In 1938 the Waterside Workers Federation of Australia refused to load tin clippings and pig-iron on the Delfram at Port Kembla. During the early 70's the New South Wales Builders Labourers Federation refused to demolish buildings, destroy parkland or build high-rise buildings in some parts of Sydney. These unions would not allow their labour to be used for what they considered 'destructive' purposes. Uncharted Waters examines the political theories and movements that directly and indirectly influenced these two disputes, namely, Leninism, Marxism, syndicalism, the Industrial Workers of the World, the New left and the Communist Party of Australia. The book's main premise is that the NSW BLF moved beyond traditional activities and into what Jack Mundey has described as 'Uncharted waters'.