Class and politics : New South Wales, Victoria and the early Commonwealth, 1890-1910

Abstract

What has class to do with Australia - the working man{u2019}s paradise, the egalitarian society, where mate is as good as master? Dr Rickard shows that class is more relevant than most Australians would care to believe. The period 1890-1910 is a critical one in Australian history. In 1890 Australia was little more than a collection of provincially minded colonies; by 1910 it was a nation, poised to prove the fact in a European war. Those twenty years saw the emergence of the labor party and of the basic party system as we know it today. As the trade unions gave birth to the labor parties, the employers worked to establish an anti-labor party. Until now historians have tended to study the Australian labour movement in isolation. This book places both the movement itself and the anti-labour forces, those of capital, firmly in the context of Australian society, its mores and its myths. For those interested in class and politics, and in the myths that give Australian class and politics their characteristic flavour, this book will be a welcome contibution.