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Striking men outside the Railway Institute at Central Station during the 1917 Great Strike

By
Sam Hood
From the collections of the
State Library of New South Wales
[ a2809 Online, 79]
(Mitchell Library)

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Appears in
Great Strike of 1917
Subjects
Demonstrations and protests Labour Transport
Events
Great Strike 1917
Buildings
Central Railway Station

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Hood, Sam

State Library of New South Wales

Great Strike of 1917

The Great Strike of 1917 is regarded as one of Australia’s largest industrial conflicts. The strike erupted on the NSW railways and tramways in August 1917 in response to the introduction of a new way of monitoring worker productivity. Thousands of working people across a range of industries were mobilised as the strike spread throughout NSW and Australia. In Sydney, there were extraordinary street marches and demonstrations led by the strikers and their supporters. On the other side of the political and class divide, strikebreakers were recruited to keep transport and industry running. While the strike lasted for only six weeks, its consequences – political, social and cultural – lingered for decades, shaping the political consciousness of generations.

Demonstrations and protests

Labour

Transport

Great Strike 1917

Mass strike, mainly in NSW and Victoria, and mainly involving railway and waterside workers, that began on August 2 1917 at Eveleigh Railway Workshops and Randwick Tramsheds. Originated in efforts by the railways to improve productivity through time and motion studies.The unions eventually capitulated.

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Central Railway Station

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Central Railway Station, opened in 1906, is Sydney's main rail terminus. Built on the site of the Devonshire Street Cemetery, it replaced a nearby terminus on Devonshire Street.