Elijah John Carey (20 August 1876 – 14 October 1916) was a New Zealand waiter, trade unionist and soldier.

Biography

Early life

He was born in

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River (Queen ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 20 August 1876. After originally working as a miner, he became an apprentice printer, picking up press skills he would use later in life, before leaving to travel abroad. Carey travelled through Europe, the United States and South America where he worked as a steward on steamships and as a waiter in several hotels. In the early 1890s he returned to Australia and became involved in the Labour movement. Moving to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, once again he had little success in mining, but became involved in trade unionism there, serving on the Coolgardie Trades Council. By 1902 Carey was living in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

working as a waiter where he was active in Australian Labour politics and he is said to have even been a personal friend of both

Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher (29 August 186222 October 1928) was an Australian politician who served three terms as prime minister of Australia – from 1908 to 1909, from 1910 to 1913, and from 1914 to 1915. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party ...

and

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

. Around 1904 Carey moved to New Zealand, settling in Wellington, and found work as a waiter. There he married Ellen Goss on 9 January 1905. He attempted to unionise the catering industry there. Despite earlier failures he eventually helped create the Wellington Amalgamated Society of Cooks and Waiters. He became the union's vice president in 1906 and was soon the chief organiser first full-time secretary in January 1907. By the years end he was blacklisted by employers.

Political activities

With the influence of the cooks and waiters' union expanding, as did Carey's in the labour movement. In 1909 he became vice president of the Wellington Trades and Labour Council and eventually its president from March 1910 to March 1911. Carey was a moderate in the labour movement favouring the creation of a broad, centre-left party along the lines of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

, stating workers should 'strike with pencil and paper through the ballot-box'. Naturally, Carey associated with the other more moderate unionists of his day such as Tom Paul,

David McLaren David McLaren may refer to: * David McLaren (colonial manager) (1785–1850), colonial manager (CEO) of the colony of South Australia (1837–1841) * David McLaren (politician) David McLaren (1872 – 3 November 1939) was a Mayor of Wellington ...

Alfred Hindmarsh Alfred Humphrey Hindmarsh (18 April 1860 – 13 November 1918) was a New Zealand politician, lawyer and unionist. He died in the 1918 influenza epidemic. He served as the first leader of the modern New Zealand Labour Party. Early life Hindmars ...

and Jack McCullough, whom all opposed more radical socialism such as

New Zealand Federation of Labour The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU or CTU; mi, Te Kauae Kaimahi) is a national trade union centre in New Zealand. The NZCTU represents 360,000 workers, and is the largest democratic organisation in New Zealand. History It was form ...

(the 'Red Feds') and the

New Zealand Socialist Party The New Zealand Socialist Party was founded in 1901, promoting the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The group, despite being relatively moderate when compared with many other socialists, met with little tangible success, but it neverthe ...

. Like the other moderates, he had little sympathy for the

Waihi miners' strike The Waihi miners' strike was a major strike action in 1912 by gold miners in the New Zealand town of Waihi. It is widely regarded as the most significant industrial action in the history of New Zealand's labour movement. It resulted in one strike ...

cause. In 1912 Carey played a leading role in establishing the new United Labour Party of New Zealand (ULP) out of the remnants of the first Labour Party, sitting on the party's executive. At the Labour Unity Congress in July 1913, Carey defended the ULP ideal of any new Labour party being a single political and industrial organisation, and limiting strikes. When both motions were lost heavily, he sided with the ULP rump and left, repudiating the new and more radical

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

. Carey was a candidate in several Wellington municipal elections in

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

and

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...

. In addition he unsuccessfully stood in at the general election for the Labour Party.

Military service

Like many of the other Labour moderates, Carey supported New Zealand joining

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In December 1915, at the age of 39, he volunteered for active service in the army, entering the 2nd Battalion, Wellington Infantry Regiment as a Private. Aboard his troopship he edited a soldiers' newsletter. In September 1916 joined his regiment in France. On 14 October 1916 Carey died from wounds received in action during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. Survived by both Ellen and his adopted daughter, he was buried in the Etaples Military Cemetery. Carey Street in Mitchelltown, Wellington, was named after him.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carey, Elijah John 1876 births 1916 deaths Military personnel from Queensland New Zealand trade unionists Australian emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand military personnel Unsuccessful candidates in the 1911 New Zealand general election Independent Political Labour League politicians United Labour Party (New Zealand) politicians Burials at Étaples Military Cemetery New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand military personnel killed in World War I