Received from Geoff Wilson MP:
Remembering Black Friday
On 18 January this year the Ferny Grove Tramway Museum played host to the
remembrance of one of the most
significant events in Queensland
industrial history – the 1912
Brisbane General Strike.
On that summer day in 1912
members of the Australian Tramway
Employees Association were sacked
for wearing their union badges to
work. The sacked workers organised
a march and that night rallied with
their friends and supporters 10000
strong in what would become King
George Square. What followed was
the Brisbane General Strike of 1912.
The General Electric Company of Great Britain which owned Brisbane Tramways refused to
even speak with the union leaders. On 30 January the 43 unions who had formed the
Combined Unions Committee went out on a general strike for the right not only to wear their
badges to work but to organise or
join a union at all.
On the second day of the strike
some 25000 workers marched from
the Trades Hall to Fortitude Valley
and back while being cheered on by
50000 supporters. The unions
organised makeshift police
ambulance and other services and
the strike committee virtually
became an alternative government.
On the third day the Police
Commissioner refused a permit to
march to the strikers and instead ordered a baton charge into the assembled unionists their
wives and children. The shameful event became known as Black Friday.
The strike lasted seven weeks and established a precedent for all Queenslanders to be able
to join together and stand up against oppression in the workplace and the right to join a
union.
The Rail Tram and Bus Union is hosting a
family day at the Tramway Museum this
Sunday 5 February that will include a
BBQ tram rides and a re-enactment of the
sackings involving local theatre group The
Hills Players.
The Tramway Museum is located at 50
McGinn Road in Ferny Grove. Entry will be
free for union members.