Adversity & Resilience: Labour and Work

In Ipswich, the 1920s were generally not financially buoyant years. Most people are aware of the “Great Depression” of the 1930s. However there was also a brief world-wide recession in 1921-22. In Queensland, the average unemployment among union members reached 11.2% in 1921.

Ipswich was badly affected. In early 1921, after weeks of rumours, 150 men were retrenched from the Ipswich Railway Workshops, about 10% of the total workforce. The reason given was lack of work. It was particularly bitter for most of the men because a Labor Government was responsible for the sackings, in spite of assurances during the previous election campaign. On their final day, the men posted up “In Memorium” notices and formed a procession as they marched up to get their final pay before carrying their large personal tool chests out of the site. In September of the same year, more rumours circulated and this time, the whole works went on shorter hours, losing one complete day each fortnight. At about the same time, Ipswich Council dismissed all temporary employees and put permanent maintenance staff on two-thirds time. Four attendants at the Sandy Gallop Asylum were dismissed in line with government policy to reduce staff. The whole local coal industry was depressed and Abermain Colliery closed because it was losing money.

In 1922, the basic wage was reduced from £4.5.0 to £4, a drop of 5.8%, resulting in widespread unrest among workers.

Employment in Queensland gradually improved as the recession eased and state railways and other capital works progressed. In Ipswich, however, the mid to late 1920s were then marked by a severe drought which depressed the surrounding rural area. The effects of this flowed on to Ipswich business and industry. By 1929, a community “Work Planning Committee” had been established to try to relieve the high local unemployment. The committee received donations collected by the employees of firms such as Arthur Foote and Beirnes. The Council also resolved to borrow money for work on local streets to generate employment. In America, the 1920s were known as the Roaring Twenties. In Ipswich, this decade did not roar. It was not overall a bad decade, and in spite of unemployment, the city progressed, but it was a decade which promoted a feeling of caution rather than buoyant optimism. [1]

During the 1920s there was a large unskilled working class as well as many elderly and sick people who were in need of housing. Amongst the unskilled working class it was not unusual for a man to be unemployed over a long period of time. During the First World War, real wages had been reduced and they did not increase to pre-war levels until the late 1920s. People from overseas and from country areas, migrated to the cities and most employment opportunities were in manufacturing, industry or building.

In an attempt to maintain the employment level the Council found it necessary to reduce wages and to ration work. However, even these measure were inadequate. By the end of August 1930, members of the Council recommended that available work for the remainder of the year be rationed among the employees in which event they lost one week in three. This was considered to be preferable to dismissing a number of men, which finally eventuated by the end of 1930.

The Works Committee report of 13 January 1931 referred to the dismissal of the men during 1930.

In connection with the letter from the Returned Sailor's and Soldier's Imperial League of Australia, Ipswich Sub-branch, asking for preference to unemployed soldiers to be given when selecting labour in connection with the grant of £1,800 from the Federal Government for Relief Work, your committee recommends reply be made stating it is the intention of the Council to employ 40 men for a period of three months, 25 of such men to be drawn from the married employees of the Council who were dismissed at the end of last year, and the remaining 15 to be obtained from the Labour Agent. The men to be obtained from the Labour Agent are to be married men, and those whose names have been longest on his books without employment.

This demonstrates how they were trying to ease the financial strain of a man to support his family during those very hard and trying times. The Mayor of Ipswich, Oliver Perry asked J. E. Walker Esq. M.L.A. to obtain a quota of the Government Unemployed Relief Fund. The Mayor instructed the City Engineer to prepare a list of permanent works to the value of £21,000 which was approved by the Works Committee. The list was forwarded to Mr. Walker with a request for him to approach the Minister for Labour and Industry with a view to having them listed as relief works. The request was approved on the following conditions:

• The Council to supply all material and supervision.
• All men to be drawn from the Labour Bureau, and the Minister will be responsible for their payment at the rate of £3:0:0 per week for married men and £2:10:0 per week for single men.
• It is expressly understood, too, that the Council will not dispense with any of the permanent staff, and that these works are not amongst those listed in the ordinary programme of works to be done by the Council this year.

The Council agreed to the conditions and applied for a loan from the Treasury for £7,000 to pay for material and supervision. The balance £14,000 to be obtained from the Government Relief Fund. The Intermittent Relief Work Scheme was introduced in Ipswich on 5 May 1931, 234 men commenced work under the Scheme but by the close of 1933, 1034 men were employed under the Scheme, comprising 577 married men and 456 single men. A number of projects were undertaken as part of the Intermittent Relief Scheme. In 1931 workers on the Scheme erected a fence on the riverbank in Bremer Street, worked on the Hospital grounds, the Showgrounds, College’s Crossing Tourist Road and numerous road improvements. The Council provided the Relief workers with suitable clothing for those doing tar work and gave a gift of £1 open order to each Relief worker to purchase boots or clothing.

The census of 1933 revealed the causes of unemployment as being:

• Scarcity of Work: 1019 males, 247 women
• Illness or accident: 88 males, 29 females
• Industrial Dispute: 3 males, 1 females
• Other Causes: 13 males, 12 females
• Not stated: 75 males, 36 females

Ipswich City and Moreton Shire Councils were advised by the Department of Labour and Industry that cessation of the Intermittent Relief Work Scheme was to begin on 17 September 1939. From this time onward single relief workers were to stop work and the number of married relief workers was to be halved. Ipswich Relief Workers were advised that they would be transferred to areas such as Chinchilla, Cunnamulla, Billa Billa and other country centres. A number of Ipswich Relief Workers offered jobs in the country declined to take them. In order to absorb some of the relief labour the new Government Rural Development Plan was introduced. Part of this plan was work on the Harrisville-Ipswich Road via Amberley. Other road works included the Ironbark Range extension. Ten men from the Relief Works were drafted to the Main Roads construction to work on the Ironbark Range section. A week after commencing work the men received their first pay envelopes, for some men it was the first pay in years.