Wharfie

Wal Stubbings (1913–2014) was a militant worker who lived in a modest home on Brisbane’s southside. Born on the West Coast of Tasmania, he was a fascinating but shy figure who dedicated his life to a better world and was a particularly prominent, grassroots activist in Brisbane’s immediate post-war years. At the request of his family, Lesley co-wrote, then published, his life story in 2017. It was featured in ‘Home: A Suburban Obsession’, a State Library of Queensland exbition, and Lesley, his son and grandson were interviewed for the exhibition film, Everyday Lives: Wal Stubbings. The cover photograph of Wal’s evocatively-told life story depicts the Petrie Bight wharves on Brisbane River in 1959 where Wal loaded and unloaded cargo manually, along with thousands of other men. The tumultuous times of an Australian working man who dared to buck the system are illuminated by a rare collection of family photographs.

Buy the life story of a genuine “Aussie battler” online at the State Library of Queensland or find it on Amazon Kindle.

In Tasmania, Wharfie is stocked by the Hobart Bookshop and the West Coast Visitor Information Centre.

Chapter 8 God, Tomato Arse and Catfish Paddy excerpt.

Come lunchtime, we ‘holders’ – the men stowing the cargo in the hold – were on our way up to the weather deck of a fruit ship to eat in the sun. First on the ladder was a big wharfie, a real larrikin, and the last bloke that I would have expected to panic. As we approached the ’tween deck, he gasped and said in a strangled voice, ‘I can’t keep going.’

I was the man below him and put my shoulder to his buttock and heaved him up. He was still in a panic, still in a mess, so we had to bundle him onto a tray and winch him ashore. I went with him on the tray as we swung over from the ship to the wharf. He never worked down in a hold after that. He just couldn’t face it any more.”