In 1917, eastern Australia was in the grip of a mass strike. Of the 97,000 workers
who struck for varying periods between August and December 1917, thirteen per
cent (over 14,000) were Victorian. This thesis will attempt to redress the
historiographical neglect of these Victorian strikes. It will do so by focusing on the
conflict between the rank and file of the unions involved and their officials. It will
draw upon Rosa Luxemburg's analysis of the phenomenon of the mass strike as well
as upon a tradition of Marxist analysis stretching from Luxemburg herself, through
Antonio Gramsci to Tony Cliff, which stresses the role of the trade union
bureaucracy as a principle buttress of reformism. Seen in this light, any rank and file
revolt is a positive development. Indeed, one on the scale of 1917 in eastern
Australia is clearly of immense significance. The fact that the strike was
disorganised and had no clear strategic direction, while regrettable, does not alter
this.