Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley's Battle for Coal

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.

Cast

Tony Barry

Tony Barry

as Ben Chifley (Prime Minister)

Tracy Mann

Tracy Mann

as Elizabeth Chifley (Ben Chifley’s wife)

Lorna Lesley

Lorna Lesley

as Phyllis Donnelly (Prime Minister’s Personal Assistant)

Kieran Darcy-Smith

Kieran Darcy-Smith

as Don Rogers (Prime Minister’s Press Secretary)

Russell Kiefel

Russell Kiefel

as Lloyd Ross (Prime Minister’s Political Advisor)

Bruce Venables

Bruce Venables

as ‘Doc’ Evatt (Attorney General and Minister for External Affairs)

Rob Steele

Rob Steele

as Cyril Chambers (Minister for Defence)

Frankie J. Holden

Frankie J. Holden

as Arthur Calwell (Minister for Immigration)

Stephen Leeder

Stephen Leeder

as Justice Reed

Rhys Muldoon

Rhys Muldoon

as Edgar Ross (Editor of the Miners Union Newspaper/Committee member for the Australian Communist Party)

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