Clarrie O'Shea
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Clarence Lyell O'Shea, more commonly known as Clarrie O'Shea (1906–1988), was the Victorian State Secretary of the
Australian Tramway and Motor Omnibus Employees' Association The Australian Tramway and Motor Omnibus Employees' Association was an Australian trade union, in operation from 1910 to 1950 and from 1950 until 1993. It was founded as the Australian Tramway Employees Union, but was renamed to include bus employ ...
who was jailed in 1969 by Sir John Kerr for contempt of the Industrial Court when he disobeyed a court order that his union pay $8,100 in fines, under the penal sections of the ''Conciliation and Arbitration Act''. A lifelong Communist, O'Shea was a leading member of the pro-
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been i ...
(CPA(ML)) at the time he was imprisoned. O'Shea's jailing triggered the largest postwar national
strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
largely organised by left unions (and against the open opposition of the
Victorian Trades Hall Council The Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) is a representative body of trade union organisations, known as a labour council, in the state of Victoria, Australia. It comprises 43 affiliated trade unions and professional associations, and eight regi ...
and the
Labor Council of New South Wales The Labor Council of New South Wales, branded Unions NSW, is the peak body for trade unions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. As of 2005 there are 67 unions and 8 Rural and Regional Trades & Labor Councils affiliated to the Labor Coun ...
) when one million workers stopped work over six days to demand "Free Clarrie and repeal the penal powers". On the sixth day O'Shea was released when the fines were paid by a man who claimed to have won the New South Wales lottery. Over the previous five years, the Tramways Union had militantly defended and improved the conditions of its members. The union had accumulated 40 fines totalling $13,200 imposed on it by the Conciliation and Arbitration Court. Due to the inaction of
Melbourne Trades Hall Victorian Trades Hall is the headquarters of the Victorian Trades Hall Council. It is located on the corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Street, just north of the Melbourne central business district, in the suburb of Carlton, Melbourne, Victor ...
, twenty seven left wing unions had caucused together in response to the perceived attacks on unionism by the widespread application of fines. They called a mass delegates meeting for the day of the hearing that was attended by 5,000 delegates. After the meeting the delegates marched to the courthouse led by Clarrie O'Shea. In court O'Shea refused to take the oath, then refused to present the union books, in line with the wishes of the members of his union, and was formally arrested and sentenced for contempt of court on Thursday 15 May 1969 and taken to
HM Prison Pentridge HM Prison Pentridge was an Australian prison that was first established in 1851 in Coburg, Victoria. The first prisoners arrived in 1851. The prison officially closed on 1 May 1997. Pentridge was often referred to as the "Bluestone College", ...
. This led to immediate walk outs on the Thursday, and a
general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
which paralysed
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
on the Friday. There were two 24-hour stoppages in Victoria, involving 40 unions. All trains and trams stopped, delivery of goods was severely restricted, the power supply was cut and TV and radio broadcasts were disrupted. Protests and strike action also occurred in regional Victoria with the
Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
Trades Hall Council supporting the strikes and similar action in
Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...
,
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, and the
Latrobe Valley The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical district and urban area of the Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. The traditional owners are the Brayakaulung of the Gunai nation. The district lies east of Melbourne and nestle ...
. All together, about 500,000 workers struck across Australia on Friday, 16 May. The Trades and Labour Council of WA, the
Queensland Trades and Labour Council The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) is a representative, an advocacy group, or peak body, of Queensland trade union organisations, also known as a labour council, in the Queensland, Australia. As of 2020, 26 unions and 13 regional branches ...
and the
United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia SA Unions (originally the United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia) is the peak body for trade unions in South Australia. It coordinates political, social, economic, and industrial campaigns between its affiliate members and implements ...
all called statewide general strikes. In Queensland, mass meetings or strikes occurred in 20 cities, while Trades and Labour Councils in
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
,
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and
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called out members of affiliated unions. The Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council also refused to sanction any action, while 22 'rebel' affiliated unions representing 50,000 workers (80% of Tasmania's workforce) organized a general stoppage. Protests calling for O'Shea's release occurred outside
HM Prison Pentridge HM Prison Pentridge was an Australian prison that was first established in 1851 in Coburg, Victoria. The first prisoners arrived in 1851. The prison officially closed on 1 May 1997. Pentridge was often referred to as the "Bluestone College", ...
in
Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...
over the weekend. On Tuesday 20 May, Dudley MacDougall, a former advertising manager for the
Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...
, acting on "behalf of a public benefactor", paid the union's fines. Kerr ordered O'Shea to be released. Although the penal laws were not repealed, they have never been used again.


References

*John Merritt, 'The Trade Union Leader Who Went to Jail', ''Canberra Historical Journal'' (September 2007), no 59, p 8. *''After the Strikes are Over'', Tribune, London, 6 June 1969. P8 as published in ''A Documentary History of the Australian Labor Movement 1850-1975'', Brian McKinley, (1979) *Court exchange between Clarrie O'Shea and Mr Justice Kerr, The Independent Australian, Vol 2 No 3, as published in ''A Documentary History of the Australian Labor Movement 1850-1975'', Brian McKinley, (1979) *Arrowsmith, John,
Abolish the penal powers: freedoms fight of '69
', 1969, on the ''Reason in Revolt - Source documents in Australian Radicalism'' website


External links

*A photo of Clarrie O'Shea can be see
here
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshea, Clarrie 1906 births 1988 deaths Australian communists Australian trade unionists