Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley's Battle for Coal (2008)
This is a story of coal, communism, and the Australian prime minister who went to war against his own during the national miners' strike of 1949. Using rare archival footage and re-creations, this dramatised documentary shows how Labor Party leader Ben Chifley took on and defeated the growing forces of communism in Australia. The film examines the complex issues that the conflict raised and introduces the major players in the dispute. A former train driver from Bathurst, Chifley was a working-class hero, a Labor Party icon and 'man of the people'. But his actions flew in the face of Labor values and tradition when he believed it was in the interests of post-war Australia. Chifley introduced draconian laws to prevent unions accessing funds to support the strike and sent in the army to replace striking miners-so defeating the Communist Party leadership that controlled the militant union. This is a fascinating era of Australian history rarely seen on screen.
Director: Geoff Burton
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Tony Barry as Ben Chifley (Prime Minister) |
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Tracy Mann as Elizabeth Chifley (Ben Chifley’s wife) |
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Lorna Lesley as Phyllis Donnelly (Prime Minister’s Personal Assistant) |
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Kieran Darcy-Smith as Don Rogers (Prime Minister’s Press Secretary) |
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Russell Kiefel as Lloyd Ross (Prime Minister’s Political Advisor) |
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Bruce Venables as ‘Doc’ Evatt (Attorney General and Minister for External Affairs) |
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Rob Steele as Cyril Chambers (Minister for Defence) |
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Frankie J. Holden as Arthur Calwell (Minister for Immigration) |
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Stephen Leeder as Justice Reed |
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Rhys Muldoon as Edgar Ross (Editor of the Miners Union Newspaper/Committee member for the Australian Communist Party) |
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Tiriel Mora as Lieutenant General Rowell |
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Heather Mitchell as Narrator |
| Production | Perry Stapleton | Producer |
| Directing | Geoff Burton | Director |
| Writing | Bob Ellis | Writer |
| Writing | Geoff Burton | Writer |
| Camera | Joel Peterson | Director of Photography |
| Editing | Henry Dangar | Editor |
| Sound | Guy Gross | Music |
| Production | Penny Robins | Executive Producer |
