Denis Kevans' biography of Ted Roach
Denis’s long-awaited last book - a biography of the remarkable Australian Trade Union leader, Ted Roach - has been published.
“Ted Roach: from Pig Iron Hero to Long Bay Gaol – A Wharfie’s Life” is now available to download for free on the website of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History.
Edited by Denis’s daughter Sophia Kevans, Emeritus Professor Bob Fagan, and author and researcher Bill Egan, it is the first book-length biography of Ted Roach.
Denis based the biography on extensive interviews with Ted and several years of meticulous research into archival records and unpublished manuscripts of the Waterside Workers Federation of Australia and ASIO.
Prior to Denis’s untimely death on 23 August 2005, he was worried about what he perceived to be the world’s slide towards fascism – an accurate prediction. Denis hoped that Ted’s extraordinary achievements would inspire and embolden future generations of trade unionists in the struggle for truth, fairness and justice.
Denis also wrote the book because he felt that Ted’s story was not sufficiently well known.
Denis’s interviews of Ted are of national historical significance. They were recorded many years ago on 35 cassettes which have deteriorated. To preserve the recordings, they are being digitised by sound engineer Liam Egan.
Sophia Kevans
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