Publication Date: Aug 2021
RRP: $29.95
ISBN: 9781922464729
Format: Paperback
Size: 153mm x 234mm
Pages: c.200
Category: Australian History, Books, Politics

Labor People

The Stories of Six True Believers

Chris Bowen

Also available as an ebook from your favourite retailer.


‘Many have shaped the Labor Party and through it Australia. Chris Bowen has shone a long-overdue light on six of Labor’s finest from the past. They deserve his generous and insightful reflections.’ Former Senator John Faulkner

‘…this book is a refreshing tonic … it’s also a bloody good read.’ Independent Australia

‘That imperfect people in a flawed party could live through the wash of events, the tumble of contested argument, clinching solid achievement that they fought for, making Australia a bit better, is a rich story, Labor’s story. Hopefully, there are many more ahead from the same pen.’ Michael Easson, Labor History


How much do you know about the history of Australia’s oldest political party, the Australian Labor Party? You know the big names: Curtin, Chifley, Whitlam, Hawke and Keating. But what about the names behind the big names? The unsung and overlooked True Believers who have been the backbone of the Labor Party for 130 years?

In Labor People, Chris Bowen brings to life six great Australians and servants of their party and tells their story. Spanning the 1890s to the 1970s, in paying tribute to these Labor warriors, he also tells an important part of the history of Labor and Australia.

Who was the first loyal deputy and lynchpin of the earliest Labor governments? Which leading advocate of votes for women went on to play an important but unrecognised role in Australia’s literary history? Who did Labor turn to in its darkest First World War hours when its very existence was under threat? Who did Curtin and Chifley turn to for their hardest jobs? Which Labor loyalist called her own party out on police brutality when it wasn’t fashionable? Which minister was Whitlam’s steadiest performer? The answers to all these questions and more lie in the pages of Labor People.


Chris Bowen

Chris Bowen is one of Labor’s most experienced parliamentarians.  He entered Parliament in 2004 and has held a wide range of portfolios, including being Treasurer, Shadow Treasurer, Minister for Immigration and Minister for Tertiary Education. He served as Interim Leader...
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