School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses
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ItemThe Australian Railways Union: railway management and railway work in Victoria 1920-1939( 1989)This thesis takes the Australian Railways Union as a focus for an examination of the Victorian Railways between the two World Wars. The development of the union is traced through the optimistic expectations of the early 1920s, the disillusionment which followed the union’s affiliation with the ALP and registration under the Commonwealth Arbitration Court, to the increasing polarisation of the union on political lines as the 1930s progressed. At the same time the union’s relations with, railway management are explored. The innovative management style of Harold Winthrop Clapp, whose term as Chief Railways Commissioner covered the two decades under discussion in this thesis, is examined and set in the context of developments elsewhere in Australia and overseas. The repercussions of Clapp’s administrative and technological changes in railway work are discussed throughout the thesis, and particular attention is paid to the relationship between such changes and job loss. The problems arising from lack of clarity over control of the Railways Department, which are also examined in a separate chapter, were common to other statutory authorities as well. The financial situation of the railways is discussed in relation to that of other Australian railways. The problem of transport regulation to prevent uneconomic competition between motor transport and railways, which received growing recognition during the period of this thesis, also receives special attention. During the Great Depression, the Victorian Railways Department and the ARU played a central role in the national arena. The railway basic wage case of 1930, which resulted in a ten per cent cut in wages, set a precedent for all major industries. The analysis of transcripts of this lengthy case has produced much which is of general significance for economic and labour history. In the final chapters of the thesis, the ARU is shown approaching the radicalism of the 1940s, when large scale industrial action was carried out under Communist leadership. The union in 1939, following two decades of activity as part of a federal railways union, and experience of arbitration and affiliation to the ALP, was very different from the union which had existed up until 1920 in Victoria, with its narrow sphere of activity bounded by ‘the railway fence’, and this thesis explores that transition.
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ItemLabour pains: working-class women in employment, unions, and the Labor Party in Victoria, 1888-1914( 1987-05)This study focuses on the experiences of working-class women spanning the years from 1888 to 1914 - a period of significant economic growth and socio-political change in Victoria. The drift of population into the urban centres after the goldrush marked the beginning of a rapid and continual urban expansion in Melbourne as the city’s industrial and commercial sectors grew and diversified. Throughout the 1870s and 1880s, the increasing population provided a larger workforce which also represented a growing consumer market. The rise of the Victorian manufacturing industries in this period also saw the introduction of the modern factory system. With the increasing demand for unskilled labour in factories, it was not only men who entered this new factory workforce. Young women and older children were, for the first time, drawn in appreciable numbers into the industrial workforce as employers keenly sought their services as unskilled and cheap workers. Women were concentrated in specific areas of the labour market, such as the clothing, boot, food and drink industries, which became strictly areas of “women’s work”. In the early twentieth century, the rigid sexual demarcation of work was represented by gender-differentiated wages and employment provisions within industrial awards.
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ItemThe Victorian Labor Party, 1885-1894( 1984)The Victorian labor party, compared with its counterparts in the other colonies, had a retarded development as a distinct and independent radical party. It was smaller in number and played less of a role in forming and making ministries by August 1894. Victorian labor's slow growth was due to the strong grip of the liberal reform tradition with its progressive and strong liberal party of the 1870's, which advocated radical reforms, such as protection and land taxes, that appeased the workers. And labor was largely overshadowed by and relied on the leading liberals' stronger electoral appeal, legislative initiatives and performance in parliament, which continued into the 1890' s. Liberalism’s attraction ensured that, from the birth of the labor party, labor would see itself as an ally of the liberal party, fragmented and disunited as it was from the mid - 1880's, and as a separate, radical force within the liberal reform tradition, as well as a totally independent radical party of the workers and unionists, who had not been properly represented by the liberals. The other main factors in labor's lack of strength were the party's limited appeal to only a section of the working class (artisans rather than miners, rural workers and non-unionists), the party's lack of financial and organizational independence in depressed times, the rampant apathy and divisions within its ranks, the union movement and the working class, and the peculiarities of the unfair electoral system. But the labor party, as defined, had earlier origins (1885) and was more independent of and influenced the liberals than has previously been supposed. It was influential in having its policies adopted or supported in and out of parliament and in moulding, to some degree, Victoria's political system. Contrary to the view that the THC and craft unions were uninterested in direct representation of labor, it was the Melbourne craft and semi-skilled unions, rather than the new unions of Shearers and Miners, which were the most interested and active of all the other trade unions in forming and furthering support for the labor party. Although the Sydney Trades and Labour Council played a bigger role in forming the largest labor party in 1891, the THC had a larger part in initiating the party from 1885 and controlling the PPL at the top levels than has previously been thought. At the 1886 and 1889 elections, the labor candidates showed the magnetism of liberalism by using labor and liberal titles interchangeably and espousing the same major policies. But they were distinguished by having their own committees, receiving union and unofficial THC support, and pushing for specific grievances and interests, especially protectionist, of the skilled workers or THC, as well as their own. The maritime strike of 1890 was not a turning point in the moves for direct representation, then, as moves had started in the eighties, but it served, like the depression, as a great impetus by helping to radicalize the workers into wanting greater representation and more reforms. Before June 1891 Victorian labor, with three parliamentary members, had achieved very little success in obtaining labor legislation; but, in this, it was in a similar position to its counterparts in the other colonies, and, indeed, it was in a stronger numerical position in parliament than N.S.W. labor at that time. Between 1891 and 1894 labor's influence in and out of parliament grew and it helped to shape the modest beginnings of a modern political party system, as party lines, although still somewhat loose, became more defined and polarized. Victorian labor was not as significant in moulding the party system as its counterparts in the other colonies. They were numerically larger, and so were a major third party or a partner in a ministry, and labor and anti-labor lines were more pronounced in those colonies. But it had a larger role in shaping politics up to August 1894 than has been argued by writers. In 1891 the labor party had introduced some new features. The pledge resulted in the party's higher unity in voting than other parties in the Assembly in 1892. Its extra-parliamentary organization, although not as elaborate as that of the old liberal party of the 1870's, was unique in that it was larger than that of other Victorian parties, was based upon union support and most of its executive and parliamentary representatives were from union and THC ranks. Labor was more radical than liberal in wanting more urgently the enactment of further protection, which was a dividing line between them from the eighties, the end of subletting and the introduction of a minimum wage, the legalization of eight hours, one man one vote, conciliation and arbitration, a higher income tax and other taxes, land nationalization, and some banking and financial reforms. Accordingly, there was much agitation in and out of parliament, especially between 1892 and 1894. Because of its significant influence upon the Shiels government in regard to taxation, especially the increased customs duties, labor was indirectly responsible for the fall of the liberal government, as many liberals deserted supporting it and voted for the conservative Patterson government. Labor was largely responsible for the conservatives' uniting in and out of parliament. The conservatives became the most cohesive group in parliament, as party lines deepened between liberal and conservative. As protection and other policies were placed in jeopardy or were not enacted, labor drew closer to the liberal forces to unite in order to defend these policies and helped to oust the Patterson regime in 1894.
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ItemThe acceptable face of feminism: the National Council of Women of Victoria, 1902-18( 1988)This study focuses on the broad question of post-suffrage feminist activity in Melbourne. When contrasted with the political ferment and air of sexual confrontation which characterised women's struggle for the vote, the post-suffrage period has been seen to represent an acceptance by women of traditional sexual roles and gender stereotypes. Underlying this general view of the period, however, is a complex set of historical factors. It is argued here that the fate of first-wave feminism in Victoria can be more clearly understood through an analysis of the composition and activities of the most broadly-based women's organisation of the early twentieth century the National Council of Women of Victoria. Officially formed in 1902 and continuing today, the National Council of Women is an umbrella organisation for a large and diverse number of affiliated women's gro.ups. From its inception, the Council functioned as a political lobby group, attempting to influence local, state and federal government on issues affecting women, children "and humanity in general". In the early twentieth century, the Council had connections with most publicly active women's groups in Melbourne. These ranged from the most radically feminist of the suffrage societies to the most conservative, both politically and in terms of feminism, of upper:"'class philanthropic organisations. The size and scope of activity of the National Council of Women (hereafter NCW) make its historical significance clear. (From Introduction)
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ItemColonial Cornish: Cornish immigrants in Victoria, 1865-1880( 1985)The Victorian Cornish were participants in a mass movement of people in the 19th century from Cornwall to the United States, British colonies and other lands across the seas. While this migration was unprecedented in terms of Cornwall’s history, it was but a part of a much larger migration of Europeans abroad. The Cornish in Victoria, then, were a small segment of those who emigrated from Europe in this enormous migratory movement of the nineteenth century. In particular, they were a component of the mix of British immigrants, and their descendants, who comprised 95 per cent of Victoria’s population in the years 1865-1880.
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ItemGood men and true: the Aboriginal police of the Port Phillip District 1837-1853( 1986)Good men and true is the phrase used by the Commandant of the 1842 Corps of Native Police in summing up for Superintendent LaTrobe the outcome of the first experimental expedition of the Corps to the Western District. It is the age-old Service accolade, bespeaking praise and affection and pride in the troops under the command. This is a history of those men. Since Stanner wrote over twenty years ago that the Aborigines had been left out of Australian history, much has been written about them. Perhaps impelled by emergent black nationalism, maybe running parallel with it, this generation of writing about the Australian past has been useful and necessary in raising Australian consciousness to the extent necessary to take seriously the Aboriginal part of our joint past. To a large extent though, it has been an ethnocentric discussion of white behaviour towards Aborigines producing the Aboriginal people as subjects who seem to stand stock still, as one reviewer has said, and allow things to happen to them. It has produced the cultural perception of past and dead Aboriginal people as mainly victims, or in a few exceptional cases as heroic figures of resistance. Broome's observation about one chapter in one book is capable of general extension - we have replaced an earlier historical falsehood of a non-violent frontier with a new stereotype of a violent one. It could be added - with clearly defined and allocated roles, and moral evaluation thrown in for good measure. There is much truth in these histories, but even taken together, they do not encompass truth: they do not take account of positive Aboriginal choices. Our models of explanation, Stanner wrote, have been based either on the dramatic secondary causes - violence, disease, neglect, prejudice, or on the structure of Aboriginal society or both, but they have not taken into account Aboriginal initiatives towards European society, their curiosity, their zest for living, their choices, their creations. This study concerns itself with one of their choices - it is a history of co-operation, an Aboriginal success story. Why it has not been told before is puzzling: a cursory glance at the secondary section of the Bibliography (which is select, noting only those works which specifically mention the Corps) is sufficient to demonstrate a widespread awareness in the past of the Native Police Corps of the Port Phillip District. Yet out of all those passing mentions, it could scarcely be said that our knowledge has been advanced; five attempts only have been made to constitute the Corps as a subject of knowledge, and none to understand the men. Spender's question must at least be asked here, though it cannot be answered - "Why do we know so little about ... blacks for example, and why is so much of what we do know about them false, negative or derogatory. Who has made this knowledge, on what basis, and for what reasons?” Shades of Foucault. The explanatory processes used by white historians (which black historians reject) still draw their inspiration from Elkin's work. The story of Aboriginal co-operation in policing resembles to some extent the adaptive response which Elkin has described as intelligent parasitism. It was more though than that. Parasitism, however intelligent might well be an accurate description of the actions of men who choose a way of life for what they can get out of it, and abandon it when they get a better offer; or simply abandon it when its attractions dim, but it does not come anywhere near explaining in this particular instance the evident bonds of affection and loyalty which developed between the men who joined and their European officers. In this story, feelings matter. The Government's initial aim in setting up a Native Police Corps in the Port Phillip District was two-fold: it wanted a policing force to deal with bushrangers, and at the same time, it hoped to "civilise" the men of the Corps. In this work, the civilising aim is ignored, except in so far as it was expressed in regulations for living, though it may be noted in passing that the Corps was described as the only success of all the Government's policy initiatives with regard to Aboriginal people. But success in European terms is not the issue. This enquiry is directed at the terms of existence for the men themselves; it seeks to tell the story of their choice, and to understand and explain it. The story and the explanation both turn around the dual consciousness of being Aboriginal and being a policeman.
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ItemCharity and evangelisation: the Melbourne City Mission 1854-1914( 1986)It has become so commonly held as almost to be axiomatic among recent Australian historians, that the act of evangelising and giving charity to people, is essentially an act of control and discipline by powerful people in a society over those who have little power. This thesis, in making a detailed examination of the Melbourne City Mission from 1854 to 1914, along with a smaller study of the Elizabeth Fry Retreat in the late 1880s, offers a substantial challenge to any over-simple application of this concept. In addition, it provides a new assessment of the roles of women of all classes, as they are revealed in acts of charitable evangelism. The introduction establishes the state of historiography in Australia and to a lesser extent, overseas, in the field of evangelical and charity history. Chapters 1 and 2 make a general survey of the rise of evangelical charity in Great Britain and in Melbourne in the nineteenth century, and provide a detailed introduction to the City Mission movement, and the Melbourne City Mission in particular. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 offer a close investigation of the personnel involved in MCM work in Melbourne: the men and women who founded and administered the Mission, its missionaries, and its clients. Chapters 6 and 7 look at the MCM at work. Chapter 6 follows its history in the suburb of Collingwood as a succession of missionaries worked there, while Chapter 7 concentrates on the career of one missionary, William Hall in Prahran. Chapter 8 and 9 look particularly at prostitution and the lot of women who served gaol sentences. Chapter 8 describes and assesses the efforts of City Missionaries to help prostitutes in the 1870s. Chapter 9 looks at charitable responses in the 1880s, to women coming out of gaol, in the work of Sarah Swinborn and her institution, The Elizabeth Fry Retreat, and of a public charity, the Victorian Discharged Prisoners Aid Society. The conclusion offers revision of current ideas in many key aspects of charity history.
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Item"Gentlemen, the ladies have come to stay!": the entry of women into the medical profession in Victoria and the founding of the Queen Victoria Hospital( 1987)In 1890 Emma Constance stone became the first woman to be registered as a doctor in Australia. Unable to gain admission to an Australian medical school, she obtained her qualifications overseas. While she was away women gained entry to the Melbourne Medical School. Stone, and the Melbourne pioneering medical women, the first of whom graduated in 1891, later went on to perform a wide variety of medical work, but their most outstanding achievement was the foundation of the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital for Women in 1896. The pioneers encountered hostility from the medical profession, especially from the male medical students, and enjoyed widespread support: from women who welcomed a hospital where they would be treated only by qualified female practitioners. American and British medical women had already started their own hospitals in order to provide health care for women after established hospitals had refused to appoint them. In Melbourne, although similar opposition limited the opportunities of women, they were not completely excluded from hospital staffs. Unlike the overseas hospitals on which it was modelled, the Queen Victoria Hospital was not founded only, or even, perhaps, primarily as a result of exclusion. The more positive aim of providing health care for women by women was a powerful motive behind the setting up of a hospital for women officered by qualified female doctors. (From Introduction)
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ItemAll wool and a yard wide: Victoria's wool textile industry, 1900 to 1930( 1988)The years between Federation and the great depression were profoundly important ones both for Victoria and its wool textiles industry. Nationhood, war, the booming twenties and the sombre years to follow all affected people’s expectations and perceptions of themselves. These expectations and perceptions were expressed in the clothes they wore and the fabrics and yarns they required for other ends, and thereby the mills which made these things were also changed. (For complete abstract open document).