The Shearer's Defiance (1911)
"B": Is there any such thing as an M.U. battle-song in existence on either side of the Commonwealth ? I mean such a one as may be sung at strike meetings, at pubs, or on any and every occasion where
enthusiasm is heightened and brightened with a dash of Beer. I remember, during the shearing troubles of the early 90's in N.S.W., how the roadside pubs and bush
shanties became veritable music halls for men who for one reason or another refused any longer to
undress station jumbucks. Wherever two or three were gathered together for the purpose of wetting the strike would be heard
"The Shearer's Defiance" a truly shocking composition, of which the following was the refrain : Oh, workmen, never surrender,
Nor toil like slaves for them
Well make them yet remember
That we are union men. Notes From the WA Newpaper the Sunday Times 13 Aug 1911 p. 18. Top