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Union camp Barcaldine 1891 [limited edition print] / drawing by Chapman.
This is a copy of a colour drawing held by the Australian Workers Union in Brisbane. It depicts the main Shearers' strike camp site at Lagoon Creek, north east of Barcaldine. Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Queensland Premier Wayne Goss, received numbers 1 and 2 of the print run. Limited edition print. This copy is number 138 of 1200. "During the great industrial strike in the Central West in the first half of 1891, the headquarters of which was at Barcaldine, a man named Chapman assisted the union funds by drawing in crayon and ink, the two camps (military and labourers) and selling the pairs at half a sovereign...The picture shows the main street - "Federation Street" - as it was called. In the foreground are supposed to be military horses encroaching on the camp. In the distance may be noted the derrick of the bore which now supplies the Corporation Baths. The site of the camp is now covered by settlement." -- The Queenslander, April 15, 1911 page 29. Note the tent library in lower left hand corner. Collection code: Artworks. Published by the Australian Workers Union to mark the centenary of the Great Shearer’s Strike, 1891. Distributed by the Australian Workers Heritage Centre, Barcaldine, Queensland. Weight of framed work: "The Great Shearers' Strike of 1891 was a watershed in the history of working conditions in Australia and was a major catalyst in the growth of the Australian Labor Party." The shearers were striking in protest at the pastoralists engaging cheaper and non-unionised labour. -- Australian Workers Heritage Centre.