Jumping Fences The Music Shift - The Abattoir |
|||
![]() ![]() |
|||
QMEAT was a government owned abattoir which has been operating for over ninety years. (Until 1947 it had been owned by a US company.) The workforce had a proud history of militant unionism, being members of the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union. The workers were facing redundancy as the government was in the process of selling off the abattoir. They told us that while they were accepting of change they didn't want it to be at their expense. 'If we have to go, we want to go with dignity' we were told. The history was given a human face when we met third generation workers at the site. This became the central image for our song 'On the Chain ' On the Chain by Lachlan Hurse and Sue Monk
His grandfather’s ghost watches over him, He’s on the chain, he’s on
the chain In his
grandfather’s footsteps he followed, He’s on the chain, he’s on
the chain Did his
grandfather’s ghost softly shudder, He’s on the chain,
he’s on the chain copyright
Lachlan Hurse and Sue Monk, 1999.
|
|||
|
|||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |