Australian Workers' Union, Casterton Strike Committee
Description
Agent TypeOrganisationHistoryThe AWU dates from the establishment of the Australasian Shearers' Union in Creswick in 1886 and became politically influential within the ALP. It initially organised amongst the unskilled rural workers such as sheareres and later general labourers. In 1956 strike action occured in Casterton between the AWU and pastoral owners who had apparently refused to comply with the agreed employment rate. Other grievances emerged in Queensland but matters were resolved by 1957. A year later industrial problems re-occurred in NSW when Harry McKenzie, a property owner accused the AWU of black-banning him after his refusal to employ the AWU secretary Jim Doyle.
Australian Workers' Union, Casterton Strike Committee. University of Melbourne Archives, accessed 16/12/2025, https://archives.library.unimelb.edu.au/nodes/view/58282
![[1983.0067] Records of the Australian Workers' Union, Casterton Strike Committee](/img/placeholder.gif?1762209064 "[1983.0067] Records of the Australian Workers' Union, Casterton Strike Committee")