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It is the early 1930s, facing rising unemployment, industrial unrest and increasingly bitter class divisions Australia is on the verge of a violent labour dispute. When they are ordered by the courts to take a pay cut, the already unhappy dock workers strike - effectively shutting down the Melbourne waterfront. Australia’s Prime Minister orders the strike to be broken by ‘free labourers’. Bosses respond by hiring newly arrived Italian immigrants who just want to work. When the Italian ‘scabs’ keep the docks operating, the waterfront erupts into a state of civil war. Set against this backdrop is the doomed love story of of Maxey (Jack Thompson), a happy-go-lucky wharfie and Anna (Greta Scacchi), a beautiful Italian immigrant. Against all odds and prevailing racial attitudes, their love story struggles to survive the tragic consequences of a labour war that had no victor.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
307485
Language
English
Audience classification
MA
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Television
Agriculture, Business, Commerce & Industry → Stevedores
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Italians - Australia
Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Stevedores
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Immigrants - Australia
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Italians - Australia
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Labor and laboring classes - Australia
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)
VHS; Preservation Print (Section 5)