry expanded to other places such as Port Botany and Wollongong. In the early 1990s, when the wharves were to be redeveloped and the union’s office and canteen torn down, the wharfies made the farsighted decision to preserve their mural.
Removing it was no easy matter. The mural had been painted onto thin lime plaster on brick and was painstakingly removed in 12 sections, using a specially designed saw to separate it from the brick. The mural was reinstated in the union’s new building and the final addition to the mural was painted in 1993. The mural was moved again, in 1996, this time to become part of the National Maritime Collection at the museum. Significant conservation work was undertaken at the museum, generously funded by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and many other contributors to a Wharfies’ Mural Appeal Fund.
Museum Director Daryl Karp said, ‘The Wharfies’ Mural is one of the iconic treasures of the National Maritime Collection. It provides a window into the rich history and cultural movements that occurred among workers on the waterfront during the 20th century and is a reminder of their significant role in broader Australian politics and society. It speaks to the need for unity and to ideals of mutual support and social justice, which remain just as important today.
‘Over the coming year the museum will focus on a number of aspects that are woven into both the mural and the social and historic legacies of the union. We are excited to showcase this important part of Australia’s maritime history.’
The Maritime Union of Australia’s National Secretary, Paddy Crumlin, said the unveiling of the mural was a proud moment for members and veterans of the Union. ‘The recent social history of Australia is inextricably linked with the history of struggle and unity amongst workers on the Sydney waterfront. In our 150th year, we are rightly proud of the contribution our struggle and unity has made to the social fabric of our nation, so it is fitting that The Wharfies’ Mural is in the National Maritime Collection on now on display.’
Conservation and display of The Wharfies’ Mural is supported by the Australian National Maritime Museum Foundation through the MUA, members and organisations from the maritime industry.
ENDS