Wonthaggi Women's Auxiliary. (1934-)

NLA Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-736095

Biographies

The Wonthaggi Miners' Women's Auxiliary, the first Women's auxiliary of a mining union, was established at Wonthaggi, Victoria during the Wonthaggi Coal Strike. The strike, which commenced on 6 March 1934, lasted for five months. Miners' wives established a Board Committee and the President, Mrs Agnes Chambers issued an official statement on behalf of the Committee: "the women of Wonthaggi are firmly behind their husbands in this struggle. We women have for the past two years seen our husbands' pay reduced by more than a third…If our men quietly accept these reductions without further protest where will they end?...Our men have stood solidly in this great struggle, and the Government, realising that it cannot break the spirit of the men, now turns and threatens to take our homes from us. The Government threatens to close the mine permanently….The dispute has now been in progress 17 weeks, and it would appear that we have a long and dreary winter in front of us, but with the help of the women of Australia we can hold out. [1]" By the second week of July the Hon. R G Menzies, Deputy Premier and Minister for Railways, the State Government Department that held responsibility for the mine, agreed to negotiate. He agreed to the immediate recognition of pit-top committees and the reinstatement of the five wheelers whose dismissal provoked the strike. He also proposed that the reinstatement of two men who had been dismissed for insubordination be negotiated once the miners were back at work - a palatable concession for most miners. [2] The women's independent organisation and their willingness to persist further thoughout the winter was a factor in resisting efforts to call off the strike before their demands had been met. [1] Cochrane, P, 'The Wonthaggi Coal Strike, 1934', Labour History, no. 27, 1974, p. 28 [2] ibid p. 29

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

Resources for Wonthaggi Women's Auxiliary.

Selected resources (12)

Australian Women's Register

  1. Wonthaggi Coal Strike (1934)Australian Trade Union Archives University of Melbourne : Wonthaggi Coal Strike (1934)
    Smith, Bruce A
    [2002]
    Published: University of Melbourne
    Series: http://www.atua.org.au/biogs/ALE1320b.htm
  2. The militant history of WonthaggiGreen Left Weekly Democratic Socialist Party : The militant history of Wonthaggi
    Thompson, Jennifer
    [1996]
    Published: Democratic Socialist Party
    Series: http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/1996/247/247p26.htm
  3. Industrial men : miners and politics in Wonthaggi 1909-1968
    Reeves, Andrew Paul
    [1977]
    Published: La Trobe University History Dept
  4. The Wonthaggi Coal Strike, 1934Labour History 27 12-30 : The Wonthaggi Coal Strike, 1934
    Cochrane, P
    [1974]
  5. The five month strikeThe State Coal Mine and Wonthaggi, 1909-1968 Coghlan, John M 119 : The five month strike
    Reeves, Andrew
    [1979]
    Published: J M Coghlan
  6. The University of Melbourne Archives: Wonthaggi Women's Auxiliary (1978)
    Tapes 1,2,3 - Group interview l. -7 Aug 1978 with Meg Foster, Elsie Hamilton, Meg Currie, Nancy & Bill Stirton, Mavis McLeod (interv. Sue Noy); Tapes 4,5 - Group Interview 2. - 16 Aug 1978 with Foster, Hamilton, Currie, Nancy Stirton & Jessie Hanson (interv. Sue Noy); Tape 6 - individual intervews - 26 Oct 1978 with Elsie Hamilton , 27 Oct 1978 with Agnes Doig (+ comments Wattie Doig) (interv. Sue Noy, with Andrew Reeves also present at Doig intervew).
    79/116
  7. The University of Melbourne Archives: Chambers, Joe and Lyn (1910)
    Photographs, mainly of Powlett River coalfields, miners, building s, processes etc, including State Coal Mine; 36 black-and-white prints, either captioned on print from original or bearing MS label on the back, only a few are dated, all at 1910; each print 18 x 24 cm.
    98/63
  8. The University of Melbourne Archives: Australian Coal and Shale Employees' Federation (Miners' Federation) (1909 - 1968)
    Victorian District/Powlett River Branch The Miners' Federation, Victorian District, was centred upon Wonthaggi and its State Coal Mine, which operated between 1909 and 1968. Miners' Federation, Victorian District minutes 1921-1960 (incomplete), accounts 1934, 1937. Miners' Federation, Wonthaggi Vigilance Committee correspondence 1969-1970. Australian Coal and Shale Employees' Federation, Powlett River Branch accounts; receipt books; wage books; contracts; financial committee minutes; household coal development fund 1948-1965; correspondence; awards 1920-1958 (incomplete); copies of "Common Cause" 1968-1972 (incomplete). Union Theatre, Wonthaggi contracts with distributing studios i.e. MGM Fox, Columbia, United Artists, Warner Bros., Paramount; financial receipts; correspondence. Miscellaneous publications and pamphlets.
    75/71
  9. The University of Melbourne Archives: Rankine, Bill [Papers] (1927 - 1965)
    Bill Rankine emigrated from Scotland to Wonthaggi after World War One, gaining employment at the State Coal Mine in 1923. As well as an active unionist, Rankine was a keen amateur historian and preserved material relating to politics and social life in Wonthaggi. Files on the Miners' Federation (particulalry the Wonthaggi Branch), Wonthaggi Co-operative Society, C.P.A., A.L.P., the peace movement, Wonthaggi local government; rank and file job bulletins 1933- 1935; "Union Voice"; Australian Coal and Shale Employees' Federation bulletins/bradsheets, files, minutes, disputes; Wonthaggi Miners' Union theatre statements and notes; conference material; Trades and Labor Council pamphlets; Wonthaggi Hospital/Pensioners constitution; annual reports and balance sheets; peace movement material; newspaper clippings. Also copies of "Common Cause", "Midday Times", "Wonthaggi Sentinel".
    73/82
  10. The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program: Australian (Australasian) Coal and Shale Employees Federation (1909 - 1967)
    Victorian District & Powlett River Branch, Wonthaggi Minutes, correspondence, financial, publications and historical material. Includes records of Powlett River Branch, Wonthaggi.
    E164
  11. National Library of Australia Oral History Collection: Interview with Jessie Hansen, dressmaker and secretary of the Wonthaggi Women's Auxiliary and the Pensioner's Committee [sound recording]
    Interviewer : Rob Willis; recorded with Olya Willis Recorded on April 28, 1999 at Wonthaggi, Vic. Hansen speaks of her early years in Scotland as part of a large close family with 2 brothers and 4 sisters in the early 1900s; first job in Glasgow, Scotland as a machinist (dressmaker); arriving in Australia in 1926 with her sister and brother-in-law on the TSS Bendigo; her first impressions of Wonthaggi where she worked for the first 12 months at theMine's General Manager's home on a wage of 2 pound per week; no secondary industries in Wonthaggi in the 1920s ; having started her own business as a dressmaker; being married in 1928 to a New Zealand miner who was a strong unionist; becoming a member of the Women's Auxiliary, who supported the miners and the community- women were more militant than some of the men. Hansen speaks of her work as the Secretary of the Women's Auxiliary and the Pensioner's Committee; the town being a "good labour town" even though it was felt that the Labour government was against the miners; travelling in Victoria to speak about the strikes and the conditions that the miners had to endure; a strong Women's Auxiliary in Wonthaggi which had been formed in 1934 by Mrs Agnes Chambers- people wanted to hear the women not men talk about conditions; boycotting the shops in 1928 and the reasons for doing this; work done by the Auxiliary, making food and clothing parcels for the needy, methods of raising money; recreational activities included dances, picture theatre, community singing and being in the Minstrel Singers; distinction between the Workers and the Gentlemen's Clubs
    ORAL TRC 3388/181
  12. National Library of Australia Oral History Collection: Interview with Joe & Lyn Chambers, retired teachers, and Fred Brown, retired miner [sound recording]
    interviewed by Rob Willis; recorded by Olya Willis. Recorded on May 28, 1998 at Wonthaggi, Vic. 1.Joe discusses his early life in Scotland where his father was a shale miner, emigrated to Australia in 1925, his schooling in Wonthaggi & father went mining, discusses the influence of Sunday school & the close relationship between Prebyterian beliefs & socialism, discusses Red Flag song. 2.Song:Red Flag. 3.Recalls his schooling at Wongthaggi, how his father was an active socialist & a member of union movement, discusses the Communist Party & Idris Williams, the 1934 Strike & its impact in Wonthaggi where a militant branch of the committee was organised, how women became involved, how he became a teacher & his studying in Melbourne in 1940. 4.Fred discusses being raised in Wonthaggi, how his father & grandfather were both miners. 5. Song:Wild Colonial boy. 6.Discusses how boys got into mining at Wonthaggi which closed in 1955, 1934-35 Mining Strike, how Wonthaggi miners raised funds in Melbourne. 7.Song: Wonthaggi song(explains song & sings a parody). 8.Song: Show me the way to dig coal (sung in English & Italian). 9.Recitation:Whistle restored (poem read by Lyn). 10.Recitation:Characters (poem read by Lyn). 11. Fred discusses his interest in community singing,Joe recalls Idriss Williams & his influence on the union movement, how different Wonthaggi is today from the comradeship of yesteryear which Fred confirms, his interest in history & writing books, how the theatre which started in 1925 was the centre of Wonthaggi & the love of music. 12.Lyn describes her teaching career
    ORAL TRC 3388/152-153

No user comments for this organisation

Add a comment


Show comments and reviews from Amazon users

Possibly related

Digitised newspapers and more

Searching...

Minimise

Diaries, letters, archives

Searching...

Minimise

Archived websites (1996 – now)

Searching...

Minimise

Pictures, photos, objects

Searching...

Minimise

Books

Searching...

Minimise

Music, sound and video

Searching...

Minimise

People and organisations

Searching...

Minimise

Journals, articles and data sets

Searching...

Minimise

Maps

Searching...

Minimise

Lists

Searching...

Minimise

People and organisations

No results

Minimise

Lists

No results

Minimise

Pictures, photos, objects

No results

Minimise
  1. Website: Australian Women's Archives Project
    www.womenaustralia.info
    Matching pages:
    View 14 matching archived pages
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.093)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.093)

  2. Website: Australian Women in War
    www.womenaustralia.info
    Matching pages:
    View 8 matching archived pages
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.083)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.083)

  3. Website: Putting skirts on the sacred benches : women candidates for the New South Wales Parliament
    www.womenaustralia.info
    Matching pages:
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.064)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.064)

  1. Cessnock Strike Committee REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES (Contributed).
    The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder (NSW : 1913 - 1954) Friday 14 October 1938 p 10 Article
    ... members being representatives from the Women's Auxiliary. ? ? - - ? Successful concerts, dances, and other ... Auxiliary: Splendid work is being performed by tne women dur ing this struggle, and as a result auxiliaries ... Speakers addressing meetings of women in the various areas, explain ing functions of auxiliary, and the ... 1000 words
    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.025)

    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.025)

  2. APPEAL FOR MILK
    The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Tuesday 19 March 1940 p 5 Article
    ... childi en attending district schools with half a pint of milk dally The womens auxiliary of the Miners' ... APPEAL FOR MILK | Supplies of milk are requried for the children of Wonthaggi whose parents are affected by the strike at the coalmine The Mayor of Wonthaggi (Councillor S Fincher) has comened a ... 88 words
    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.017)

    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.017)

  3. Family Notices
    The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Tuesday 18 February 1947 p 2 Family Notices
    ... Gates).-On February 11, at Women's Hospital, to Peter and Jean-a son (Peter Robert). (Caesarean birth.) ... February 13, at St. Andrew's Hospital, Isabel M.. late secretary Alfred Hospital Auxiliary. (Inserted by ... Wonthaggi and District Hospital, Ross Lardner, dearly beloved son of Dulcie and Ern, loved brother ... 4897 words
    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.015)

    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.015)

  1. RECORDS OF WONTHAGGI WOMEN'S AUXILIARY
    Wonthaggi Women's Auxiliary
    [ Unpublished : 1978 ]
    View online
    At Uni Melbourne Arch
    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.553)

    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.553)

  1. The Wonthaggi Miners' Women's Auxiliary
    Hayes, Bill
    Gippsland Heritage Journal
    [ Map, Article : 1996 ]
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.239)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.239)

  1. Jessie Hansen interviewed by Rob Willis for the Rob Willis folklore collection
    Hansen, Jessie, 1904-
    [ Sound : 1999 ]
    At National Library
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.032)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.032)

  1. Miners' Women's Auxiliaries of Australia, Southern District, New South Wales : records
    Miners' Women's Auxiliaries of Australia. Southern District, N.S.W
    [ Book : 1948-2000 ]
    At UOW Library
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.057)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.057)

  1. The Wonthaggi Miners' Women's Auxiliary
    Hayes, Bill
    Gippsland Heritage Journal
    [ Map, Article : 1996 ]
    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.236)

    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.236)

  2. The rise and fall of a provincial Trades and Labor Council: the Wagga Wagga and District Trades and Labor Council 1943-1978
    Eather, Warwick
    Rural Society
    [ Article : 304-2013 ]
    View online (access conditions)
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0)