Photo Gallery

THE BOOK FEATURES OVER 300 PHOTOS FROM ACROSS AUSTRALIA… HERE’S A TASTER.

Click on image to see higher resolution version.

SQUATFEST
SYDNEY, 2001 ONWARDS

With Sydney’s Tropfest burgeoning into a massive corporate spectacle, squatters and artivists have hosted their own short film festivals since 2001. Held on the same day and time as their wealthier counterpart, Squatfest has been held in reclaimed venues such as the Broadway Squats, the Midnight Star Social Centre, the Sydney Park Brickworks, the Sydney Dental Hospital and under the grandstand in Erskineville. Its film programmes have also toured to Newcastle, Melbourne, Perth, and Indonesia.

Photographs courtesy of Keg De Souza and Squatfest.

Campaign For Free Expression
Brisbane, 1982

In response to Queensland’s draconian anti-free speech laws, under which people could apply for, but never be granted a permit to protest, activists carried out a number of actions during 1982 and 1983. Regular civil disobedience and street theatre in the Queen Street Mall eventually saw the space opened up to public speakers. The Campaign For Free Expression then celebrated the creation of this “Free Speech Mall” by entering a runner in the Townsville to Brisbane “Mall To Mall” race. Taking advantage of Queenslander’s love of all things “Big” the group created a giant soapbox and mounted it on their race support vehicle.

Photographs courtesy of Ciaron O’Reilly.

REVIEWS, MEDIA & EXCERPTS

“An impassioned McIntyre gets down and dirty in an insiders account of activist pranks … McIntyre has amassed hundreds of tales alongside dramatic photographs in what is unashamedly a songbook for Australia’s future culture-jammers and mischief makers.”
Katherine Wilson, The Age.
1/1/10

“An absolutely fantastic book with a sensational cover image…”
Alan Brough, ABC 774 Melbourne interview
10/10/09

“A great chunk of our social history.”
Louise Maher, ABC 666 Canberra Drive
18/12/09

“An exquisite production with beautifully reproduced posters and photos … a compilation of stories and images from various troublemakers and ratbags throughout Australian history. Even if you’re a person who doesn’t like history per se I think you’ll find this book hard to resist.”
Jeff Sparrow (Overland editor), RRR Melbourne,
Aural Text interview
4/11/09

“Fantastic, fun, entertaining and very enlightening…”
Lou Swinn, RRR website review
12/09

“Fascinating interviews with Australia’s best troublemakers, including John Safran and The Chasers, and pics galore, make for a riotous scrapbook covering our radical history of revolts and resistance.”
Rachel Power, AEU (Australian Education Union) News AEU News summer reading article
12/09

“The perfect book for enlightened coffee tables.”
Rachel Evans, Green Left Weekly
18/12/09

“If you’ve ever thought of speaking out about an issue or have idly wondered what you could do to make the world a better place, this is the book for you! Fascinating interviews, quirky historical snippets and stunning photos chronicling all the Australians who have made a differenceand who have done so with courage, audacity and a lot of humour! Keep it on your desk at work for all those moments when you need some inspiration, a bit of hope or just a good laugh.”
Jill Sparrow, Co-author Radical Melbourne 1 & 2

“A fascinating recovery of Australia’s neglected past and a worthy inspiration to today’s would-be troublemakers.”
Sean Scalmer, Author of The Little History of Australian Unionism and Dissent Events: Protest,
The Media and the Political Gimmick in Australia)