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

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    Chart 4: State and Territory Trades and Labor Councils
    Details

From
1856
To
1884
Functions
Trade Union (Peak Body)
Reference No
Unregistered

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.

Timeline

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

Archival resources

Flinders University, University Library

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

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

Digital resources

Title
Chart 4: State and Territory Trades and Labor Councils
Type
Image

Details

Bruce A. Smith