E-Books →The Last Tour Paul and Eslanda Robeson's Visit to Australia and New Zealand in 1960

The Robesons' tour encompassed concerts-the first one ever at the Sydney Opera House, which was still under construction-talks to unionists, fans, women's organisations, communists, and peace activists. It involved active engagement with Indigenous peoples and their struggles in both countries. Through their engagement with a wide range of people we see life on the far Left, the emergence of new forms of Aboriginal and Maori protest, and the reception and influence of African American entertainers in Australia and New Zealand. By bringing Eslanda's work as a writer and journalist to the fore, historian Ann Curthoys sheds light on the intersections of race, gender and women's political activism.
Based on extensive new documentary and oral history research, The Last Tour explores why Paul and Eslanda Robeson's trip was such a success and how it exerted a profound influence both at the time and over future generations.