last state in the empire

7/23/2019 Last State In the Empire

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The Last State in the

EmpireHIS3MHI: Making History Final

Assessment

Today it is a quiet spot for an easy amble through a bush

reserve but Hustler's Reef Reserve is the site of the Bendigo

Goldfield's worst mining accident. The families of the seven

men killed there may have been the last in the Australian

states to be left outside a legal system of compensation.

Figure 1: Headstone of Frederick James Chinn, died 02 May 1914. Image: NMJoyce, 2015.

2015

NATASHA MARIE JOYCE

La Trobe University

10/19/2015


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On a small hill in North Bendigo, seven stone slabsfan out around the head of an old mine shaft. In the

centre a modern bronze plaque is carefully positioned,

upon which is listed the names of seven dead men. Theplaque and a few broken slabs of cement are all that

reminds as a public memorial for seven gold miners

who died over a century ago, a thousand feet below.

Figure 2 (and above) Public memorial to victims of Great Extended Hustlers

Mine disaster. Images NMJoyce, 2104.

At the opposite end of that scrubby block of landstands a rough cube of granite. It bears a similar

plaque, this one for the hundreds of women who lost

their husbands to gold mining on Bendigos Goldfields.

Two thousand people died in mining related accidents

on these fields, the last as recently as 2001. iThousands

others were left maimed and diseased, unable to earn

a living.

In May 1914, at the time of the Great Extended

Hustlers Reef Mine disaster Victoria remains the last

state in Australia with no workers compensation

system in place. Although the legislation is finally

passed in February 1914, it is not made active

(gazetted) until November. Consequently, the families

of the seven men killed in the worst industrial accident

on the Bendigo Goldfields are left with no means of

support unless they sue for it.

Immediately following the accident, newspapers are

filled with intimate details of the dead miners, family

grief and inquest reports. However as time moves on,

the overwhelming number of reports reflect the

intense fundraising efforts of the community. For

months after the disaster, entertainments are

advertised and subscriptions are published, while state

politicians use their positions in Parliament to bemoan

the lack of legal compensation available.

A century later in a new millennium, health andsafety has become the catch-all phrase for the

complex rules and regulations seemingly enforced to

prevent worker death and injury. However, such

regulations are equally focussed on the cost of

insurance premiums and are mocked in the media for

creating a molly-coddling nanny-state preventing the

advancement of business interests. iiThe complexity of

systems of workers compensation is by no means a

recent development, but Victoria is particularly slow to

respond to current trends.

Figure 3: All newspaper clippings and headlines from Bendigo Advertiser in

weeks directly following disaster.

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An Awful Accident

Late at night on Saturday May 2nd, 1914 an explosion

on the 13th level - 1053 feet underground (or 321

metres) - kills all seven men working on that level, and

a further seven men working in the levels below are

injured. The newspapers are overflowing with details.

From descriptions of the corpses in the morgue to the

sobs of a new widow, every aspect is recorded. The

description in Mondays paper is graphic:

The sight of the seven bodies at the morgue was

ghastly. They were still in their working clothes, or

rather, what had not been blown away by the

explosion; still begrimed by the black dust that adhered

to them during their work where the flesh had not

been reddened by blood. The bruised and battered

bodies, with feet twisted and broken bones projecting

through the flesh, were lying in sawdust.iii

While the reporting appears macabre it is also

transparent. As soon as the accident is reported,

subscriptions to a Families Relief Fund begin to flow.

Every donation, from offers of practical support from

the Melbourne Stock Exchange to a lecture night in

Axedale that collects and passes on 1/15, is faithfully

recorded:

A generous and modest shareholder in the

Great Extended Hustler's Company living atCalifornia Gully has fulfilled his promise...that

he would contribute the whole of his share of

this week's dividend from the mine towards

the relief fund. Yesterday his cheque for 11/5

duly came to hand... Would there were more

like him.iv

The same article simply notes that the Chinese

community of Kangaroo Flat and Golden Square sent in

a substantial aggregate collection yesterday which is

also acknowledged with appreciation.v

4000 is raised by the community and administered by

Sandhurst Trustees for distribution to families. For all

this public generosity, where is the mining company

and what is its legal obligation? As it turns out, thanks

to a delay in administrative bureaucracy, the families of

the dead and those incapacitated have limited legal

recourse.

We in Victoria have waited a long time

A union meeting in the week following the accident

noted that a deputation had met with the Minister for

Mines in response to the the terrible fatality in the

hope that the Minister would come to the conclusion

that check inspectors were needed:

If check inspectors had been appointed, the

accident might not have happened many of

the accidents in the Bendigo mines would have

been prevented... [and] would be in the

interests of the mine owners as well as the

men.vi

Despite discussions about the introduction of

Victorias own Compensation Act beginning almost

immediately after the expiration of the Employers

Liability Act (see boxed timeline next page), ongoing

parliamentary debate prevented its passage for almost

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16 years. While the legislation was passed in February

1914, it was not gazetted until November. On the

second reading of the bill, Joseph Sternberg

prominent Bendigo representative in the State

Legislative Council noted that we in Victoria had

waited a long time for a bill [that] recognised the fact

that men... should be dealt with under humanitarian

conditions.

vii

Local MLA Mr A.J. Hampson made hisopinion clear in parliament a few days after the

disaster:

Had the Act, which was passed last February

been gazetted, the onus of insuring these men

would have rested with the Great Extended

Hustlers Company. Victoria was the last state

in the British Empire to pass a Workers

Accident Compensation Act. The one just

passed is certainly one of the best, and it is

regrettable that any time should be lost inmaking it effective. This calamity should bring

home to the directors of the Great Extended

Hustlers company their moral obligation to

render adequate monetary aid, which, if the

Workers' Accident Compensation Act had been

gazetted, would have been a legal

responsibility."viii

The mine did eventually render monetary aid, but not

until well after community efforts raised almost double

the mines contribution (more on this later).

Fig4: Wood Carving of men working the Great Extended Hustlers Reef

quartz line in Bendigo, c 1880. (Ebenezer and David Syme) State Library of

Victoria.

Figure 5: Workers at Great Extended Hustler's Reef mine, c 1914. Punch

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Ancient History

Australian workers compensation originated in

nineteenth century British law. Before the

implementation of modern workers compensation

arrangements, an injured workers only means of

receiving compensation was to sue their employer for

negligence.

The compensation of workers for injuries incurred in

the workplace is a practice that dates to approximately

2050 B.C. in ancient Samaria.ixAncient systems of

payments for loss of body parts were gradually

replaced as the feudalism of the Middle Ages saw

compensation decided at the will of the local lord and

changed again with the development of English

common law in the Renaissance.x

The common law system across Europe and America

came to rely on a combination of employer defences

that made it particularly difficult for an employer to be

found culpable for the death or injury of a worker. If a

worker was in any way at fault then contributory

negligence applied and the employer was not liable. If

injury or death resulted from the action of another

worker, the employer was not liable. If it was a

dangerous job, it was assumed the worker knew it was

a dangerous and thus the employer was not liable.xi

Modern History

The Industrial Revolution saw the introduction of more

specific systems of compulsory compensation

insurance funds. In 1838, the Prussian railroads

became legally responsible for most injuries to workers

and passengers and in 1884 the German government

introduced the Accident Insurance Bill.

In 1880 the United Kingdom had introduced a bill that

gave workers the right to sue their employer but it

proved to be little more than a system that tied up thecourts in costly cases. By 1897 the United Kingdom

introduced its own Workingmans Compensation Act as

a no fault system.

The first compensation law in Australia was introduced

in South Australia in 1900 while Victoria lagged behind,

becoming the last Australian state to introduce

legislation in 1914.xii

Workers Compensation Timelinexiii

1838

PRUSSIA

Statute covers injured railroad workers

1880

UNITED KINGDOM

Employer's Liability Act gives workers right tosue.

1884

GERMANY

Accident Insurance Bill

1897

UNITED KINGDOM

Workingman's Compensation Act

1900

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Workmen's Compensation Act

1902

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Worker's Compensation Act

1905

QUEENSLAND

Worker's Compensation Act

1910

NEW SOUTH WALES


1910

TASMANIA


1914

VICTORIA


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CURRENT AUSTRALIAN WORKERS

COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENTSxiv

Proposed distribution

All those killed had at some stage been a member of

the Bendigo Miners Association (herein referred to as

the union). The unions Watson Benevolent Fund

bequeaths 100 to eligible families of those who die in

mining accidents. At the time of the explosion only two

men, William Ryan and Leslie Martin, are up to date

with their dues. In fact they pay them the day before

the accident, to steward T. Trevorah. Two others,

William Blair and Frederick Chinn, pay Trevorah some

of what they owe but still have two weeks fees

outstanding. The remaining men were not members at

the time and so, only Ryan and Martins families are

eligible to receive the 100 bequest.

When it comes time to distribute the funds raised from

community efforts, controversy arises at the

suggestion that the families of the union men shouldreceive an adjusted lower amount to allow for them

having already received support from the union. The

Advertiser however sees no reason for such distinction:

It would be a shame if the families of the men

who would not join the [union]were to

receive more money from the relief fund than

the families of those men who had regularly

paid their subscription to the association for

years.xv

Allowing for marriage status and children the final

figure is equal. Fathers (not mothers) and wives alike

are paid a standard 1/10 to be paid per week for the

life of the fund, plus an extra 5 shillings for each child

(see list on page 7). According to local historian John

Kelly, the fund is expected to last just six years but

good management and investment...meant the funds

lasted...until June 1922.xvi

Ten days after the accident the families meet with the

mining company, where they learn that:

...aided by the insurance company to the

extent of 1000 [the company] had decided to

give the relatives 2100. Of course, the

company admits no liability in making the

payment, whilst the families, in taking the

money, regard the matter as ended.xvii

The Martin familys son was the youngest of those

killed tragically the second to be killed in such

circumstances and an unmarried union member. Themine grants his parents 200. The only other similarly

unmarried was the non-financial union member Chinn

(Figure 1, cover page). His family

In 2009-10, the total amount paid by workerscompensation schemes was $7.3 billion. In 2008-2009the total cost to the economy was estimated to be $60.6billion, or 4.6% of the GDP. (REF SAFEWORK)

Approximately 90% of the Australian workforce iscovered by a workers compensation scheme.

Compensation can include income replacement, medicaltreatment, rehabilitation, death benefits or lump sumpayments for permanent impairment.

To receive compensation the worker mut be anemployee, with a diagnosed medical condition thatarose out of orin the course of employment, who hassuffered a financial loss.

A compulsory levy is imposed by government onemployers to fund their potential liabilities associatedwith injured workers. Those eligible may be providedincome replacement and coverage of medical costs.

Australian schemes are no fault meaning an injuredworker does not have to prove that the employer didsome something wrong to cause injury.

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Victims listed by age and showing distribution of funds from Union Watson Benevolent Fund; 4000 from community-raised.

Families Relief Fund, distributed at rate of 1.10 pw widow/father + 5s each child; and 2100 from the mine. xviii

Leslie Martin, 23

Martin was buried with his older brother Murdock, who died 9 yearsearlier in a rock fall at the Clarence United Mine. He was just 18. Murdocksunion membership meant Martins death was the second time in a decadethat parents Murdock Snr and Jean would receive 100 from the union.

Murdock Martin (Snr.) recvied 100 from the union benevolent fund, 200from the mine and 1.10 per week from the Families Relief Fund.

William Ryan, 26

Ryans father John had died only three months before the explosion.Ryan left behind his wife Gertrude and mother Jessie. A year later,Gertrude returned to her home town Adelaide to remarry.

Gertrude recieved 100 from the union 300 from the mine, 1.10 pwFRF.

Frederick James Chinn, 26

Chinn was the born in Bendigo in 1888, and was the eighthchild of Annie and James.

James recieved 245 from the mine and 1.10 pw FRF.

Matthew Forester, 28

Foresters wife Maud was left with their two children Irene andEric. Although she remarried two years later and moved toCollingwood, she eventually returned to Bendigo to be buriedwith Forester.

Maud recieved 340 from the mine and 1.25 pw FRF.

Herbert John Thomas, 30

Thomas was just eight years younger than his father John had beenwhen John was killed in 1892 in an explosion at the same mine 1000ftdeeper. Thomas was 15 and had four siblings when his father died. Hiswife Ethel was left with their three children Leslie, John ad Henry.

Ethel received 340 from the mine and 1.25 pw FRF.

John Henry Campbell, 31

The explosion left Campbells wife Margaret widowed with twochildren, John and Mary. Seven weeks after her husbandsdeath, Margaret delivered their daughter Ida. Ida died and wasburied with John just five years later.

Margaret received 340 from the mine and 1.25 pw FRF.

William Crowther Blair, 40

Blair's death left his gravely ill wife Catherine with three children:Margaret, Frank & Harold. Harold was also very ill and died two weekslater. Blairs coffin bearers included explosion survivor John Bawdenand the union rep who had collected his dues T. Trevorah.

Catherine recieved 345 from the mine and 1.20 pw FRF.

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received 245. The childless widow of union member

Ryan is granted 300 and the remaining, non-unionised

families are all paid 340, except that of Blair. The mine

granted Blairs widow 345. Her infant son Herbert

died of colitis a few day later.

Had the Workmens Compensation Bill been

active at the time of the accident, the widows

would have received approximately 374

each.xix

Seven men survived the explosion and were rescued

within hours. One of those rescued was John Bawden,

who gave evidence at inquest. He was left

incapacitated by the inhalation of heavy fumes and

joined union rep T. Trevorah as a coffin bearer for

William Blair. The medical certificate from Dr. P.J.

Rockett stated that Bawden suffered from the effects

of the fumes and shock, and would in his opinion

never be able to resume active work of any

description.xxHe received 50 from the Families Relief

fund. There are no records of any payment being

disbursed by the union or the mine.

One hundred years later

In addition to the seven men killed at the Great

Hustlers Extended Mine Disaster, in 1914 three more

miners were killed in Bendigo and 15 in total in Victoria

15. Australia-wide, 53 men died in mining accidents

that year. A century later, in the same year that the

federal government opened a Royal Commission into

Trade Union Corruption and Governance, 12 miners

were killed. Targeted for investigation by the

Commission are mining union health and safety

representatives the modern day equivalent of the

check inspectors sought from the Minister for Minesfollowing the Great Extended Hustlers Reef disaster.

10 have been killed in the mining industry this year.

iJohn Kelly, A Bereaved City. (Golden Square, Vic., 2002), 40.iiKoziol, M, 'Nanny state rules making Australia 'world's dumbest nation': Tyler Brl'. The Sydney Morning Herald, 2015.iii'The Victims'. Bendigo Advertiser4 May 1914, p. 7.iv'Extended Hustler's Disaster: Nearly 2000 collected'. Bendigonian, 24 May 1914, p. 14.vIbid.viMiners Association Meeting. Bendigo Advertiser, May 8 1914, p. 5.vii'Workers' Compensation Bill'. 07 November1914, p. 8.viiiWorkmens Compensation Act. Bendigo Advertiser, 5 May 1914, p.7.ixGrant Guyton, A Brief history of Workers Compensation, The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal, 1999, p.107.xxibid.xiIbid.xiiThe Territories are not considered in this assessment due to the Federal nature of the relevant legislation applied.xiiiGraphic by author, source SafeworkAustralia.comxivIbidxv'Extended Hustler's Disaster: Relief Funds Growing'Bendigo Advertiser, 9 May 1914, p.7xviKelly, 2002, p.46xviiExtended Hustler Disaster, Bendigo Advertiser, 12 May 1914.xviii'Bendigo Disaster Fund'.Age24 1914, p. 11xixWorkers Compensation Act, Bendigo Advertiser, 5 May 1914.xxKelly, 2002, p. 49.

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References

Primary Sources

Bendigo Advertiser, 'Entertainment at Axedale'. 1914, p. 7, [accessed 1 October 2015].

Bendigo Advertiser, 'Extended Hustler's Disaster: Relief Funds Growing'. 1914, p. 6,http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89987430

[accessed 1 October 2015].

Bendigo Advertiser, 'List of the Dead'. 2015, p. 7,http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89987228[accessed 1 October 2015].

Bendigo Advertiser, 'Melbourne Stock Exchange'. 1914, p. 7, [accessed 18 October 2015].

Bendigo Advertiser, 'The Victims'. 1914, p. 7, [accessed 1 October 2015].

Bendigo Advertiser, 'Trades Hall Meeting: Workers' Compensation Act'. 1912, p. 2, [accessed 1October 2015].

Bendigo Advertiser, 'William Ryan'. 1914, p. 7, [accessed 1 October 2015].

Bendigo Advertiser, 'Workers' Compensation Bill'. 1914, p. 8, [accessed 1 October 2015].

Bendigo Advertiser, 'Workmen's Compensation Act'. 1914, p. 7, [accessed 1 October 2015].

Bendigonian, 'Appalling Mining Disaster'. 1914, p. 14,http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92044319 [accessed 1 October 2015].

Bendigonian, 'Extended Hustler's Disaster: Nearly 2000 collected'. 1914, p. 14,http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92045011


The Age, 'Awful mine disaster'. 1914, p. 9. [accessed 1 October 2015].

The Age, 'Bendigo Disaster Fund'. 1914, p. 11,http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article189407456


The Age, 'Great Charity Carnival'. 1914, p. 8, [accessed 1 October 2015].

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The Argus, 'Friday, July 31'. 1908, [accessed 1 October 2015].

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Asher, R, 'Experience Counts: British Workers, Accident Prevention and Compensation, and the Origins of the Welfare State'.JPH, 15, 2003,359.

Fishback, P, & S Kantor, 'Did Workers Pay for the Passage of Workers' Compensation Laws?' The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110, 1995,713-742.

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Kelly, J,A bereaved City. Golden Square, Vic., Kelly, John Robert, 2002.

Kelly, J,Bendigo's lost miners. [Bendigo, Vic.], Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies, Bendigo Area, 2008.

Kelly, J, Tears of Gold: Fatalities on the Bendigo Goldfields. Bendigo, John Kelly, 2010.

Koziol, M, 'Nanny state rules making Australia 'world's dumbest nation': Tyler Brl'. in The Sydney Morning Herald, , 2015, [accessed19 October 2015].

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