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After the 1890 Australian maritime dispute and the
/ref> Particularly due to falling wool prices in London, pastoralists were motivated to cut pay rates and hire non-union labour, which was plentiful due to mass unemployment during the 1890s depression. In May 1894, the Amalgamated Workers Union rose to the defence of the shearers' wages . By October 1894 the Queensland Amalgamated Workers Union conceded defeat and called off the strike in the colony of Queensland. However, the strike continued in New South Wales, where possibly 16,000 workers gathered in strike camps. Police were mobilised against them. The most famous incident during the strike was the burning and sinking of the steamer ''Rodney'', which was transporting non-union labour up the Darling River. When the boat was moored in a swamp above Pooncarie, a few miles above the Moorara
After the 1890 Australian maritime dispute and the 1891 Australian shearers' strike
The 1891 shearers' strike is one of Australia's earliest and most important industrial disputes.
The dispute was primarily between Trade union, unionised and non-unionised wool workers. It resulted in the formation of large camps of striking work ...
both of which were long, drawn out affairs in which trade unions were defeated, running out of funds, actions by increasingly militant and desperate unions led up to perhaps the most violent shearers' strike, in 1894.A History of Queensland by Raymond Evans, Cambridge University Press, 2007 )Armstrong, Mick Burning the Rodney/ref> Particularly due to falling wool prices in London, pastoralists were motivated to cut pay rates and hire non-union labour, which was plentiful due to mass unemployment during the 1890s depression. In May 1894, the Amalgamated Workers Union rose to the defence of the shearers' wages . By October 1894 the Queensland Amalgamated Workers Union conceded defeat and called off the strike in the colony of Queensland. However, the strike continued in New South Wales, where possibly 16,000 workers gathered in strike camps. Police were mobilised against them. The most famous incident during the strike was the burning and sinking of the steamer ''Rodney'', which was transporting non-union labour up the Darling River. When the boat was moored in a swamp above Pooncarie, a few miles above the Moorara
shearing shed
Shearing sheds (or wool sheds) are large sheds located on sheep stations to accommodate large scale sheep shearing activities.
In countries where large numbers of sheep are kept for wool, sometimes many thousands in a flock, shearing sheds ar ...
, unionists boarded, took control, offloaded all passengers, then soaked the hold in kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
and set it alight. The burning boat drifted away and sank after several hours.
In September 1894, on Dagworth Station, north-west of Winton), striking shearers fired their rifles and pistols in the air, setting fire to the woolshed. The owner of the homestead and three policemen gave chase to a man named Samuel Hoffmeister – also known as "French(y)". Rather than be captured, Hoffmeister shot and killed himself at the Combo Waterhole. It has been widely accepted that the lyrics of Waltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem".
The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing) ...
are based the incident.
References
{{reflist History of Australia (1851–1900) Australian sheep industry