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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
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The Labor crisis - the riot in George Street 19...

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

The Labor crisis - the riot in George Street 19 September 1890

Image courtesy of the

State Library of Victoria

[IAN01/10/90/1]

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Law and order Sydney

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Demonstrations and protests

Events

1890s strikes

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State Library of Victoria

The State Library of Victoria is contributing items from its multimedia collection

Law and order

The politics of law and order were present at the foundation of Sydney as a convict settlement. They have remained part of the fabric ever since, and a vital aspect of the city's imagined life. Like many other parts of the city (its churches, its schools, its hospitals), the institutions of law and justice are a material aspect of the values and experiences of those who inhabit the city.

Sydney

Founded by Europeans as a social experiment, Sydney's beginnings brought death and dispossession to the original inhabitants of the place, as well as surprising freedom and prosperity to many of the convicts. Over its history, the city's growth has been shaped by factors that are common to many cities, but also by unique forces. In the twenty-first century, for the first time, the idea of sustainable progress is itself in doubt.

Demonstrations and protests

1890s strikes

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Series of national strikes, beginning in August 1890 with the maritime unions and supported by coal miners, transport and agricultural workers, and followed by a shearers' strike in 1891. The strikes were both defeated, after military and police intervention, and large pay cuts ensued. The defeat led to the entry of the Labor Party into parliamentary politics.