Peak Union body entry Melbourne Trades Hall Committee (1856 - 1884)

Summary

The Melbourne Trades Hall Committee grew from the historic winning of the eight-hour day by the Melbourne building trades in 1856. In that year the Melbourne Trades Hall Committee was formed to receive a grant of land on which the world's first Trades Hall, or "Workers' Parliament", was built in 1859. Initially the Trades Hall's industrial role was limited, but a resurgence of industrial activity in the 1880s resulted in it collecting evidence for the Shops and Factories Royal Commission and taking control of major strikes. In 1884 the Committee became a Council to better reflect this expanding industrial role. The title Victorian Trades Hall Council was eventually adopted in 1968.

Related entries

Timeline

 1856 - 1884 Melbourne Trades Hall Committee
       1884 - 1970 Melbourne Trades Hall Council
             1970 - Victorian Trades Hall Council

Archival resources

Flinders University, University Library

• National Institute of Labour Studies Collection - Records of the Victorian Trades Hall Council, 1877 - 1953, http://www.lib.flinders.edu.au/resources/collection/special/nils/index.html; Flinders University, University Library. Details

The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program

• Victorian Trades Hall Council - Records, 1877 - 1953, M14; M64; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details

State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection

• Trades Hall Council (Melbourne, Vic.) - Records, 1877 - 1943, MS 7825; State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection. Details

The University of Melbourne Archives

• Melbourne Trades Hall and Literary Institute - Records, 1857 - 1934, 2002.0024; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Melbourne Trades Hall Council Information and Research Bureau - Records, 1870 - 1970, 1978.0106; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Victorian Trades Hall Council - Records, 1867 - 1914, 1991.0028; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Victorian Trades Hall Council - Records, 1867 - 1977, 1991.0013; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Victorian Trades Hall Council - Records, 1877 - 1927, 1986.0156; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Victorian Trades Hall Council - Records, 1874 - 1976, 1986.0098; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

University of Wollongong Archives

• Melbourne Trades Hall Council - Records, 1877 - 1943, D5; University of Wollongong Archives. Details

Published resources

Books

• Kellaway, Carlotta, Melbourne Trades Hall Lygon Street Carlton: The Workingman's Parliament, Department of Public Works, Melbourne, 1988, 11 pp. Details
• Pearce, Marcella, Melbourne Trades Hall Memories, VTHC/LHMU (Victorian Branch), Carlton South, Victoria, 1997, 136 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Anon., 'Commemoration of anniversary of opening of the world's first trades hall', Recorder, no. 140, 1986, pp. 3-6. Details

Online Resources

• 'Chart 4: State and Territory Trades and Labor Councils', in Parties to the Award, 2002, http://www.atua.org.au/ptta/024.html. Details

See also

• Arrowsmith, John, 'How Labour Day began in Victoria', Recorder, no. 98, 1979, pp. 5-8. Details
• Hagan, J., 'The Rehabiliation of the Graves of Charles Jardine Don and William Emmet Murphy', Recorder, no. 125, 1983, pp. 4-6. Details