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Oral History

Oral History - Joan Gamb...
- Interview audio - ...
- Interview transcri...

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Series

City of Sydney oral history collection, 1982 - ongoing

Collection

Our City

Related items

Pictures for cities: a visual history of South Sydney project: Aboriginal history, 1984

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

This item is licenced for use under a Creative Commons Non Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International) copyright license. It allows users to copy and share the item in any medium or format for non-commercial purposes, provided the item is not changed in any way, it is attributed to the City of Sydney and the author/creator (where known), and a copyright notice is included. Full licence terms are available from Creative Commons. No warranties or other rights are provided by the licence.

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Oral History - Joan Gamble, 1983

Descriptions

Unique IDOH-000531SeriesCity of Sydney oral history collection, 1982 - ongoingInterviewerGeoff WearyProject namePictures for Cities - Geoff Weary CollectionThemeOur CityDate of interview3rd November 1983Date qualifierexactFormatAudio - CassetteSummary of interviewJoan Gamble studied Arts and Design at East Sydney Technical College. In 1946/7 she had a job interview at Crown Crystal that seemed to last a ‘lifetime,’ where they asked about religion, her family, and if she was going to get married. She got the job, and worked for the company for 29 years, making glassware designs and eventually taking on a role as forewoman.
In the 1950s she recalls wages and costs started to rise, and as a result the company changed the production process to maintain economical viability. Staff lost their jobs, they fired glass once instead of three times, used cheaper materials, and did more screen printing.
She describes the Glassworkers Union favourably, saying they were strong but conciliatory. She never witnessed a strike in the Glassworkers union. By comparison, she says that the metal workers union was much more militant and inclined towards strikes.
In the second half of the interview, Joan reflects on being a woman working in a male dominated workplace. She received just over half a man’s pay for many years, and says that at work she had to behave as if she was a man in order to survive.LanguageEnglish (eng)Digitised recordYesBorn digital itemNo

Oral Histories, Items

Interview audio - Joan Gamble

Interview transcript - Joan Gamble

Female Employee, 1947. Photograph courtesy State Library NSW

Contributor

SurnameGambleGiven namesJoan

Characteristics

SoundStereoDuration (hr:min:sec)01:13:48

Access

Subject tagsManufacture and refiningLabour union membersPublic access statusRestricted original (digital copy available)

Relationships

CollectionOur CityRelated itemsPictures for cities: a visual history of South Sydney project: Aboriginal history, 1984

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Oral History - Joan Gamble, 1983