Senior government, industry and community representatives gathered in Wollongong in Australia's New South Wales state on Nov 13 for the annual commemoration of an industrial action by port workers, whose sacrifices for global peace and the building of China-Australia ties continue to be lauded nearly nine decades later.
The solemn event commemorated the Dalfram Dispute of 1938, when 180 wharf workers at Port Kembla in Wollongong refused to load a shipment of pig iron onto the steamship SS Dalfram, bound for Japan, on Nov 15.
The workers had heard that the iron would be used to make weapons against China, which was fighting Japanese invaders.
The protest soon involved unions and other workers in the region and beyond, stretching over 10 weeks and leading to a lockout of ships, with about 4,000 steelworkers laid off. It also had support from local residents, drawing attention at home and abroad.
