Tree of Knowledge (Australia)
| Tree of Knowledge (Australia) | |
|---|---|
The Tree of Knowledge, Barcaldine, 1997
|
|
| Location | Oak Street, Barcaldine, Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 23°33′08″S 145°17′23″E / 23.5523°S 145.2897°ECoordinates: 23°33′08″S 145°17′23″E / 23.5523°S 145.2897°E |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | 1891 - 1891 |
| Official name: Tree of Knowledge | |
| Type | state heritage (landscape) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600021 |
| Significant period | 1891 (historical) |
| Significant components | memorial - plaque, flagpole/flagstaff, memorial/monument |
 Location of Tree of Knowledge (Australia) in Queensland
|
|
The Tree of Knowledge is a heritage-listed tree in Oak Street, Barcaldine, Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was the headquarters of the 1891 Australian shearers' strike and the 1892 reading of the Labour Party manifesto leading to the formation of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It was a 200-year-old Corymbia aparrerinja ghost gum. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The Tree of Knowledge is a ghost gum located in front of the Barcaldine railway station under which the workers of the 1891 Shearer's Strike met. An icon of the Labor Party and Trades Unions, it symbolises the foundation of the organised representation of labour in Queensland.
Barcaldine sprang up in 1886 as the terminus of the Central Western railway. The area was already settled by pastoralists and had previously been centred on Blackall. Large sheep stations were like small townships with their own working facilities, stores, worker's accommodation and tradesmen such as blacksmiths. The owners and managers of these stations had considerable power to dictate terms to an itinerant workforce of sheep shearers recruited for the shearing season. Poor working conditions, low pay and the threat of competition from cheap foreign labour caused discontent within the industry.
Barcaldine was a natural focus for the development of unionism. As the railhead, the town drew many seasonal and casual workers. Besides shearers and hands there were navvies who had worked on the construction of the railway and carriers who had found their work reduced by it. Difficulties in finding work and financial hardship helped to build a sense of mateship and mutual support amongst sections of them. In 1887 the Central Queensland Carriers Union was formed, and discussions leading up to this are said to have been held under the gum tree which provided shade where carriers waited at the front of the railway station. At the same time, the Queensland Shearers' Union was formed at Blackall. Within a year it had 1300 members, indicating a perceived need for collective bargaining to obtain fair pay and working conditions. In 1888 the Central Queensland Labourers' Union was formed at Barcaldine. These three unions were the driving force behind the strike of 1891.
...
Wikipedia