During World War Two, tens of thousands of Australian women found work in the munitions industry in a period when women’s industrial employment was regarded as a novelty. The stories of our mothers, aunts or grandmothers’ exploits in the new-found freedom of waged work, or the danger and monotony of the factory are a part of our family histories. Many don’t realise that women’s work in munitions began far earlier, all the way back to the 1880s when hundreds of young women worked at the Colonial Ammunition Company in Footscray. Their story is a rollicking tale of explosions, strikes, politics, picnics, and more. In this talk, historian and archivist Katie Wood will bring to life this fascinating history, which has touched so many families.