Ground has broken outside Trades Hall in preparation the statue of Zelda D’Aprano to be installed. 

The Zelda statue will not only honour Zelda D’Aprano’s work as an equal pay activist, feminist and trade unionist, but will also be a rallying point as we continue to fight for pay equity across every workplace and industry. 

The statue is a celebration of activism, and particularly the power of collective. The quote at the base of the statue is “Today it was me, tomorrow there will be two of us, the next day four and it will go on and on and there won’t be any stopping it”. And it was that way – at the next chain up Zelda was joined by two striking teachers.

Zelda's chain ups inspired a “Women’s Action Committee” to start organising at Trades Hall. The union women would take actions like refusing to pay full fare on the tram, and go on pub crawls to protest not being allowed to drink in pubs (only in ladies’ lounges). They were influential in organising the first protest for access to abortion healthcare. 

With the statue being only weeks away from being unveiled, we have released a limited-edition line of merchandise that pays homage to Zelda’s work in the equal pay movement. 

These pins and tees are a stylish way for you to show your support for the equal pay movement – so make sure you don’t miss out.  

Proceeds will go towards finishing off the installation of the Zelda statue and upkeep after the statue has been unveiled.