The Royal Commission into Noxious and Offensive Trades

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

The Royal Commission into Noxious and Offensive Trades

2016

Scalding and dressing pigs at Mr D O'Connell's pig-killing pens, Glebe Island abattoir, 1879 Australian town and country journal, 7 June 1879, p 1088

There have been many current and proposed Royal Commissions in the news lately, so I thought I’d take a look in the Dictionary of Sydney to see what I could find. There’s a fascinating article on the Royal Commission into Noxious and Offensive Trades 1882, courtesy of former City Historian at the City of Sydney, Shirley Fitzgerald. I spoke about it with Nic Healey on 2SER Breakfast this morning.

The term ‘noxious trade’ applied to any industry that created a stink associated with offensive waste. It covered businesses associated with the processing of animal carcasses, like tanneries, abattoirs and fellmongers. During the late 19th century, theories about the control and spread of diseases were quite different; disease was believed to have spread by offensive vapours. There were wealthy suburbs in Sydney where such trades were banned, such Randwick. Other areas, including working-class Alexandria, became known for its noxious trades. So when one member of the Noxious Traders Association, Alfred Fremlin, suggested there be a separate site in Sydney purely for noxious traders, the idea gained the support of concerned ratepayers. The idea was defeated, however, and the government suggested a Royal Commission on Noxious and Offensive Trades be launched in 1882. The Royal Commission gathered evidence from 31 witnesses and investigated a range of industries including the Glebe Island abattoirs, which were established in the 1830s. The Commission found that these industries endangered public health, and recommended a secluded site be established. In the end, the Noxious Trades and Cattle Slaughtering Act was passed in 1894, which aimed to regulate noxious industries. This caused tension, as it gave the Board of Health, and not local councils, control over noxious traders in Sydney. Shirley Fitzgerald notes that if the recommendations of the Royal Commission been adopted, Sydney would have gained a reputation for advanced environmental planning, despite the incorrect assumptions about vapours and public health. This is because the noxious industries contributed to the degradation of many of the city’s waterways including the Cooks River, and parts of the Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers, and Glebe Island abattoir, for example, was depositing waste products into Port Jackson until 1913. If you’re interested in finding out more, explore the Dictionary of Sydney or download the Dictionary’s free app which includes a tour of Sydney Harbour Islands, including the former abattoir Glebe Island. Listen to the Nicole & Nic’s chat here and tune in to 2SER Breakfast with Nic Healey on 107.3 every Wednesday morning at 8:15-8:20 am to hear more from the Dictionary of Sydney. Listen now

Detail showing woolwashes, tannery and soapworks in Alexandria and Waterloo from the 'Atlas of the Suburbs of Sydney' Alexandria 1886-1888, Courtesy: City of Sydney Archives