In 1842, the
Northern Districts of the Colony of New South Wales (what is now South-east Queensland) was opened up to free settlement.
Before the advent of barbed wire[1]
fencing, shepherds were in great demand to manage the burgeoning flocks of
sheep run by the squatters.
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| Shepherd and his flock, hut and fold in the background (State Library of Queensland) |
At the time
there was no direct immigration into Moreton Bay from Europe. Labour had to be
recruited from Sydney and incentives were provided in the form of free fare and
a sign-on bonus.
Having landed in Brisbane, some of the
recruits had second thoughts when they realised that it was an employee’s
market and began to demand a better deal. This situation was reported in the Moreton Bay Courier.
Labour.-The steamer
has brought thirty-six more labourers, most of whom have entered into
engagements to proceed up the country. A few, however, have declined the
remunerating offers made to them, and are now loitering about the town.
We are informed by a
gentlemen, who wished to engage one of these men, that on questioning him
respecting the kind of employment he sought, he stated that he wished to engage
as hutkeeper, that his terms were £25 per annum, but he would not undertake to
watch the sheep! Our informant thought this was rather cool, and, of course,
declined to employ him under such conditions.
Many similar
instances of men having the like crotchets in their heads, and refusing to bind
themselves under agreement to become answerable for loss of property through
neglect, have occurred. The stockholders should take a determined course, and
refuse employment to such men, whose only object appears to be to obtain the
largest remuneration for the least possible labour.
The wages paid to
shepherds and hut- keepers in this district are higher than in any other part
of the colony, and it might naturally be expected that their duties would be
better performed here than elsewhere. Such, however, is not the case; there is
a general complaint, as the records of the police-office will testify, of the
slovenly manner in which the flocks are tended and watched by these well-paid
individuals.
It is to be hoped
that stringent measures will, in future, be adopted in order to correct the
growing evil.[2]
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| A large mob of sheep at Barcaldine (State Library of Queensland) |
Some imported
workers were poached by local tradespeople in Brisbane Town much to the outrage
of the squatters.
LABOUR:-Twenty-six
labourers arrived by the steamer on Thursday week last. They have since entered
into engagements, at an advance, in many cases, of £ 1 per. annum, to proceed
up the country. The present rate of wages for good shepherds may be quoted at
£25, and for hutkeepers £22 per annum, with good rations.
Several of the
squatters have lately complained that many of the men sent down by Mr. Graham
have remained in the town, and entered into the service of some of the
tradesmen, contrary to the stipulations made in Sydney with Mr. Graham. The men
who were engaged in Sydney were required to produce written discharges from
their late employers, which documents were forwarded to Mr. Connolly, at South
Brisbane, who, at the present time, holds a great number, the persons to whom
they belong not having applied for
them.
The tradesmen who
have engaged these men are as much to be blamed as the parties who have hired
with them; and they have, moreover, rendered themselves liable to heavy
penalties; the former for having engaged the men without written discharges,
and the latter for fraudulent conduct in procuring free passages from Sydney
under false pretences. They stipulated to proceed into the bush, and as honest
men, they should have fulfilled their contracts.
Mr. Graham, we
believe, has done all in his power, consistently with the limited means at his
command, to facilitate the introduction of labour into the district, and it is
rather too bad that his efforts, and those of the squatters, should be thwarted
by men who have never contributed one farthing to the labour fund, and who are
in a position to import their own labour at their own expense, without
resorting to such shabby and dishonourable means of obtaining it.[3]
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| Idealised bucolic scene with shepherd and his dog (Conrad Martens) |
Given the
isolation and dangers of the shepherding life, it is not surprising that many
were reluctant to take up life in the bush. There were many cases of shepherds
and hut-keepers being attacked and killed by aborigines protecting their
territory. Some of the hired labour preferred to linger in town and enjoy its
attractions such as they were. Unfortunately they soon found themselves before
the court.
BREACHES OF THE
HIRED SERVANTS ACT.
On Tuesday, at the
Police-office, Mr. Lawson, of the Boyne River, appeared before the Bench to
prefer a complaint against John Tomkinson, for refusing to proceed to his
station, after having hired as a shepherd, and received an advance of wages.
It appeared from Mr.
Lawson's statement that the fellow had started on three different occasions
with the intention of proceeding to Limestone, where Mr. Lawson's drays were
loading, in order that he might accompany them to the station. Each time he
returned to Brisbane with various excuses, and got drunk in the public houses,
until Mr. Lawson's patience became exhausted, and he determined on making an
example of him.
The Police
Magistrate told the defendant that his behaviour had been excessively bad, and
to convince him and others that they could not commit such offences with
impunity, the Bench sentenced him to three months imprisonment with hard labour
in the Sydney House of Correction.[4]
The shortage of
labour would continue in the following years and prompt vigorous debate
regarding possible alternatives such as the resumption of convict
transportation and the importation of
cheap labour from China and India.
©
K. C. Sbeghen, 2013.
