ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the history of the waterfront labour force at Fremantle between 1890 and 1990. It focuses on primary source material, including port authority and union records, as well as the growing body of secondary literature on maritime labour. The Port of Fremantle, which is located on the edge of the Indian Ocean, was developed to provide the British Empire with a western gateway to the vast Australian continent. The early years of the twentieth century saw only modest technological improvements in general cargo-handling throughout the world. By the 1990s the port's workers enjoyed permanent employment and wages and conditions beyond the wildest dreams of the pre-war workforce. But as the conditions of work changed, so did the waterfront culture. By 1970 over three-quarters of waterside workers were permanent employees; the remainder worked at minor ports where trade volumes were insufficient to support a permanent workforce.
