The Wool and Basil Workers' Federation of Australia was an Australian trade union which existed between 1890 and 1976.Rawson, D. W. (1973). "''A Handbook of Australian Trade Unions and Employees' Associations – Second Edition''". Canberra: The Australian National University. It represented workers employed in scouring and carbonising wool,

fellmonger A fellmonger was a dealer in hides or skins, particularly sheepskins, who might also prepare skins for tanning. The name is derived from the Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English languag ...

y, and the processing of sheep hides into

basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also k ...

(tanned sheepskin).

History

The union was first established in 1890, before achieving federal registration in 1912, as the Amalgamated Fellmongers, Woolsorters and Woolscourers' Union of Australia. In 1918, the union changed its name to its final form.Smith, Bruce A. created 20 April 2001, last modified 6 August 2010
"Trade Union Entry: Wool & Basil Workers Federation of Australia"

Australian Trade Union Archives Australian Trade Union Archives is a website intended to be an online resource for archived and present day material related to industrial organisations in Australia. It went online in 2002. It is a joint project of the Australian Science and Tec ...

. Retrieved 27 October 2011. John Dacey, a Sydney coachmaker and Member for Botany, where the fellmongering industry was concentrated, helped to organise the Wool and Basil Workers' Union in Sydney. The South Australian trade union leader and later politician Theo Nicholls served as part-time secretary of the union in South Australia, and was active in its organisation. The Wool and Basil Workers Union was involved in a

demarcation dispute A demarcation dispute is a dispute between (usually) two trades unions as to whose members should do a particular job, and is associated with multi-unionism in an enterprise, where two labour unions claim the right to represent the same class or g ...

with the

Australian Textile Workers' Union The Australian Textile Workers' Union (ATWU) was an Australian trade union which existed from 1919 to 1987.Smith, Bruce A. created 20 April 2001, last modified 6 August 2010. Trade Union Entry: Australian Textile Workers Union (ii). "http://www. ...

in 1913 over work done at

Botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

woollen mills. The dispute was settled following arbitration by the Labour Council. The Wool and Basil Workers' Union merged with the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exer ...

in 1976.

References

{{Reflist

External links

awu.net.au
The website of the Australian Workers Union, the successor to the Wool and Basil Workers' Federation. 1890 establishments in Australia Trade unions established in 1890 Defunct trade unions of Australia Textile and clothing trade unions Trade unions established in 1890 Trade unions disestablished in 1976 Wool organizations Textile industry of Australia Wool industry in Australia Australian sheep industry Leather industry trade unions

History

See also

References

External links