Waltzing Matilda and the Sunshine Harvester Factory is a book about the establishment and development of Australia's unique industrial relations system—the early history of the Arbitration Court, the Australian minimum wage, working hours and paid leave. It is a history resource for both educational institutions and those with an interest in the history of our nation.

Printed copies of the book may be purchased (RRP $20) from Fair Work Commission offices.

Electronic versions of the book, and extracts from it, are available at no cost from the links below.

Download in iTunes:

• Waltzing Matilda and the Sunshine Harvester Factory

Requirements: This book can only be viewed using iBooks 3.0 or later on an iPad. iOS 5.1 or later is required.

Download PDF:

• Waltzing Matilda and the Sunshine Harvester Factory  (PDF, 17 MB)
• Part 1—Waltzing Matilda and the Great Strikes (PDF)
• Part 2—Establishing an Australian Minimum Wage (PDF)
• Part 3—The Campaigns for Equal Pay for Women and Aboriginal Stockmen and Minimum Wages for Adolescents (PDF)
• Part 4—Leave and Other Entitlements (PDF)

Please note: This book may show images of Aboriginal people who have died, which may cause distress to their relatives. Care and discretion should be used if viewing such an image. Text and illustrations from earlier eras may reflect the attitudes of the time.

Book launch

On 25 February 2011, the book was launched at Fair Work Australia's Melbourne headquarters.

Go to:

• The book launch