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 , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English ...

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 hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...

(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 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 Technology Heritage Centre ...

. Retrieved 27 October 2011.

John Dacey John Rowland Dacey (1 June 1854 – 11 April 1912) was an Irish-born Australian politician. He moved to Victoria, Australia, with his mother after his father died. Eventually orphaned, Dacey moved to Sydney with his wife and began working ...

, 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 Theophilus Martin "Theo" Nicholls (21 August 1894 – 22 July 1977) was an Australian politician. Born in Wilmington, South Australia, he received a primary education before becoming a wharf labourer. He served in the military from 1915 to 1917 ...

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 may involve disagreement between trade unions, craft organisations or professional groups over which workers are to perform certain tasks or which trade union or organisations will represent a particular group of workers, es ...

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 science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

woollen mills. The dispute was settled following arbitration by the

Labour Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial o ...

. 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 pastoralism, pastoral and mining industries in the late 1880s and it currently has approximately 80,000 ...

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 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