Remembering the 1946 Pilbara Strike

12/05/2026

04/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1P7emMJDRS/

04/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1B66jxj58L/

80 Years On from the Pilbara Strike: “Give Us the Right to Mine Our Own Lands”

By Samara Diaz

In Port Hedland, Western Australia, communities gathered on Friday, May 1st to commemorate 80 years since the Pilbara Strike, one of the most significant, yet often overlooked events in Australian history.

In 1946, hundreds of Aboriginal pastoral workers across the Pilbara made a historic decision: to walk off the stations and refuse to return under conditions that denied them dignity, fair pay, and basic human rights.

What began as a protest against exploitation became one of the longest strikes in Australia’s history, lasting several years and growing into a powerful movement for justice, land rights, and self-determination. Led by Aboriginal leaders and supported by strong community networks, the strike challenged a system that had long profited from the dispossession and marginalisation of First Nations peoples.

Eighty years on, the legacy of that resistance continues to resonate, but so do many of the challenges that gave rise to it.

During the 80th anniversary commemoration in Port Hedland, Nyamal and Nyangumarta elder Doris Eaton delivered a powerful statement reflecting on both the past and the present. As the daughter of Ernie Mitchell, one of the key leaders of the strike, her words carry the weight of lived history and intergenerational memory.

“We were born in one of the richest resource regions in the world,” she said, “yet our people remain among the poorest.”

Read & Listen full story: https://www.ngaardamedia.com.au/news/80-years-on-from-the-pilbara-strike-give-us-the-right-to-mine-our-own-lands

02/05/2026

Thanks to Maritime Union of Australia for their solidarity and generous support...❣️

MUA WA members are encouraged to get along to Freo Social from 6pm on the night of the May Day (tomorrow night - 03 May 2026) for a special concert commemorating and celebrating the 80th anniversary of the 1946 Pilbara Strike.

This powerful night will honour the courage and legacy of Aboriginal workers who took strike action in one of the most important moments in WA union history.

The concert features Shane Howard and the Great Western Band with Lucky Oceans, along with a huge line-up of Indigenous artists, local talent, poetry and storytelling.

Remembering the Strike
📍 Freo Social
🗓 Sunday 3 May 2026
⏰ From 6pm

Tickets are available now:
General admission: $50
Concession: $35

Book here: https://m.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/remembering-the-strike-feat-shane-howard-goanna-band-and-more/191186

Any available members are encouraged to attend, support the event, and help celebrate this proud chapter of working-class and Aboriginal resistance.

See flyer for more details.

02/05/2026

You are invited to join us in marking the 80th anniversary of the 1946 Pilbara Strike behind our banner at tomorrow's May Day march through Fremantle. We are leaving the Esplanade, Fremantle at about 1115 tomorrow if you would like to join us...

02/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1AeADJm8Ft/

01/05/2026

All supporters of Remember the Strike are welcome to join us marching behind the banner at the Unions Mayday parade on Sunday. We have been invited to lead the marches on this special day. Assemble at our stall next to UnionsWA at 11.15 or ring Ross on 0409 899 867 if you cant find us.

25/01/2026

Tomorrow is Invasion Day/Survival Day. Join the annual rally, 12 noon at Forrest Place, marching to Supreme Court Gardens.

23/05/2025

ABC listen podcast on the union movement’s complex relationship with the 1946 Pilbara Strike. While Communist-led unions such as the Seamen’s Union and the Fremantle-based Coastal and Dock Workers Union campaigned in solidarity with the strike, ALP-led unions such as the Australian Workers Union were slow to come to the aid of Aboriginal workers.

A new history of the union movement in Australia says marginalised groups like migrants, women, Indigenous Australia and LGBTIQA+ people were often left to run their own grass roots campaigns, and were only embraced by the broader union movement once their campaigns had gained momentum. But the appr...

23/05/2025

It's National Reconciliation Week from 27 May - 3 June. You can join events all over the state or tune in to special programming on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand, that includes Screenwest supported Our Medicine, Our Law, Sweet As, and Thalu.

National Reconciliation Week offers all Australians a chance to reflect, connect and consider how we can each contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
SBS Australia

📅 Events 👉 https://www.reconciliation.org.au/calendar/
📺 SBS On Demand 👉 https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/collection/nitv-reconciliation-week