A Heroine: Kowsilla
When the workers, except for a few, staged a strike against the actions of the Leonora Estate management who offered little work after the January 1964 protests or work at severely-reduced rates, the Estate Manager, a Roy Ryder, did everything to break the industrial action which had significantly paralysed his fields and factory operations.
“From some divide-and-rule tactics to outright intimidation and threats, he abused the striking workers but failed to break their resolve.”
GAWU said that on March 06, 1964, he ordered that a tractor driven by a scab, be used to clear a main bridge, close to the factory, on which Kowsilla and her colleagues were squatting.
“Kowsilla bravely stood her ground as the tractor approached. She was crushed to a grisly death. Fourteen other females who formed the peaceful human barricade were seriously injured with some unable to work again.”
Old article below.
