The University of Newcastle
History Club
Department of History
STUDENT RESEARCH PAPERS
IN,
AUSTRALIAN HISTORY
Price : 50 cents
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE
HISTORY CLUB
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
STUDENT RESEARCH PAPERS
IN
AUSTRAL IAN HISTORY
No. 4
1979
P r i n t e d a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Newcastle.
CONTENTS
MONUMENTAL SCULPTORS:
J . J . E D S T E I N AND H I S SONS 1855-1941
by T r a c e y E d s t e i n
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED WITH T H E BU I L D I N G OF C H R I S T CHURCH CATHEDRAL,
NEWCASTLE 1 8 6 8 - 1 9 0 2
by Jane11 e P a u l i n g
S O C I A L I S M I N NEWCASTLE:
THE E L E C T I O N S O F 1885 AND 1895
by P a u l K i e m
THE CONVICT BUSHRANGING ERA I N T H E HUNTER VALLEY
by P a t H a m p t o n
SOCIALISM I N NEWCASTLE:
THE ELECTIONS
OF 1885 AND 1895
PAUL KIEM
SYNOPSIS:
Though s o c i a l i s m might have expected a f o l l o w i n g among t h e working
c l a s s d u r i n g t h i s decade, given t h e o n s e t o f t h e 1890s Depression
and t h e i n d u s t r i a l s t r i f e , t h e e l e c t i o n s o f 1885 and 1895 show
t h a t it was n o t a t l e a s t an e l e c t i o n i s s u e l o c a l l y . The 1885
e l e c t i o n was fought and won by e s t a b l i s h m e n t p o l i t i c i a n s who
b e l i e v e d t h e workers' c a u s e should b e advanced b u t s o c i a l i s m does
not s u r f a c e . The 1895 e l e c t i o n s revolved around R e i d ' s c h a l l e n g e
t o t h e Upper House and s o c i a l i s t s e n t i m e n t s were a t b e s t vague and
i n e f f e c t u a l . The r e a s o n 1i e s i n t h e e l e c t o r a t e ' s d i s i n t e r e s t ,
given t h e working man's a b i l i t y t o a c h i e v e a measure o f economic
and s o c i a l e q u a l i t y i n New South Wales w i t h o u t r e s o r t i n g t o r a d i c a l
so 1u t i o n s
.
S o c i a l i s t i d e a s d i d g a i n some prominence i n A u s t r a l i a i n t h e 1 8 8 0 ' s and
1 8 9 0 ' s due t o t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f a number o f i n d i v i d u a l s , groups and j o u r n a l s .
The y e a r 1887 saw t h e f o r m a t i o n o f b o t h t h e A u s t r a l i a n S o c i a l i s t League
(A.S.L.)
i n Sydney and William L a n e ' s Bellamy S o c i e t y i n Brisbane.
These
were i n p r a c t i c e p e a c e f u l , b u t t h e i r i d e a o f s o c i a l i s m embraced t h e a n a r c h i c
and t h e r e v o l u t i o n a r y .
Moreover, s o c i a l i s m was p e r c e i v e d b y t h e g e n e r a l
community a s a r e v o l u t i o n a r y d o c t r i n e ;
it f u l f i l l e d t h e r o l e o f communism
i n r e l a t i o n s h i p t o p r e s e n t day c a p i t a l i s t s o c i e t y .
The contemporary c o n c e p t i o n
of socialism a s a radical a l t e r n a t i v e t o existing laissez-faire capitalism
was given by A.S.L.
l e a d e r W.H. McNamara:
"Socialism i n a n u t s h e l l meant t h a t
e v e r y man should own t h e r e s u l t s of h i s own l a b o r , t h a t t h e wage system
should b e a b o l i s h e d , t h a t everyone s h o u l d have a n a t u r a l s h a r e i n t h e l a n d
and t h e p r o d u c t s o f l a b o r - - i n s h o r t t h a t t h e means o f p r o d u c t i o n , d i s t r i b u t i o n
and exchange should be d e c l a r e d and t r e a t e d a s t h e common p r o p e r t y o f a l l .
o f s o c i a l i s m was somewhat b l u r r e d , b u t t h e A.S.L. served a s t h e A u s t r a l i a n
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e Second I n t e r n a t i o n a l and i t was d i l i g e n t enough t o
i n a u g u r a t e a May Day p r o c e s s i o n i n Sydney i n 1892.
A.S.L. had a n i n f l u e n c e i n t h e Labor P a r t y .
A t l e a s t u n t i l 1898 t h e
A f t e r t h e 1895 e l e c t i o n s seven
o u t of t h e e i g h t e e n Labor M . L .A. ' s were s ~ c i a l i s t s . ~
Significantly, the
s o c i a l i s t s had a p o l i c y which h e l d t h a t t h e Labor P a r t y should n o t coo p e r a t e with t h e o l d e r p o l i t i c a l g r o u p s .
6
There was a s o c i a l i s t i n f l u e n c e w i t h i n t h e union movement.
L .G
. Churchward
a s s e r t s t h a t , a f t e r t h e s t r i k e s of 1890-3, " s t a t e m e n t s
about t h e i d e n t i t y o f i n t e r e s t s of c a p i t a l and l a b o r tended t o g i v e p l a c e
t o s t a t e m e n t s about t h e need t o p r o t e c t t h e c l a s s i n t e r e s t s o f t h e workers,
and t h e n e c e s s i t y f o r t h e u l t imate overthrow o f c a p i t a l i s m . "7
Social ist
i d e a s were f u r t h e r propagated by j o u r n a l s such a s t h e A . S . L . ' s R a d i c a l ,
Lane's Boomerang and t h e p o p u l a r Sydney B u l l e t i n .
A leading a r t i c l e i n
need f o r t h e advancement o f t h e worker.
E d i t o r i a l i z i n g on t h e Sydney e i g h t
h o u r demonstration, t h e Herald saw no danger t o employers o r s o c i e t y from
4
t r a d e union a c t i v i t i e s :
"Trade S o c i e t i e s , which were looked upon a t one t i m e
a s 1i t t l e b e t t e r t h a n h o t -beds o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y s e n t i m e n t were a t l a s t
acknowledged under c e r t a i n c o n d i t i o n s by t h e law.
From t h a t moment t i l l t h e
p r e s e n t t h e p a t h o f unionism h a s been a s u c c e s s i o n o f triumphs. "I2 F a r from
b e i n g s u s p e c t e d o f t h r e a t e n i n g e x i s t i n g s o c i e t y , t h e Labor movement was
accepted a s a l e g i t i m a t e p a r t of i t .
Advocacy o f t h e e i g h t hour p r i n c i p l e
seemed t o be embraced by a l l c a n d i d a t e s a s good p o l i t i c s .
t h e r e were no s p e c i f i c o r u r g e n t working c l a s s c a u s e s .
Apart from t h a t ,
When Thomas Walker
announced, "I am a democrat, and f o r t h i s r e a s o n I c o n s i d e r it a f a r c e t o
have manhood s u f f r a g e w i t h o u t payment of members",13 h e was v o i c i n g a
sentiment i n favour n o t s o much o f t h e workers a s o f t h e i r m i d d l e - c l a s s
parliamentary r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s .
That m i d d l e - c l a s s a t t i t u d e s , c a t e r i n g t o a
n o n - r a d i c a l working c l a s s , r e a l l y shaped t h e e l e c t i o n i s s u e s i s s e e n i n t h e
a t t i t u d e t o pensions.
R e l a t i v e l y e n l i g h t e n e d s o c i e t y , prodded by an . a c t i v e
union movement, had a c c e p t e d t h e e i g h t h o u r p r i n c i p l e b u t had not c o n s i d e r e d
t h e need f o r p e n s i o n s f o r a l l .
p e n s i o n s , George P e r r y s a y s :
Condemning t h e p r o p o s a l f o r c i v i l s e r v a n t s '
"I contend t h a t o u t o f t h e i r l i b e r a l s a l a r i e s
t h e y ought t o be compelled t o make p r o v i s i o n f o r o l d a g e i n t h e same way a s
t h e working man h a s t o d0".14
No c a n d i d a t e saw an a l t e r n a t i v e a s b e i n g t o
extend pensions t o t h e working man.
James F l e t c h e r ' s p o p u l a r i t y a s a c a n d i d a t e i n 1885 e p i t o m i z e s t h e
irrelevance of socialism i n t h e e l e c t i o n .
Hailed d u r i n g t h e campaign a s a n
e i g h t hour man and t h e workers' c a n d i d a t e , h i s p o p u l a r i t y i s w i t n e s s e d by
h i s s t a t u e , e r e c t e d through p u b l i c s u b s c r i p t i o n , i n ' ~ e w c a s tl e s F l e t c h e r
Park.
The plaque on t h i s s t a t u e remembers him a s t h e "miners' f r i e n d " and
up t h e work s o long n e g l e c t e d . "17 ~ i n e t h e l e s s , i n p r a c t i c e it i s impossible
t o d i s c e r n any s p e c i f i c Labor p o l i c y , l e t a l o n e s o c i a l i s t i n f l u e n c e .
fie
J
p a t t e r n o f Labor c a n d i d a t e s
'
speeches was g e n e r a l l y t o applaud R e i d ' s measures,
a l b e i t w h i l s t t a k i n g c r e d i t f o r them, and t h e n t o j o i n i n t h e general c r y f o r
upper house reform.
ually.
M r . D . Watkins, Labor c a n d i d a t e f o r Wallsend, i s r e p o r t e d t o have
s a i d t h a t " h i s e d u c a t i o n t a u g h t him t h a t t h e r e was no a m e l i o r a t i o n o f t h e
working c l a s s e s i n t h e two d o c t r i n e s o f f r e e t r a d e and p r o t e c t i o n .
.
remedy was c o - o p e r a t i o n o r State-workmanship "18
The only
However t h i s i s very mild,
e s p e c i a l l y when c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t t h e f r e e t r a d e r Reid was
declaiming a g a i n s t
"the f o r c e s of monopoly and c l a s s s e l f i s h n e s s " , which were a r r a y e d a g a i n s t
h i s government. l 9 Even confirmed s o c i a l i s t s w i t h i n t h e Labor P a r t y must
have f e l t c o n s t r a i n e d through e l e c t o r a l expediency t o adopt a low p r o f i l e .
G r i f f i t h , t h e c a n d i d a t e f o r Waratah, was a member of t h e A.S.L. b u t contented
h i m s e l f w i t h only a mild c r i t i c i s m o f Reid and t h e M i n i s t r y i n e l e c t i o n
speeches which were otherwise i n d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e from t h e o t h e r s .
20
Commenting o n G r i f f i t h ' s campaign, t h e Herald s a y s , "the most t h e enemies
o f t h e League can s a y i s t h a t M r . G r i f f i t h committed an e r r o r o f judgement
i n recommending t o t h e workers o f t h e d i s t r i c t t h e c l a i m s o f a c e r t a i n
Labour paper, which, a f t e r a s h o r t and chequered l i f e i n Sydney, died i n
bankruptcy. ' 1 2 1
I t i s a r a r e , v e i l e d r e f e r e n c e and t h e t o n e i s enough t o
d i s m i s s s o c i a l i s m a s a non-issue.
In one e d i t o r i a l t h e Herald does mention t h e Labor P a r t y i n
u n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y ominous tones :
"But away from t h e d e f i n e d s t a t e m e n t
of t h e p a r t y ' s a s p i r a t i o n s , t h e r e i s a n unknown t e r r i t o r y which t h e p u b l i c
have n o t y e t e x p l o r e d . 2 2
T h i s may have been a p e r f u n c t o r y r e f e r e n c e t o
Labor's A.S.L. members b u t more l i k e l y , i n l i n e with t h e r e s t of t h e
e d i t o r i a l , i t i s a r e a c t i o n t o L a b o r ' s continued c l a i m s t h a t it r e a l l y h e l d
was of a l a r g e l y e s o t e r i c n a t u r e .
For t h e e l e c t i o n campaigns i n d i c a t e t h a t
t h e people a s a whole were j u s t n o t i n t e r e s t e d .
f o r t h e p e o p l e of c o l o n i a l A u s t r a l i a ;
S o c i a l i s m had no r e a l appeal
t h e y l i v e d i n a s o c i e t y which, n o t -
w i t h s t a n d i n g economic downturns, was e v o l v i n g i n such a way t h a t it would be
a b l e t o cope with t h e problems which s o c i a l i s m claimed t o be a b l e t o s o l v e .
There was no demeaned and downtrodden pauper c l a s s without hope o f ever
bettering i t s e l f .
N.S.W.
i n t h e decade 1885 t o 1895 was i n d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e
from i t s e a r l i e r c o l o n i a l h i s t o r y .
And, a l t h o u g h n o t a c l a s s l e s s s o c i e t y ,
it was a s o c i e t y where t h e r e was some chance of moving u p .
c a r e e r i s a good example o f t h i s .
James F l e t c h e r ' s
The small s c a l e o f secondary i n d u s t r y
In
meant t h a t t h e r e was no l a r g e and uniform i n d u s t r i a l working c l a s s .
f a c t t h i s c l a s s might b e t t e r be t y p i f i e d by independent miners and bush
workers with t h e i r own s e l e c t i o n s .
S o c i a l i s t commentators excuse t h e
workers' f a i l u r e t o embrace s o c i a l i s m on t h e grounds t h a t t h e y d i d n o t
c o n s t i t u t e a mature working c l a s s .26
An a l t e r n a t i v e i s t h a t t h e y were an
indigenous working c l a s s and t h e r e f o r e q u i t e d i f f e r e n t from t h e i n d u s t r i a l
p r o l e t a r i a t of Europe f o r whom s o c i a l i s m was p r e s c r i b e d .
Even though t h e 1 8 9 0 ' s were a t i m e of s e v e r e h a r d s h i p , t h e y c o u l d n o t
immediately a l t e r c o n d i t i o n s and a t t i t u d e s which had developed throughout
t h e colony's history.
E g a l i t a r i a n i s m had emerged a s a c h e r i s h e d i d e a l and,
a t l e a s t r e l a t i v e t o t h e o l d world, it was r e g a r d e d a s a n a c t u a l i t y .
This
i s why s o c i a l i s m made l i t t l e headway i n c a p t u r i n g t h e i m a g i n a t i o n o f t h e
people.
S o c i a l i s t d o c t r i n e s were confused, and l o s t a l l t h e i r import, a s
t h e y were e q u a t e d w i t h t h e f a m i l i a r n o t i o n o f e g a l i t a r i a n mateship.
g i v i n g s o c i a l i s m an A u s t r a l i a n f l a v o u r
mates. . .'I, 27 W i l l i a m Lane
-
"Socialism
...
In
i s t h e d e s i r e t o be
d i s t o r t e d i t s energy and t r u e meaning.
Socialism
was r e v o l u t i o n a r y b u t t h e mateship semi-myth i s r e l a t i v e l y harmless and
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Primary M a t e r i a l :
Newcastle Morning Herald, 1885
E
1895
G Essays, Brisbane, 1977.
C a n t r e l l , L . Ed.
The 1890s: S t o r i e s , Verse
Ebbels, R . Ed.
The A u s t r a l i a n Labor Movement 1850 -1907, Melbourne,
1965.
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Crow1ey , F .
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G o l l a n , R.A.
The Coalminers o f New South Wales, Melbourne, 1963.
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Nairn, N.B.
C i v i l i z i n g C a p i t a l ism: t h e Labor Movement i n New
Wales, 1870-1900, Canberra, 1973.
Shaw, A . G . L .
The S t o r y o f A u s t r a l i a , London, 1954.
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Macintyre, S.
0 'Farrell
, P. J .
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h i s t o r i o g r a p h i c a l survey" i n H i s t o r i c a l S t u d i e s
o f October 1978.
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May 1958.