A good job in the railway' : Rockhampton Railway Workshops 1938 to the 1980s

Many former employees of Queensland Rail look back fondly to pre-reform days and to what they believe was then ‘a good job in the railway’. Largely through oral history from former employees from the late 1930s, this paper examines the nature of working life in the Rockhampton Railway Workshops to the 1980s. The research reveals that, in that era, perceptions of a job there as being ‘good’ derived from the terms and conditions of employment but also extended into the socio-cultural realm, where mateship, pride in trade and perceived valued service to the State contributed to both work satisfaction and notions of identity.