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REPORT
Blackball '08: The Commemoration
Peter Franks
The Commemoration was organised to celebrate the centenary of the Blackball Strike of 1908 and it was held in Blackball and Greymouth, New Zealand, 21–23 March 2008.
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| In the early twentieth century, the isolated West Coast of the South Island was the birthplace of a militant revolt against New Zealand's arbitration system. In 1908 a federation of miners' unions was formed. The following year it became the 'Red' Federation of Labor. Its syndicalist rhetoric and tactics of direct bargaining with employers, backed by strikes, and withdrawal from the arbitration system won the support of many semi-skilled and unskilled workers. Miners and watersiders were the core of the 'Red Feds'. Beaten by the employers and a conservative government in the 1912 Waihi Strike, the militants were comprehensively defeated in the Great Strike of 1913. While the militant upsurge was important in the making of the New Zealand working class, the majority of unionists stood aloof. Less than a quarter of organised workers took part in the Great Strike. |
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The spark that started this prairie fire, to paraphrase Mao Zedong, was the 11-week Blackball coal miners' strike in 1908. It began as a protest over 'crib' time, the miners were only allowed 15 minutes for lunch. The strike is often referred to as the 'crib' or 'tucker time' strike. At an Arbitration Court hearing in Greymouth a couple of weeks into the strike, Justice Sim pronounced 15 minutes adequate for 'crib' before adjourning for an hour and a half for luncheon. The strike began after the mine manager sacked seven men, all of whom were members of the Socialist Party. Attempts by Labour Department officials to broker a settlement were unsuccessful. News spread and there was widespread union support for the miners, particularly from other West Coast mines. Crucially, the union at the nearby Tyneside mine at Brunner and the Greymouth wharfies' union didn't support the strike. They refused to cut the supply of coal to the Blackball mining company's vessels or to stop loading them. |
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The Labour Department prosecuted the union for striking. During the Arbitration Court hearing of the case, Jack McCullough, the workers' representative on the court, mediated an agreement between leaders of the Blackball union and the company's directors. This included reinstatement of the seven men. Accepted by a special union meeting, the compromise was repudiated by another meeting the following day and by the company. Union leaders toured New Zealand to get support. 1,600 – around NZ$230,000 in today's terms – was raised, half from mining and other West Coast unions. The strike dragged on with further unsuccessful attempts to negotiate a resolution. Finally the company gave in and conceded the union's demands. It was a great victory, the Canterbury Trades and Labour Council burst into spontaneous applause at the news. The sequel to the strike was highly embarrassing for the Arbitration Court. It had imposed a £75 fine on the union for striking illegally. The union refused to pay. The court ordered that the fine be collected from individual union members. Sheriffs seized goods from Blackball mining families and held an auction to raise money for the fine. The miners took over the auction, the union was the sole bidder and a derisory 12 shillings and 6 pence was raised. |
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The centenary of the strike was celebrated at Blackball and Greymouth (the West Coast's largest town) at Easter 2008. Nestled on a plateau below the Paparoa mountain ranges, Blackball is off the beaten track, even in that region. The mine closed in 1964 but the community didn't give up and the town didn't disappear. Its population today is around 400 compared to 550 in 1908 and 1,200 in its heyday. The Easter commemoration of the strike was unique in recent celebrations of major events in New Zealand labour history. The 1890 Maritime Strike, the 1913 Great Strike and the 1951 Waterfront Lockout were all marked by conferences, seminars and sometimes marches. The Blackball centenary had that but a lot more. The Blackball-based organising committee made it a major community event on the West Coast, attracting former residents and family members of Blackball miners from across New Zealand and Australia along with unionists, historians and members of parliament from the Labour, Green and National political parties. |
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