Well before the Labor Party split of 1955 – and a culmination of years of political upheaval and the banning of Labor Party meetings at Bendigo Trades Hall until 1947 – divisive action was taken to seize control of Trades Hall from those who identified as communist.

The day started with Bendigo Trades Hall secretary, communist Albert Richardson, and president, the left-wing Alan Goodman, refusing to hand over the keys to the hall to trustees.

Timber was nailed to the four doors facing View Street to stop trustees from gaining entry.

The trustees were armed with a governmental sanction – and came with about 20 police officers. They wanted an end to perceived militancy, where Trades Hall meetings were regularly marred with fiery arguments and police attendance.

They broke in and changed the locks while Mr Goodman protested, taking photos of the police and trustees with a box camera.

The meeting that night was quite a scene – reminiscent of similar incidents from the 1930s when the same ideological battles were fought and won.

Mr Richardson and Mr Goodman attended but were repeatedly shouted down. They believed their work in securing 17,000 pounds for five gold mines – a crucial funding injection for the post-war mining industry – deserved credit.

The two men left the meeting without voting on the outcome, threatening to form their own breakaway trades hall council.

It was just one of countless dramatic and heated meetings that have occurred within the walls of the 1850s building on View Street, handed to the Bendigo Trades Hall Council in 1896.

Now, for the first time, this complete history will be entered into Trove, the Australian National Library’s online database of historical resources.

Modern day secretary Luke Martin has been filing each historical artifact into the Trove database, making them discoverable to all researchers and historians.

They include dozens of editions of Australian Parliamentary Hansard. Each time Bendigo was mentioned in parliament, the Trades Hall would receive a copy of that Hansard.

Mr Martin said opening up the collection to researchers could breathe new life into the historical documents.

“There was so much dust on top of the Hansards, it was unbelievable,” he said.

“Our ultimate goal is to set up a research library here. We already have a person completing a Doctorate in History trying to get access to our collection.”

Handwritten minutes are also included – like those from the period around the action of August, 1950. The debates of that time give an insight into the post-war struggles of trade unions, and the effect the wider anti-communist fervour of the Cold War period had on local leadership.

There was rarely a time of peace within the Bendigo Trades Hall – the council regularly clashing with the Labor Party.

The minutes and complete history show at least one consistent fact: the debate of whether the trades hall is in charge of the Labor Party, or vice versa, will rage for eternity.

Mr Martin said there was still piles of old items kept under a staircase inside the Bendigo Trades Hall that they were preparing to sort through, and he expected to find more pieces of history that fill in the gaps.

“These are items that haven’t been seen for many years,” he said.

“Another goal during this process is to create new honour rolls for those who served as secretary or president for more than 20 years.”

Already, historical documents like the Commonwealth restricted land grant which officially gave the hall to the Trades Hall Council in 1901 have been found and archived.

Other documents – such as a document signed by former Premier Joan Kirner – were found at the bottom of old filing cabinets. Some of those filing cabinets are still yet to be sorted through.

Photographs and honour rolls also show the human face behind these struggles. An honour roll from the Bendigo branch of the Amalgamated Mining Association will be restored, among others.

Images depict actions such as the Bendigo branch of the Federated Iron Moulders of Australasia preparing for a march.

But Mr Martin concedes a lot of the old artifacts kept in the Bendigo Trades Hall have likely ended up in private collections.

The history of the Bendigo Trades Hall Council is littered with unheralded figures and untold stories.

Bendigo mine owner Morris Collmann – a trustee of the first Trades and Labour Council – was believed to be the first in the world to grant his mine workers an eight-hour day, paid holidays, and two weeks of holidays per year.

Others soon followed his lead, improving conditions for miners across the Bendigo goldfields.

Originally from Prussia, Collmann returned to his homeland to find a wife only to return to Bendigo penniless and with others in control of the local mining industry.

He tried his hand at tobacco, but could never recover his previous financial stature. He became the caretaker of the Bendigo Trades Hall and died one year after signing the document that officially granted the hall to the Trades Hall Council.

Robert Benson – the Bendigo Trades Hall Council’s first elected official in 1855 – was one of the chief agitators of the Red Ribbon Rebellion when miners rose up against mining fees, a precursor to the Eureka Stockade.

He tried to gain a foothold in politics after the rebellion, but struggled. Benson died of pneumonia in 1860.

Regardless of your politics, Mr Martin said the actions of Bendigo union leaders of the past formed an important part of the region’s history.

“When they took action, it was always illegal,” he said.

“They needed to do this to make gains such as the 38-hour working week and annual holidays. They took risks so we could have better conditions today.

“Today, the environment is much different. Unions need to have their action approved.”

For access to the Bendigo Trades Hall Council’s archival collection, visit the Australian Interlibrary Resource Sharing directory.