Medicine and the Labour Movement in New South Wales, 1788-1850

Abstract

Labour historians have observed how, before the gold rushes of the early 1850s, the labour movement in New South Wales was small, weak, and lacking in what may be termed 'working class consciousness'. They have also noted how attempts to organise labour were impeded by the presence of a convict 'reserve army', repressive legislation, developments in the trade cycle, work relations of production, and ideology.1 Up to now, however, they have failed to relate the emergence and development of the labour movement to the price and availability of medicine. This is particularly surprising given that most would acknowledge the provision of medical benefits to have been a primary objective of both friendly societies and craft unions. In this article I argue three things: that medical services deteriorated for non-convict working men during the second quarter of the nineteenth century; that access to medicine was circumscribed in a way that furthered the ideological hegemony of the dominant class;2 and that the early labour movement was stimulated, if not generated, by a widespread desire to insure against sickness.