Anniversary of the 1946 Pilbara Strike

1 May

On 1 May 1946, Aboriginal pastoral workers across the Pilbara began a strike challenging their treatment and the conditions under which they worked. The anniversary recognises collective organisation, Aboriginal leadership and the determination to secure greater control over work and life.

Why workers walked off

Workers challenged poor pay, restrictive controls and inadequate living conditions. The action began on stations across a large region of Western Australia, bringing together people whose languages and local circumstances were diverse. Their demands concerned dignity and freedom as well as wages.

The strike was sustained through organisation and mutual support. Aboriginal organisers including Dooley Bin Bin and Clancy McKenna were central to its development, with Don McLeod working alongside the strikers. The first phase continued until August 1949.

Aboriginal leadership and collective action

This history belongs within the Aboriginal struggle for rights and within Australian labour history. It shows how work, control of movement, access to resources and connection to Country could be bound together. Understanding the strike requires attention to the structures under which pastoral labour took place.

Avoid accounts that make a non-Aboriginal supporter the sole driving force. Archival correspondence is valuable, but should be read with attention to the people who organised, took risks and sustained the action. Community knowledge and the perspectives of descendants are essential to a fuller account.

How this date relates to other walk-offs

The Pilbara strike began twenty years before the Wave Hill Walk-Off of 1966, which has its own Gurindji history and land rights context. Cummeragunja’s 1939 walk-off is another distinct event. Using their proper names, places and dates avoids turning different histories into one generic story of protest.

Considering these events together can reveal connections between employment, government control and the right to make decisions about land and community life. Their differences also matter: each campaign had its own participants, demands and circumstances, which deserve to be understood in their own terms.

Learning from the anniversary

In schools or workplaces, investigate what fair pay means when workers are also subject to controls over their movement and daily lives. Compare the demands of the strike with the obligations of employers, and ask how workers can act when ordinary avenues for complaint are closed.

Use archival letters as evidence of a particular writer’s perspective, not as a substitute for every participant’s experience. A timeline can place the strike alongside other Aboriginal campaigns while respecting the differences between communities and their objectives. A commemoration should acknowledge achievement and agency as well as the injustices that made action necessary.

Sources and further reading

The resources below provide historical records, First Nations perspectives and pathways for further learning. Some historical material contains names and images of deceased people, outdated language or distressing content. Follow the guidance provided by each publisher.

Online sources and longer reading

The 1946 Strike: rebels of the Pilbara. Museum of Australian Democracy. An account of the 1 May walk-off, its conditions and significance.
https://marnti-warajanga.moadoph.gov.au/the_1946_strike.html

Don McLeod correspondence, MS 4642. AIATSIS. Collection guide identifying Aboriginal organisers and the strike’s 1946–1949 first phase.
https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/catalogue_resources/MS4642.html

Anniversary of the Wave Hill Walk-Off. Buy First Nations. A related but distinct history of Gurindji action beginning in 1966.
https://buyfirstnations.com.au/pages/wave-hill-walk-off

Our related products and resources

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