How True is the statement: Australia was a working man's paradise at the turn of the 20th Century?
For the average
working man, life was far from perfect in Australia at the turn of the
twentieth century. Working class people had to endure a lot of neglect and pain
to keep their family alive and their job stable. This was because of no rights
for workers, the poor workplace conditions, low pay and racism. These factors
were created because of past European beliefs and systems that had remained
from the settlement.
One of these beliefs
was the classification and organisation of people into social classes. The
Europeans had brought forth this idea of placing people in 'groups' according
to their wealth or status. These classes dictated almost every aspect of your
life. If you were in a high social class, you were to receive the best
treatment possible at the time; a good job, a nice house and respect from the
community. However, this meant that those who were poor in wealth were at the
bottom of this hierarchy and received the worst treatment possible. These
people were the workingclass people. They had strenuous and energy-consuming
jobs that paid very little. They were given no rights or benefits and were
generally ignored by their employers. This is evident in an Illustration from
1881 which shows the many processes in a boot factory. They appear to be
working very hard at their job and seem to have poor clothes. This shows that
they were paid very little and that they had to have a job that involved a lot
of work. This idea is also shown in a photograph of a domestic servant ironing
clothes in 1910. She would've had to endure hard and long hours of work that
included cleaning, cooking and washing. She doesn't seem to be very happy or
satisfied with her job. She is probably paid very little her employers probably
do not care about her rights. This servant is definitely far from paradise.
Working class people
could be far better off if they had a better workplace. Social classes not only
made the workingman do hours of work, it also presented them with different
workplace conditions. The higher your social class was, the better your
workplace was. This meant that the working place people had the worst of the
worst. They were crammed into small rooms that were usually unclean and unsafe.
It was hot and stuffy and there was hardly enough room to work. An etching of 1882
shows a typical clothing factory and how workers had to complete their job in
close quarters. Fabric is all over the tables and there is little room to walk.
The etching also depicts tables really close to the walls and also shows the
windows closed. This disregard for safety and comfort made the workers angry
and frustrated but they could not speak out. They knew that they could be
replaced easily. No rights were present
in the workplace and no legislation was available for workers. This absence of
safety is depicted in a cartoonist drawing of work practices at Sydney Central
Railway Station in 1905, labelled 'Knocking Off Time At New Sydney Station'.
The people in the picture do not seem to care or understand the risks they are
taking by doing unsafe work. The dropping of equipment and climbing of unstable
structure is all shown in the picture. This made many people cautious and at
the edge of their seats, ready to move out of the way if something were to
happen. This is not what a paradise would be like.
A 'workingman's
paradise for all' meant equality for everyone. This was not true for
non-Europeans. Many people were not given certain jobs and they were paid much
less than the rest of the Australian population. They were taken advantage of
and were often abused and villainised by the public and their employers. This
is shown in a cartoon by Phil May in the Bulletin in 1886 called 'The Mongolian
Octopus-his grip on Australia'. The man in the cartoon is drawn as an octopus
and is seen to be attacking people and aspects of Australian modern life. This
is also reflected heavily by the Aboriginal community. They were the most
discriminated ethnic group at the time and received the worst treatment. These
villainisations of non-Europeans lead to racism and discrimination in the
workplace. Australia at the time could not have been 'a workingman's paradise
for all'
Australia was not a
workingman's paradise at the turn of the twentieth century. It was not even
close to good. The workplaces were in bade shape, people were paid very little
and many people were given no rights or told safety regulations. Many were also
discriminated against because of their ethnicity. This all stemmed from past
British beliefs and systems. It gave the upper class a good, happy life and
gave the lower, working classes, a hard and miserable life. It was far from a
workingman's paradise.
Sources
(Book) Retroactive Book Ch1.
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