A crossword and comic produced by Jo Waite for the Squatters Union of Victoria’s zine Squat It!
1985: Squat It! Crossword
1988: Squatting in Preston, Melbourne
A story about the difficulties of negotiating with property owners which originally appeared in Squat It! in 1988.
1980s: Squatters Union of Victoria
A former member of the Squatters Union of Victoria provides a short of history of the organisation. This piece originally appeared in Squat? Why Not! in 1999.
1987, Sydney Squatting Reports
1999, Melbourne squats
1988, Squatting in Melbourne’s Western Suburbs
An interview from early 1988 that originally appeared in the Squatter Union of Victoria’s magazine Squat It!
2016, Brisbane: New edition of Crisis! Homelessness Handbook available
The Brisbane Solidarity Network put out a new edition of their Crisis! handbook at the end of 2016. It includes a squatter’s handbook and crucial information for those experiencing homelessness and chronic poverty about obtaining food, shelter and support. A PDF is available here.
2008, Melbourne: A talk about the Student Housing Action Co-operative (SHAC) campaign
In the following talk Liz provides an account of the 2008-2009 Student Housing Action Co-operative (SHAC) campaign and discusses its background and strategy. For more than five months 50 students were housed at 272-278 Faraday Street Carlton and the space was also used as a social centre and open community space. The squat and its attendant campaign not only put abandoned houses to good use, but also raised the issue of student hardship and homelessness and exposed the failure of Melbourne University (the property’s owner) to address these issues. The talk was recorded by by Laurel at the Squatting Past and Present gathering held at Hot Shots on August 27 2016.
Footage from the SHAC Emergency Rally, 7 January 2009. To follow the campaign as it unfolded, SHAC’s blog from the time can be found here.
2016, Melbourne: Mess The West II Fest Squatting Talk
From December 1-4 the Mess The West II Fest will be held at venues in Footscray and Yarraville. Celebrating DIY culture and resistance it will include a cafe night, bands, performances, a warehouse party, workshops and a flea market.
Amongst a bunch of workshops held at Hot Shots (corner Buckley and Nicholson Streets, Footscray) on December 3rd there will be talks from 4-5pm about squatting in Melbourne in the 1980s, Sydney in the early 2000s and campaigns around the country that happened in the 1940s. More info about the festival is available here.