Gippsland Trades & Labour Council Inc

The Wonthaggi & District Historical Soicety and The Gippsland Trades and Labour Council unveiled the Wonthaggi Miners' Banner and the Miner's Women's Auxilliary Banner on May Day 2008 at the Wonthaggi Community Union Arts Centre Foyer.

The Banners are of great historical significance. Wonthaggi became the centre of militant industrial unionism during the 1930s when miners went on strike for five months. The first women’s auxiliary in Australia was also established at this time. Wonthaggi mine was one of the largest and most dangerous collieries in Australia where, despite being state owned, the conditions were far worse than many privately owned mines.

Begun in 1909 to supply the railways, 2000 miners flocked from the depressed goldfields and a thriving tent city sprang up. The euphoria of the new venture soon faded as the realities of coal mining set in. In the aftermath of the First World War miners from various parts of the world arrived, many from Great Britain whose bitter struggles on their coalfields had forged strong union ideals.

Their experiences, along with the poor conditions bred an organised militant unionism that would influence industrial relations for decades. The first major confrontation came in during the depression of the 1930s. Conditions were deteriorating rapidly and incomes were plummeting. For five months in 1934, in a strike that would achieve national significance, the community fought Robert Menzies, than Transport Minister and won.

Community co-operation was perhaps the key to victory. It was during this time that the first Women’s Auxiliary was formed. On February 15th 1937, as miners were gathered on the steps of the Union Theatre to protest the lack of safety in the mines the town was rocked by a violent explosion.

Number 20 shaft had blown up. 13 maintenance men lost their lives that morning. A successful campaign was launched to improve safety standards Australia wide.

A national strike in 1949 to extend hard won conditions to other mines saw the country brought to a halt and leaders of the Miners Federation jailed. Strikers across the country returned to work but Wonthaggi voted to fight on.On 20th December 1968 the whistle blew for the last time but the legacy lives on.

“The mine workers of Wonthaggi had exerted a political, industrial and social influence that far outweighed the usual significance of a small union branch…they became synonymous with militant unionism, with co-operative community action and, in doing so, became irrevocably linked with the finest traditions of the Australian labour movement. ”1

Wonthaggi Miners' Banner

The Wonthaggi Miners' Union Banner was painted by Al Hannaford, a local sign writer, in time for the 1958 May Day March in Melbourne. This banner was resplendent as it led the Wonthaggi miners' contingent each year until the closure of the mines. Prior to the making of this banner, which specifically identifies the miners of Wonthaggi, an Australasian Coal & Shale Employees Federation, Victorian Branch banner was carried in the May Day marches.

Wonthaggi Miners' Women's Auxiliary Banner

This banner played a significant role in Australian history. In 1934 a committed group of miner's wives formed the Wonthaggi Miner's Women's Auxiliary, the first organisation of its type in Australia, to support their men in their struggle during the long and bitter 1934 strike. Subsequently, this group had a close association with the Union Theatre where it met fortnightly in the clubrooms in the basement at the rear of the theatre.