The 1891 shearers' strike is one of Australia's earliest and most important industrial disputes.[1]
The dispute was primarily between unionised and non-unionised wool workers. It resulted in the formation of large camps of striking workers, and minor instances of sabotage and violence on both sides. The strike was poorly timed, and when the union workers ran out of food, they were forced to come to terms. The outcome is credited as being one of the factors for the formation of the Australian Labor Party and the rise to power of a pro-Labor Party faction in the Australian Socialist League.[2]
- ^ Wendy Lewis, Simon Balderstone and John Bowan (2006). Events That Shaped Australia. New Holland. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-74110-492-9.
- ^ McIlroy, Jim (2003). Australia's First Socialists. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Resistance Books. p. 11. ISBN 978-1876646394.