Agent TypeOrganisationActivities & OccupationsTrade UnionsHistoryLocal engine drivers' unions were established on the Australian goldfields from the late nineteenth century. The Daylesford Branch of the Amalgamated Mining Engine Drivers' Association was established by a vote of engine drivers on 15 July 1884, the members electing to establish their own branch rather than join the already existing Bendigo Branch. While the Branch was primarily focussed on local issues, in particular the welfare of its members and their families, the members voted in 1909 in favour of affiliating with the federally registered Federated Engine Drivers of Australasia. The name Amalgamated Engine Drivers' Association (the "Mining" was dropped from the name in 1887) was retained by the Branch until at least 1912. The Federated Engine Drivers and Firemen's Association of Australasia (FEDFA) progressively affiliated these local branches. Following a period of amalgamation with the Building Workers' Industrial Union and other building trades unions in 1992, FEDFA has operated as the FEDFA Branch of the Construction, Forestry, Mining Energy Union. It will cease to exist as a separate entity late in 2004.
![[2004.0026] Records of the Amalgamated Mining Engine Drivers' Association, Daylesford Branch](/img/placeholder.gif?1768336552 "[2004.0026] Records of the Amalgamated Mining Engine Drivers' Association, Daylesford Branch")