The Broken Hill Trades Hall (Far West New South Wales, Outback Australia)

            Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd. (BHP), formed in 1885, faced technical and logistical challenges in mining and processing ore bodies in far west New South Wales.

Broken Hill grew quickly. A population of 17000 in 1889 had more than doubled to 35,000 in 1914, putting it on the map as the then third-largest city in New South Wales. In today's terms, it could be described as Australia's most multicultural city of the time.

Trade Unions quickly formed around the mine and extraction processing industries. The Trades Hall, built between 1891 and 1905, became the first building in Australia owned by unions, who also purchased the local newspaper 'The Barrier Times' in 1908. This strong union tradition permeated all aspects of life in Broken Hill. The city's unionists won a 35-hour week in 1920, the first to do so in Australia.

The struggle of working people for equitable pay arrangements and safe working conditions is a major theme of the story of Broken Hill. During the 19th and 20th centuries Broken Hill became synonymous with industrial action, union organisation, and the cause of socialism. The great industrial disputes of 1892, 1909, and 1919 - 1920 are well remembered in Broken Hill and beyond. Workers' heroes such as Tom Mann and Percy Brookfield are memorialised in various ways all over the town and the story of Broken Hill's mining unions is closely connected with the story of mining unionism in Australia.

The history of trade unionism in Broken Hill goes back to the early days of mining on the Line of Lode. In September 1884 a public meeting was held at the Adelaide Club Hotel at Silverton to form the Barrier Miners' Association. By '1886 the headquarters of the Association had moved to Broken Hill where it was reconstituted as the Barrier Branch of the Amalgamated Miners' Association. By 1889 the Association, whose programme of reforms included and eight-hour day and compensation for injured workers, had achieved agreement for compulsory union membership.

The economic depression of the 1890s led mining companies to consider the arbitrary imposition of contract labour rates for stoping in the mines. This brought them into direct conflict with the Amalgamated Miners' Association. The Association withdrew labour from the mines in 1892 and mining company efforts to import non-union labour were bitterly resisted. Union leaders Herman Heberle, E.J. Polkinghorne, Robert A. Hewitt, Dick Sleath, W.J. Ferguson and John Bennetts were arrested and gaoled for periods of up to two years. The industrial action was unsuccessful and by 1896 union membership had dropped from approximately 6000 to 300.

During the 1890s and early years of the 20th century the Association consolidated its position, establishing its own newspaper The Barrier Daily Truth in 1898 and the Barrier Social Democratic Club in 1903. In 1902 British Socialist and former miner Tom Mann visited Broken Hill. Under the auspices of the Burke Ward Parliamentary Labour League Mann addressed a large crowd from the rotunda of the Hillside Reserve, expounding Marxist ideology and the goals of socialism. Mann so impressed union leaders that in 1908 he was invited by the Combined Unions to return as an organiser to assist in a dispute with BHP.

In that year BHP attempted to reduce wages on the expiration of an existing industrial agreement. In response, the unions commenced a recruitment campaign and began agitation for increased wages. Following an agreement on conditions, BHP closed its mines and announced that it would re-open 'after the Christmas period with rates reduced by 12.5 percent. The company eventually re-opened with non-union labour. In response, the unions picketed the mine and battles with police ensued. The lockout lasted 20 weeks with many miners defecting from the union ranks.

Following World War I the unions, who had recovered from the 1909 strike and consolidated their position, campaigned for a reduction in hours and improved safety. Extended industrial action in 1919 - 1920 led to the introduction of a 35 hour working week. The Barrier unions continued to campaign aggressively throughout the 20th century for improvements in the working conditions of their members.

In 2023, the Broken Hill Trades Hall was endorsed for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, following the backing of its preliminary nomination by both the New South Wales and Australian Governments.

Source: New South Wales Heritage Register & New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment.

Taken on: January 1, 2024

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Sets appears in: • Broken Hill & Far West New South Wales (Wilyakali & Barkindji Country)

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Camera:	Nikon D5600
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