Reds & Wobblies - a talk by Jared Davidson

On Tuesday, October 22, at 5.30pm at the National Library, corner Molesworth & Aitken St, Wgtn, as part of the centenary of the 1913 Great Strike, Jared Davidson is giving a talk on working-class radicalism and the state between 1915 and 1925.
It was during these years that the NZ Government enforced a strict censorship regime to fight what they perceived as the threat of political and industrial unrest. The mail, literature, and speeches of radicals – especially the Industrial Workers of the World (known as the Wobblies) – came under state scrutiny, and led to raids, arrests, and deportation of those deemed seditious.

The talk by Jared will ‘Reds & Wobblies’ highlight the actions of a government fearful of social revolution in a time of worldwide turbulence, and discuss the working-class radicalism that caused such fears – from IWW stickers to the deportation of Noel Lyons.
Jared is the author of two books stocked by the Freedom Shop: 'Sewing Freedom' and 'Remains to Be Seen'.

 Both books focus on the growth of anarchism in the early 20th century in New Zealand, giving a glimpse into the lives of the many migrant workers here, early transnationalism and anarchism.

To find out more about the 1913 Strike Centenary events, have a read of the 1913 Strike web page.

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