Pilbara strike

Last updated

The Pilbara strike was a landmark strike by Indigenous Australian pastoral workers in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The strike lasted between 1946 and 1949, and was the longest industrial action in Australian history. [1] [2]

Contents

The strike has been noted for its significance for the human rights of Aboriginal Australians. [3] The strikers demanded social recognition, payment of fair wages, [4] and an improvement in working conditions. [1] [5] [6]

Participating in the strike were 800 Aboriginal pastoral workers [1] who walked off the large pastoral stations in the Pilbara on 1 May 1946, and also from employment in the two major towns of Port Hedland and Marble Bar. [2] The strike did not end until August 1949, and even after its conclusion many Aboriginal Australians refused to return to work for white station owners. [2] [1] [5]

Historians have noted it as the first industrial strike by Aboriginal people since colonisation [1] [6] and the longest industrial strike in Australian history. [1] [2] It is regarded as a landmark historical moment in the history of the human rights, cultural rights, and Native title rights of Indigenous Australians. [5] [2]

Working conditions

For many years Aboriginal pastoral workers in the Pilbara were denied cash wages and were only paid in supplies of tobacco, flour and other necessities. [1] [7] [8] [6] The pastoral stations treated the Aboriginal workers as a cheap slave labour workforce to be exploited. [2] [7] [6] Many tried to leave the stations on which they worked, but were met with legal resistance; [1] [2] those who were unsuccessful could be whipped [5] and those who escaped were hunted by police and returned. The situation was that "while Aboriginal labour was required, Aboriginal people were treated as if they were expendable". [9]

European attacks and brutal shootings of whole family groups of Aboriginal Australians are part of the history of the region, though often not well documented. One attack took place at Skull Creek in the Northern Territory a few kilometres north of Ti-Tree in the 1870s, which resulted in the bleached bones and thus the name for the place. [10] In 1926 the Forrest River massacre was carried out by a police party on the Forrest River Mission (later the Aboriginal community of Oombulgurri), in the East Kimberleys. Though there was a royal commission into the reported killing and burning of Aboriginal people in the East Kimberley, the police allegedly involved were brought to trial and acquitted. [11]

As well as proper wages and better working conditions, Aboriginal lawmen sought natural justice arising from the original Western Australian colonial Constitution. As a condition for self-rule in the colony, the British Government insisted that once public revenue in WA exceeded 500,000 pounds, 1 per cent was to be dedicated to "the welfare of the Aboriginal natives" under Section 70 of the Constitution. [2] [7] Succeeding colonial and state Governments legislated to remove the funding provisions for "native welfare". [2] [7]

The strike

The strike was coordinated and led by Aboriginal lawmen Dooley Bin Bin and Clancy McKenna; and Don McLeod, an active unionist [7] [8] and member of the Communist Party of Australia for a short period. [6] The strike was planned at an Aboriginal law meeting in 1942 at Skull Springs (east of Nullagine), [1] [5] [2] [8] where a massacre had previously occurred. [6] The meeting was attended by an estimated 200 senior Aboriginal representatives representing twenty-three language groups from much of the remote north-west of Australia. [1] [2] [8] [6] 16 interpreters were needed for the meeting. Discussions were protracted with the meeting lasting six weeks. [1] [2] McLeod, the only European-Australian present, [8] was given the task of chief negotiator. [2] While not present, Bin Bin was elected to represent the Aboriginal peoples from unsettled desert lands. [2] Later McLeod and Bin Bin chose McKenna to represent those from the settled areas. [2] The strike was postponed until after the Second World War had ended in 1945. [12] [6]

Peter Coppin, also known as Kangushot, (1920–2006) was another one of the strike leaders. [13] Regarded as a pioneer of the Aboriginal rights movement in the 1940s, [14] he was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1972, and appointed NAIDOC Elder of the Year in 2002.

Crude calendars were taken from one station camp to another in early 1946 to organise the strike. [1] [2] [6] The efforts, if noticed by the white people present, were dismissed and laughed at. [6] The date of May 1st was chosen not only because it was International Workers' Day but also because it was the first day of the shearing season. [1] [8] On 1 May 1946, hundreds of Aboriginal workers left the pastoral stations and set up strike camps. [4] [2] [6]

The strike was most effective in the Pilbara region. Further afield in Broome [2] and Derby and other inland northern towns, the strike movement was harshly suppressed by police action and was more short lived. Over the three years, occasionally strikers went back to work, while others joined or rejoined the strike.[ citation needed ]

At the commencement of the strike in 1946, McLeod was an Australian Workers' Union delegate[ citation needed ] at Port Hedland wharf who motivated support by the Australian labour movement. The Western Australian branch of the Seamen's Union of Australia eventually put a blackban on the shipment of wool from the Pilbara.[ citation needed ] Nineteen unions in Western Australia, seven federal unions and four Trades and Labour councils supported the strike. [5] The strike stimulated support from the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, who helped establish the Committee for the Defence of Native Rights. [2] [15] This organisation raised funds for and publicised the strike in Perth including organising a public meeting in the Perth Town Hall attended by 300 people. [2]

Many of the Aboriginal strikers served time in jail; [2] some were seized by police at revolver point[ citation needed ] and put into chains for several days. [1] At one stage in December 1946, McLeod was arrested in Port Hedland during the strike for "inciting Aborigines to leave their place of lawful employment"; the Aboriginal strikers marched on the jail, occupied it and freed McLeod. [8] McLeod was gaoled a total of seven times during the period, three times for being within five chains (100 metres (330 ft)) of a congregation of "natives", [4] [2] [6] [7] three times for inciting natives to leave their lawful employment, and once for forgery.

In one incident during the strike, two policemen were sent out to the Five Mile Camp near Marble Bar. When they arrived they commenced shooting the people's dogs, even when they were chained up between their legs. Shooting the dogs of Aboriginal people was considered by some frontier Europeans as a sport.[ citation needed ] On this occasion the endangering of human life angered the strikers, who quickly disarmed the two policeman. The local strike leader, Jacob Oberdoo, and other strikers held the policemen until they had regained some composure and then arranged their own arrests, insisting they be taken into custody.[ citation needed ]

Oberdoo was jailed three or four times and suffered humiliations and deprivations of many kinds during the strike, but maintained his dignity and solidarity for the length of the strike.[ citation needed ] In 1972 he was awarded the British Empire Medal but turned it down. McLeod described Oberdoo's reply to the Prime Minister rejecting the medal:

"...he was unable to do business with, or accept favours from Law-carriers in bad standing. 'You pin medals on dogs' was how he explained the real message underlying the award".[ citation needed ]

The strikers sustained themselves with their traditional bush skills, hunting kangaroos and goats for both meat and skins. [1] [2] They also developed some cottage industry which brought some cash payment such as selling buffel grass seed in Sydney, the sale of pearl shell, and in surface mining. [1] [2]

Aboriginal women played a vital role in the strike, both as workers on strike and in the establishment of strikers' camps, though their involvement has not been documented to the same extent as that of the men. [2] Daisy Bindi, [6] a Nyangumarta woman, led a walk-off of 96 workers at Roy Hill Station to join the strike. [5] Before the strike commenced, Bindi organised meetings in south-eastern Pilbara, which attracted police attention, and authorities threatened to remove her from the area. During the strike she transported supporters to the strikers' camps, talking her way through a police confrontation. Her efforts played a large part in spreading the strike to the further stations in inland Pilbara. [2]

Wages and conditions were eventually won by the strikers on Mount Edgar and Limestone Stations. [2] These two became a standard, with the strikers declaring that any station requiring labour would have to equal or better the rates of pay and conditions operating on these two.[ citation needed ]

By August 1949, the Seamen's Union had agreed to blackban wool from stations in the Pilbara onto ships for export. On the third day after the ban had been applied, McLeod was told by a government representative that the strikers' demands would be met if the ban was lifted. Weeks after the strike ended and the ban lifted, the government denied making any such agreement. [2]

After the strike concluded many Aboriginal people refused to go back to working in their old roles in the pastoral industry. [1] Eventually they pooled their funds from surface mining and other cottage industries to buy or lease stations, including some they had formerly worked on, to run them as cooperatives. [1] [2] [5] [4] [6]

Legacy

Aboriginal plaintiffs from Strelley Station finally commenced an action in the Supreme Court of Western Australia in 1994, [16] seeking a declaration that the 1905 repeal of section 70 was invalid. [7] In 2001, after protracted litigation, the High Court of Australia held that the 1905 repeal had been legally effective. [7] [17]

Four streets in the Canberra suburb of Bonner were named after the strike leaders in 2010. Clancy McKenna Crescent, Dooley Bin Bin Street, Peter Coppin Street and Don McLeod Lane were all named after the men instrumental in organizing the strike. [18]

In the arts

See also

Related Research Articles

The Pilbara is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal people; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a global biodiversity hotspot for subterranean fauna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Hedland, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Port Hedland is the second largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with an urban population of 15,298 as of the 2021 census, including the satellite town of South Hedland, 18 kilometres (11 mi) away. It is also the site of the highest tonnage port in Australia.

The Wave Hill walk-off, also known as the Gurindji strike, was a walk-off and strike by 200 Gurindji stockmen, house servants and their families, starting on 23 August 1966 and lasting for seven years. It took place at Wave Hill, a cattle station in Kalkarindji, Northern Territory, Australia, and was led by Gurindji man Vincent Lingiari.

Karratha is a city in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, adjoining the port of Dampier. It is located in the traditional lands and waters of the Ngarluma people, for whom it has been Ngurra (home/Country) for tens of thousands of years. It was established in 1968 to accommodate the processing and exportation workforce of the Hamersley Iron mining company and, in the 1980s, the petroleum and liquefied natural gas operations of the Woodside-operated North West Shelf Venture located on Murujuga. As of the 2021 census, Karratha had an urban population of 17,013. The city's name comes from the cattle station of the same name, which derives from a word in a local Aboriginal language meaning "good country" or "soft earth". More recently, Ngarluma people have indicated the name may actually relate to an early interpretation of "Gardarra", stemming from the sacred site for the whale, located in the Karratha area, called "Gardarrabuga". The city is the seat of government of the City of Karratha, a local government area covering the surrounding region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roebourne, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Roebourne, also known by its Ngarluma name Ieramugadu, is a town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is 35 km from Karratha, 202 km from Port Hedland and 1,563 km from Perth, the state's capital. It is the only town on the North West Coastal Highway between Binnu and Fitzroy Crossing; over 2,000km. It is located within the City of Karratha. It prospered during its gold boom of the late 19th century and was once the largest settlement between Darwin and Perth. At the 2016 census, Roebourne and the surrounding area had a population of 981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral district of Pilbara</span> State electoral district of Western Australia

The electoral district of Pilbara is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Pilbara is named for the region of Western Australia in which it is located. It is one of the oldest electorates in Western Australia, with its first member having been elected to the Second Parliament of the Legislative Assembly at the 1894 elections.

Dost Mahomet, sometimes spelt Dost Mohammad, was a Baloch "Afghan" cameleer in Australia. He used his animals to transport goods between the ports and remote inland mining and pastoral settlements of the Goldfields, Pilbara and Murchison regions of Western Australia at the end of the 19th century, and owned many camels and property at Port Hedland. He was married to the Prussian-Australian Annie Grigo and they had six children. Dost became a man of wealth and standing in the community, but both he and Annie met violent deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pardoo Station</span> Pastoral lease in Western Australia

Pardoo Station is a pastoral lease, formerly a sheep station, and now a cattle station approximately 120 kilometres (75 mi) east of Port Hedland and 121 kilometres (75 mi) north of Marble Bar, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Donald Robert Stuart was an Australian novelist whose works include stories with Aboriginal backgrounds, and a series recounting his experience as a prisoner of war in Burma in World War II.

Mundabullangana is a settlement in Western Australia, located approximately 100 km south-west of Port Hedland. It is the site of a 225,000 hectare cattle station. Mundabullangana is more commonly known as Munda Station.

Warralong is a small Aboriginal community, located 120 kilometres (75 mi) south east of Port Hedland and 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Marble Bar in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, within the Shire of East Pilbara. The community lies between the Shaw and De Grey Rivers.

Croydon Station, often spelt as Croyden Station, is a pastoral lease and sheep station.

Peter Hedland originally Lars Peter Hedlund, 14 March 1829 – 1881, was a significant figure in European settlement in North-West Australia. A mariner, explorer, and pearler; he was widely known as "Captain Hedland". Some contemporary accounts and some of Hedland's descendants have spelt the surname Headland, although it is not clear that he ever used this spelling.

Yarrie or Yarrie Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station that once operated as a sheep station, located approximately 73 kilometres (45 mi) north east of Marble Bar and 170 kilometres (106 mi) south east of Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The De Grey River runs through the property.

The Nyamal are an Indigenous Australian people of the Pilbara area of north-western Western Australia.

Carlindi Station is a pastoral lease that was once a sheep station but now operates as a cattle station in Western Australia.

Mount Edgar Station, often referred to as Mount Edgar, is a pastoral lease that once operated as a sheep station but now operates as a cattle station.

Daisy Bindi (1904—1962), also known as Mumaring, was an Aboriginal Australian Indigenous rights activist and a leader in the landmark 1946 Pilbara strike in Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Dunn (Pilbara elder)</span> Indigenous Australian pastoralist

William Dunn was an Indigenous Australian pastoralist and elder from the Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA).

Don McLeod was an Australian activist best known for his role in the Pilbara strike.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "1946 Pilbara strike – Australia's longest strike". Creative Spirits. 2012. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Hess, Michael (1994). "Black and Red: The Pilbara Pastoral Workers' Strike, 1946". Aboriginal History. 18 (1/2): 65–83. ISSN   0314-8769. JSTOR   24046089. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  3. ↑ Commons Librarian (22 December 2023). "Campaigns that Changed Western Australia". The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "How the West was Lost (1987)". National Film and Sound Archive. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Willey, Keith (1977). "Review of The Black Eureka". Labour History (33): 110–112. doi:10.2307/27508287. JSTOR   27508287.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Graham, Duncan (2 May 1996). "Rebel of The Pilbara". The Age . Archived from the original on 15 March 2005. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Churches, Steven (2006). "Put not your faith in princes (Or courts) – agreements made from asymmetrical power bases". In Read, Peter; Meyers, Gary; Reece, Bob (eds.). What Good Condition?. Aboriginal History Monograph. Vol. 13. ANU Press. pp. 1–14. ISBN   978-1-920942-90-8. JSTOR   j.ctt2jbkr2.5. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Pilbara: Australia's longest strike". Green Left. 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  9. ↑ Rose, Deborah Bird (1991). Hidden histories : black stories from Victoria River Downs, Humbert River, and Wave Hill Stations. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press. p. 151. ISBN   0-85575-224-6. OCLC   24405276. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  10. ↑ Diane Bell (2002). Daughters of the Dreaming. Spinifex Press. ISBN   9781876756154 . Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Loos, Noel (2007). White Christ black cross : the emergence of a Black church. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN   978-0-85575-688-8. OCLC   671648394. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "NAIDOC profile: the Pilbara pastoral workers' strike". YMAC. 8 July 2011. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "Original Indigenous strike leader dies in Pilbara". ABC News. 12 September 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  14. ↑ "Thousands to attend Coppin tribute". ABC News. 28 September 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  15. ↑ "Committee for Defence of Native Rights". PilbaraStrike. 28 May 1946. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  16. ↑ Bulletin, Aboriginal Law (1996). "Aboriginal Citizens and the Western Australian Constitution: Judamia & Ors v State of Western Australia". Aboriginal Law Bulletin. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2018. (1996) 3(83) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 12.
  17. ↑ Yougarla v Western Australia [2001] HCA 47 , (2001) 207 CLR 344(9 August 2001), High Court.
  18. ↑ "The 1946 Strike". Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre. 2014. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  19. ↑ Hewett, Dorothy. "Clancy and Dooley and Don McLeod". Union Songs. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  20. ↑ Stuart, Donald (1959). Yandy. Melbourne: Georgian House. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  21. ↑ Read, Jolly; Coppin, Peter (1999). Kangkushot : the life of Nyamal lawman Peter Coppin. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN   978-0-85575-594-2. OCLC   671656050. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  22. ↑ Jorgensen, Darren (2 January 2020). "Slow Time: Nyaparu (William) Gardiner and the Strike Camps of the Pilbara". Journal of Australian Studies. 44 (1): 82–96. doi:10.1080/14443058.2020.1716044. ISSN   1444-3058. S2CID   213909096.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.