Stories of the Waterfront

by John Gordon Morrison

Contains short stories titled: The Compound, Tons of Work, Bo Abbott, Going Through, All Through the Night, The Welcome, Nine O'Clock Finish, A Man's World, The Pick-up, The Drunk, The Nightshift, Black Cargo, The Judge and the Shipowner, No Blood on Deck and Easy Money with an introduction by Morrison himself.

197 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

John Gordon Morrison (1904-1998). "Australian writer, born in Sunderland, England; he settled in Australia in 1923. He has been a jackeroo, swagman, dock worker, and gardener. He published stories in Meanjin and Overland, about fellow workers, union activities, the people he met on the tram to work, and social conditions. Morrison published two novels, The Creeping City (1947) and Port of Call (1949), and several collections of stories, including Sailors Belong Ships (1947), Black Cargo (1955), Twenty-Three (1962), North Wind (1982), Stories of the Waterfront (1984), and This Freedom (1985). His style and technique can be described as Australian social realism with polished devices derived from European realist story writers. Stories such as ‘The Incense Burner’, in which a sick sailor, unable to work his passage home, burns gum leaves in his lonely room, reflect Australian nostalgia. Others, including ‘North Wind’, a description of fighting a bush fire, display a narrative power which have contributed to his reputation as a master of his craft. He has also published a collection of essays, The Happy Warrior (1990)." (http://www.jrank.org/literature/pages...)

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mor...

Reviews

[Julee T · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really good insight into all aspects of waterfront working life. It explores both union and and non union perspectives. I enjoyed reading these short stories for the insight into working lives of wharf workers in appreciation of the power of unionism and comradeship of workers and the improvement in working conditions brought about activism.

[Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of stories, stories I've found to be mixed and collected in other books of John G. Morrison's bibliography.
For an Englishman, his portrayal of working class Australians, foreman, union delegates and heads, all come quite naturally, no doubt in his ten years working as a Wharfie himself. What I can say about his work is that what some would consider mundane (daily tasks, small talk, politics and chit chat) all find themselves to be ideal in the short story format. A fictional window into a very real time on the waterfront, dotted all around Australia's coastline.

Definitely recommend this!

4.5/5

[orphia · Rating 3 out of 5]

read “the compound”