The Wallaroo and Moonta Miners Strike 1864

The Wallaroo and Moonta miners’ strike 1864

By Jem Smith

The Wallaroo and Moonta miners’ strike in 1864 was the miners against the management of James and Ender warmington who the workers who had a poor Industrial relationship (the relations between management and workers in industry) has turned into an industrial dispute (a dispute between employers and employees). This is because the workers believed they were abused unfairly by the captain’s conduct to them as the workers believed that their abuse was not only violent and shaming but also unjustified. This industrial conflict took place in the Moonta- Wallaroo mining district (now Wallaroo South Australia) which was a metal mining centre which extracted ore and or minerals from the ground. They were one of the biggest production mining companies in the world with 335,000 tons of copper metal made, the largest smelting works in the world beside Swansea in Wales and employed 3000 in the mines and 20,000 living in the local district. This report will discuss the many factors of the strike and how it links the efficiency and effectiveness of a business and an industrial disputes.

The cause of the strikes was of the captain’s conduct which they believed was violent. They with reports of the captain tearing the hair from a man’s head and threatening him that he will choke him to death and anther were a man refused to work in a dangerous situation also without remuneration With this the captain verbally abused him, with violent and insulting language.

Another issue with this was the men could not complain to the captains due to them having a dislike of strikes and if done they would be punished valiantly. For example man named Joseph Donnelly lent a letter to captain Ender about grievances he had with Warmington conduct. Ender replied with him and his sons being fired would not be if the men refused to work were the pay would be less financial rewarding than another they would be fired. Also the men most likely could not leave this job being there due to a lack of income earned from the work and with this, leaving their job was unavailable due to them having a low income (nine weeks work only earned about six pounds) to be able to leave while being financially stable and without guaranteed tree of finding another job. This conduct of the captains was the main reason that the miners’ strike manifested.

The workers also did not have anyone else to complain to as the captains were the only people in the business who were stakeholders were the captains. The stakeholders were the captains of the place as until 1889 when they became the Wallaroo and Moonta mining and smelting company, the mines were privately owned. With this the main stakeholders were the warmington captains.

This conflict was a cost to the community because it placed the men under dangerous and poverty like conditions were they were not allowed to act out about it and were forced to do dangerous work for low income or else they would be fired. There were many incidents in the workplace that   were not  cared for with an example Bing one man breaking his thigh and the captain refusing with foul language to give him a certificate entitling him to sick pay. Another incident is when a boy broke his arm but healed quickly and when he asked for light work he was no longer entitled sick pay and he and his father were fired. They was an effect to the community as without sick pay with an injury that would keep you out of work and without income could turn you into poverty

The work conditions were also a problem and a reason that manifested the conflict. One of the jobs was to stand on a plank over an edge and mine on the plank. The planks were not only dangerous to stand on but them was small planks as the workers reported that they were about 2 to 3 inches thick. This were dangerous to the lightness of the plank which could easily break and that they were over a ledge but that this job was paid more as the work in theses mines as one of the factors of pay was how dangerous the job. Soo even though they the miners could see they that the job was dangerous as shown by their reporting they would do it anyway because of the poor income ethyl would earn otherwise in a more light work and safer environment.