Film, Song & Recordings

Film & Green Bans (1971-1984)

Films

Rocking the Foundations: History of the New South Wales Builder's Labourer's Federation, 1940-1974

Pat Fiske the filmmaker and one of the first women builder's labourers at the time of the Green Bans, conducted contemporaneous interviews with Mundey and other BLs leaders. An outstanding historical account of the Green Bans first introduced by the New South Wales Builders Labourers Federation in the 1970s to preserve inner- city parkland and historic buildings. Pat Fiske traces the development of a singular union whose social and political activities challenged the notion of what a union should be. The esteemed Australian documentary maker, Bob Connolly, worked with Pat Fiske on the editing and narration of the opening sequence — a quote by Bertold Brecht — and it is both poetic and political in its promise. The use of wind sound effects, melodic music, gentle narration and rhythmic editing are at odds with the more strident presentation of unionism, strikes and activism that were usually associated with left-wing actions of the time.

Film notes: Released as “Rocking the Foundations: History of the New South Wales Builders Labourer’s Federation, 1940-1974”, director Pat Fiske, 1985. Producer, director, narrator Pat Fiske
. Cinematographers Martha Ansara, Fabio Cavadini
. Editors Stewart Young, Jim Stevens, Pat Fiske
. Sound Lawrie Fitzgerald Music Davood Tabrizi
. Narration written by Graham Pitts, Pat Fiske. Script and Research Pat Fiske
. Produced by Bower Bird Films, Sydney. Digitally Restored by the National Film and Sound Archive as part of the NFSA Restores program.

Reviews of Rocking the Foundations:

"Documentary? Just call it cinema. … A miracle of orchestration." 
- Sylvia Lawson, Inside Story, 31 October 2014

“An exhilarating and complete account of the Green Bans - one of the most important developments in union history. An uplifting film for the sheer energy of the people involved.” - John Hinde, ABC  Radio.

Tom Zubrycki who made the documentary Waterloo in 1981. While studying Sociology, Zubrycki became inspired by the Canadian Challenge for Change scheme, which used film and video to empower local communities. In 1974 the Whitlam Labor government funded 12 video access resource centres across Australia which were modelled on the Canadian scheme. Zubrycki eventually became a leading player in the development of the community video in Australia before switching to direct his first feature documentary. Through the 70’s Zubrycki became an active member of the Sydney Filmmakers Co-operative and served on the editorial board of Filmnews. His first two films Waterloo and Kemira – Diary Of A Strike were distributed by the Co-op. Over the course of his career, Zubrycki has directed 16 documentaries. most of them feature-length, produced another 20, and executive produced 2.

Review of Waterloo by Gay Hawkins, SHELTER Magazine - https://www.tomzubrycki.com/articles/waterloo

Green Bans Forever, Concrete and Glass

Recorded and Produced by Michael Vidale, 1976, EMI Sydney.

This was a project put together by Mick Fowler for the Firemen and Deckhands Union for their protest movement in Sydney 1975.

Seamus Gill and Denis Kevans, Across the Western Suburbs, 1973. The song is also known as Concrete and Glass and was recorded under that name by Mick Fowler and his jazz band Green Ban'd in 1979.

Archives

National Film and Sound Archive
Interviews with Mick Fowler, Frank Theeman, Jack Mundey and local residents sourced from Woolloomooloo (Pat Fiske, 1978). National Film and Sound Archive. Across the Western Suburbs We Must Wander performed by Mick Fowler and the Fowlhouse Five. Seamus Gill and Denis Kevans 1973. National Film and Sound Archive.