My Books
| Ken Purdham |
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BA history & Politics
Dip. Professional Writing & Editing
| Union | Essays & Stories | History | Contact me |
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To buy any of my books please refer to my Contact Me page.
By the Banks of a Glass River Contemporary history
$20 |
The river of glass began to flow when there was no other like it in the southern hemisphere. As such the business it created was able to monopolise the market in it's isolation.The glass making communities that were born along and around the banks of a glass river were able to live of the fat of the land in an environment rich in harvests. Then, with increasing globalisation the isolation fell away leaving the glass river with its fat and contented communities vulnerable to attack from outsiders. There were communities that had no stratagies to fend off competition and had to learn quickly if they were to survive the international invasion. |
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Mind Games in a Prison Cell Drama
$10 |
This book contains five plays ranging in time from 3 minutes to 45 minutes. It is drama that explores, to chilling effect, dilemmas, solutions and the human ability to face adversity.
Suitable for senior school students to adult: male and female. |
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A Jewel Set in Gold Drama & History
$12 |
In 1858, miners hacked their way through the unmapped, unexplored bush of the Dandenong Ranges, in search of gold. The gold they discovered wasn't much but the rush it caused opened up the area for settlement and led to the creation of a community that later became, Emerald the jewel of the hills. This book contains the play Set In Gold, two essays on the historical research and how that was used to create the drama. Also included are lots of history snippets pertaining to those times. |
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Dirty Little Toe-Rag Drama & History
$15 This story is told in two parts and includes 5 original songs. |
This story begins in the streets of Melbourne during the gold rush days. Boris, the paperboy, just wants to sell his papers and Boney, the street urchin just wants a friend. They don’t get on. Then Charlotte, a new chum, ‘well-to-do’ comes to town and gets lost. Boney offers her his coat and hat to keep warm, which causes her to be mistaken for an urchin and snatched from the street, for a cabin boy, by Bully Bowles, the villainous captain of a clipper ship. In an effort to rescue her, Boris and Boney must put aside their differences in an adventurous rescue. Amid the chaos of sailors and urchins, workers and well-to-do’s, interacting on the streets of Melbourne and on the deck of a clipper ship, this is a fun musical melodrama for all ages to enjoy. |
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A Century of Struggle Labour History
$29.95 or $20 to Union Members |
When electricity was introduced into Australia in the 1800s it gave rise to a new industry. A trade was born, and its tradespeople quickly organised themselves. On May 13 1902, 91 electrical men came together to form themselves into an electrical trades union. This book documents those beginnings and how that union, through its members, grew to be one of the most influential unions in Australia today. |
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Heinemann Dogs Contemporary Labour History
$10 |
In 2006 a small electrical company in a suburb of Melbourne entered into negotiations for a new enterprise agreement. The lowly production workers applied to the court for the right to take industrial action and won. That action was to refuse to work overtime. The company, in retaliation withheld their week's wages. It became a dispute of national interest when the Howard Government said the laws allowed the company to do what it did. This book documents that fight which brought unions and communities together in what became a fight for a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. |
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