Music heritage, cultural justice and the steel city : archiving and curating popular music history in Wollongong, Australia

Zelmarie Cantillon, Sarah Baker, Raphaël Nowak

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Driving through the sprawling grounds of Port Kembla’s steelworks is a dystopian experience. Once occupied by more than 20,000 workers at its peak in the 1970s, the vast site is now operated by a mere 3,000 employees following decades of downsizing wrought by global economic shifts and movements towards automation. During our ‘Inside Industry’ tour, the bus made its way past torpedo ladles emanating a blistering heat haze, stockpiles of raw materials being dampened down to reduce dust movement, and towering, oxidised metal structures (see Figure 10.1). Plumes of water vapour rose from the only currently operating stack, white clouds pumping into the blue skies of New South Wales’ south coast. The tourists on the bus, all kitted out in safety gear – hard hats, goggles, gloves and high visibility jackets – peered out of the windows, craning their heads to get a glimpse of molten iron as it poured like lava into the torpedo ladles moving slowly along the plant’s internal railway. The tour guide made it clear that the steelworks has long provided the industrial backdrop for life in Wollongong – beginning as Australian Iron and Steel in 1928 and later acquired by BHP in 1935, the manufacturing plant became the city’s largest employer before its eventual decline.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMusic and Heritage: New Perspectives on Place-making and Sonic Identity
EditorsLiam Maloney, John Schofield
Place of PublicationU.K.
PublisherRoutledge
Pages103-113
Number of pages11
ISBN (Electronic)9780429343049
ISBN (Print)9780367359836
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

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