Sydney Wharf Labourers’ Union

Identity area

Type of entity

Trade union

Authorized form of name

Sydney Wharf Labourers’ Union

Parallel form(s) of name

    Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

      Other form(s) of name

        Identifiers for corporate bodies

        Description area

        Dates of existence

        1872 – circa 1916

        History

        Founded in 1872 and registered under the New South Wales Trade Union Act (1881), 10 January 1883, the Sydney Wharf Labourers’ Union almost ceased to exist in the years following the 1890 Maritime Strike. It was revived by State MLA William Morris Hughes (Prime Minister of Australia, 1915-1923), whose electorate covered the waterfront from Darling Harbour to Balmain. In 1899 Hughes became Sydney Wharf Labourers’ Union Secretary. Following Federation it was believed that the state and port-based unions would have common concerns that could be more adequately addressed by a federal body. The Sydney Wharf Labourers’ Union was eventually absorbed into the Waterside Workers’ Federation of Australia; Hughes remained Secretary until 1916.

        Places

        Sydney, New South Wales

        Legal status

        Functions, occupations and activities

        Representation for waterside workers

        Mandates/sources of authority

        Internal structures/genealogy

        General context

        Relationships area

        Access points area

        Subject access points

        Place access points

        Occupations

        Control area

        Authority record identifier

        Institution identifier

        Rules and/or conventions used

        Status

        Level of detail

        Dates of creation, revision and deletion

        Prepared by Margaret Avard, April 2013

        Language(s)

          Script(s)

            Sources

            Australian Trade Union Archives website atua.org.au
            William Morris (Billy) Hughes (1862-1952), Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hughes-william-morris-billy-6761. Accessed March 2013.
            Sydney Wharf Labourers’ Union – Unfurling a New Banner. The Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 1 October 1901 http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/14412981. Accesses March 2013

            Maintenance notes