Barry McGowan

Class, Hegemony and Localism : the Southern Mining Region of New South Wales, 1850–1900

Historians have always been aware of the importance of localism or local loyalties in political life. This paper discusses in detail a number of large and small gold and base metal mining communities in the southern mining region of New South Wales during the nineteenth century. Aspects considered include the role of institutions such as progress associations and other more ephemeral gatherings, the nature of community debate and conflict, and the physical and economic environment. In gold mining settlements there was a much greater role for the independently minded working miners, the majority of whom fell within an aspirant middling class. By contrast, the vast majority of base metal miners and workers were employees. Localism was sometimes shaped by the hegemony which elites were able to exercise. It is argued that the specific nature of a mining community has important implications for the expression of localism.

This paper contributes to and extends the discussion of localism by reference to a number of gold and base metal mining communities in the latter part of the nineteenth century in southern New South Wales. Some of the communities were a substantial size in their hey-day and were significant both regionally and beyond. Many others, however, were much smaller, and fit into Iris Young's category of small locales of 'personal acquaintances' where consensus was very important in shaping localism. They lacked much of the administrative infrastructure found in the larger towns. Most had no unions, councils, party branches or workers' organisations. They were essentially inward-looking, and focussed on 'bread and butter' issues. By 1900, most of them had either ceased to exist or were on their way to oblivion or rural somnambulance. Today, there is no industrial or mining infrastructure within a 'long country mile' of any of these communities.¹

A number of historians and sociologists have discussed localism, but the communities chosen have, in the main, been very much larger than those examined in this paper. Ian Gray has examined the role of localism in the town of Cowra in New South Wales and in Ken Dempsey's Smalltown localism is cited as one of several ideologies which helped sustain community solidarity. Two of the more comprehensive studies have been by Erik Eklund and Greg Patmore. Looking at Port Kembla, Eklund has defined localism as the 'ideology that elevates local interests above all others and has the effect of creating alliances or coalitions of classes that obscure class interests and mediate class conflict'. His concern was not to deny the importance of class politics, but to use localism as an additional conceptual and analytical tool. Patmore used the concept of localism as an explanation for both class cooperation and exclusion. His examples included the numerous occasions in Lithgow when the town's businesses and social elites supported the trade unions, and occasions when the union movement supported the elite and its organisations.²

The expression of localism was, however, not only affected by the size of the communities, but by their nature and composition and the interplay of class, conflict and hegemony. Localism in the southern mining region was influenced not only by size, but also by the type of community, for many of them were based upon gold mining. Successful gold mining, particularly for alluvial gold, was not always accompanied by the establishment of large industrial units. There was a much greater role for the independently-minded working miner, and union membership was uncommon. Wage employment was limited to only the largest of the claims. The majority of these miners sat in R.S. Neale's aspirant middling class.³ In his study of colonial Armidale John Ferry categorised this class as at

the cutting edge of capitalism exemplifying the dream of independence and individualism and always harbouring a belief in just rewards for hard work. It stood juxtaposed to a dependent working class and a despised or pitied underclass.⁴

Ferry has described the middling class as a 'susceptible class', subject to the vagaries of climate and economy, for instance, debt and the expansion of big business. Its members 'cherished their independence, believed in the small triumph of becoming a masterless man, and saw in their mirrors the image of the noble pioneer'. Most were only too well aware that failure on their part meant joining the ranks of the working class or an underclass. Labour organisations served little purpose to those who were aspiring to be independent, and perhaps even become employers of labour themselves. These working miners exercised their agency outside union structures, not because of ignorance, but because it did not suit their purpose to embrace them. By contrast, the vast majority of base metal miners and workers in the southern mining region were employees of large, highly capitalised mining companies, and from the 1890s on they were increasingly likely to be members of the Amalgamated Miners Association (AMA).⁵

Localism was also shaped by hegemony, described by Connell and Irving as a 'situation of cultural dominance', where the 'subordinate class' lives

its daily lives in forms created by, or consistent with the interest of the dominant class, and through this daily life acquire beliefs, motives and ways of thinking that serve to perpetuate the class structure.⁶

There are a number of precedents for a consideration of hegemony in mining communities. For example, Geoffrey Blainey referred to the Cornish mining community of Burra in South Australia as a 'small welfare state, and described William Hancock, the company manager at Moonta, as a very prominent civic leader, who 'watched over his employees in work and sickness and leisure'. In a similar vein, Ruth Kerr has discussed extensively the paternalistic hand of the 'modest Scot', John Moffat at Irvinebank in North Queensland, and Erik Eklund has also referred to the 'paternalistic framework, common in the base metals industry'.

In the atomistic goldfield societies the concept of hegemony falls on barren ground, but it has some validity in at least two of the base metal fields examined in this paper where the benevolence of the company managers sometimes went to extraordinary lengths. The questions I address are the extent to which relationships in these places could be described as hegemonic, and the importance of factors such as ethnic and religious loyalty and the agency of those in the 'subordinate class' in shaping these communities.⁷

The Goldfield Communities

The goldfield communities of the early 1850s were located exclusively in the Braidwood area. (Braidwood itself was never a gold mining town, but an administrative centre.) They were similar to gold rush communities elsewhere at that time, for instance on the Turon and in Victoria — rich yields were commonplace and the population was in a continual state of flux and ferment. Their prosperity was limited by the geographically small confines of the fields and the absence of profitable and easily worked deep leads. At peak the population for all fields combined was about 2000.

Political tensions and conflicts in the early 1850s were directed against anything which interfered with the miners' aspirations to gain an economic independence. These concerns were not dissimilar to those in Victoria at that time; for instance, excessive licence fees and unreasonable regulations, particularly where private land was involved. Unlike Victoria, however, the ire of the miners and others was not directed at the Government, but rather the private commissioners and their masters, who constituted a small but powerful elite, and on whose land the miners, storekeepers and all others had to live and work. There were no formal organisations, and the miners' resistance was conveyed almost entirely through public meetings.

At Bells Creek, dissatisfaction with an exorbitant private licence fee of £5 a month, in addition to the Government licence, resulted in a public meeting in January 1852, at which the diggers resolved not to pay and take forcible possession. The situation deteriorated further when diggers were denied access to parts of the property adjacent to highly payable sections of Crown land. At Majors Creek one of the principal landowners intended to force all gold buyers on the field to be licensed as he considered them his competitors. This issue flared again when a storekeeper delivering goods was fined for trespassing, and in two other instances licences to trade were refused.⁸

These problems were much more severe at Jembaicumbene, where they effectively destroyed the diggings. Aside from the exorbitant licence fee, the regulations imposed by the private commissioner restricted the diggers' freedom to choose a second claim if the first was unsuccessful. In addition, unlicensed persons, even if they were not digging, were hounded by the commissioner, one correspondent describing proceedings as 'utterly opposed to the inherited notions of British justice'. He lamented that

An unlicensed person, even if he is not digging, and has but just arrived upon the land, is looked upon as a kind of rogue and vagabond, and the conclusion is jumped to that he has premeditated cheating the government and the owners.⁹

Following a brief hiatus in the mid-1850s these goldfields entered a prolonged boom, which lasted until the early to mid-1870s. New deposits were found, but more importantly there was a dramatic reduction in the licence fee and Chinese miners arrived en masse, bringing with them both money and expertise. New technology such as steam pumping engines was also introduced. The goldfields were more regularly and effectively administered, the towns and villages more settled, and the capriciousness of the landed gentry much reduced.

Locational map. Southern Mining Region and environs; towns and villages

Araluen was the most significant of these goldfields, and was, for a period of over ten years, one of the largest in NSW. Estimates of the mining population vary wildly, but at peak it was somewhere around 3,000 with a total population of about 10,000. There were banks, churches, numerous hotels, two Oddfellows lodges, a Freemasons, a newspaper, court, police station, private and public schools, and all manner of businesses. Jembaicumbene was the second largest mining community in this period, with a peak population of between 1,000 and 2,000, many of whom were Chinese. By the mid-1860s Araluen had become the preserve of highly capitalised syndicates, most of which were owned by groups of working miners. But the large scale of many claims meant that there was an increasingly high proportion of wage based employees on the field than before.¹⁰

In the 1869 elections, class, sectarian and localist tensions combined to cause a serious incident of civil unrest. The two main electoral contenders were Edward Greville of Sydney and Michael Kelly, a storekeeper of Braidwood and Araluen, who had been elected only a few months previously. Despite a police presence at the polling booths, Kelly's supporters took possession of the approaches to the entrances and intimidated and physically manhandled opposition voters. One of the booths reopened the following week with the assistance of police reinforcements. They were confronted, however, with large masses of armed men, who also blockaded the roads. Kelly was elected, but Greville protested and the election was declared null and void. At the next election a large force of mounted men was sent from Sydney to counter any disturbance and Greville was duly elected.¹¹

Margaret Carron has argued that this incident was symptomatic of the emergence of wage- based labour and a more uneven spread of earnings, for by 1869 the field was dominated by large companies and most miners were working for wages. She remarked that there was widespread dissatisfaction with the level of earnings at a time when the companies were still seen as very profitable. Some support for this contention is provided by evidence before the Committee on Elections and Qualifications that there was a great increase in the 'mob and its agitations' after the miners had ceased work for the day. Several months earlier there had been a series of wage disputes. The employees on the Little Extended based their demands on the increased returns from the claim, and the miners at the Perseverance were next on strike following notice that wages were to be reduced.¹²

Kelly's supporters were local men who were driven by a combination of class, localist and possibly sectarian loyalties against the outsider Greville. Many of Greville's supporters were also local, and may have made some amends for their physical drubbing with the establishment of a branch of the Protestant Political Association in early 1870. Not long after the dispute the police broke up a 400 strong meeting of the Association and took possession of 32 revolvers.¹³ It is unlikely that sectarianism was a driving force behind the disturbances, but it cannot be discounted as a possible contributory factor.

Important as these disturbances were, they need to be put into context, for the majority of the residents in Araluen and other nearby mining communities were concerned primarily with 'bread and butter' issues, such as flooding, the location and staffing of the post offices, access to church and school lands and the provision and maintenance of schools. These localist concerns affected all classes, giving rise to a concept of 'shared destiny'. Perhaps one of the best examples was the reaction to the never-ending round of floods in the Araluen valley. Possibly the worst flood was in early 1860. On this occasion there was 'death and destruction everywhere', numbers of lives were lost, stores and public houses were flooded, and every hut or tent within about 50 metres of the creek was swept away. At a public meeting in Braidwood a relief fund was instituted and it was agreed to approach the Government for assistance, as there were many who were without food and clothing and some who were starving. Collections were also taken up by the Braidwood churches and many storekeepers gave credit. There were further severe floods in 1864 and 1867, with many men losing their jobs and surviving on credit from the storekeepers, donations from the landowners and other relief measures.¹⁴

In 1871 the floods were particularly severe as the owners had only just put their claims in order and were buying new equipment. In the great majority of cases they had exhausted their means in combating the earlier floods. The severity of the 1871 floods gave rise to an unprecedented level of community support, for the engine owners let their engines at lower rates, and some gave them to the claim holders for set periods for no charge. Those who owned horses and drays did likewise, except for the cost of fodder.¹⁵ In these matters the agitations of 1869 were set aside emphatically.

The issue of access to church and school lands was an important localist issue driven very much by 'middling class' concerns of independence and individualism. In 1859 this issue led to a petition from Jembaicumbene, in conjunction with one from Braidwood, which sought to throw the land open to the miners. These petitions were widely supported by all classes, including the clergy, even though the church was dependent for financial support from the very landowners they were petitioning against. Subsequently, over 2,000 acres was withdrawn for mining purposes. The boundary between the church and school land and private land was an issue in 1859 and the mid-1860s, when a further petition was presented to the NSW Legislative Assembly. In 1871 a petition was forwarded in protest at the proposed sale of the church and school Lands.¹⁶

Education was also an area of strong localist concern, for there was considerable local resistance to some of the new initiatives arising from the Public Schools Act 1866. The half time schools were meant to cater for children living in scattered communities, with itinerant teachers 'commuting' between various stations. But they were badly supported by the parents, and there was considerable apathy, if not hostility, in complying with the requirement for prompt and regular attendance when there were competing interests such as home duties and farm work. Parents were also expected to provide the site, building and furniture for the half time and slightly larger and more permanent provisional schools, and this would have also fuelled local resentment.¹⁷

Race relations between Europeans and Chinese were also a touchstone for localist ideology. At Port Kembla 'both class and localist politics were bounded by a "racial" or ethnic limitation' which excluded the Kooris. In the Braidwood District the Chinese miners became a target for occasional vilification from the local press and petty annoyances and harassment from youths. For instance, in September 1860 residents at Majors Creek were asking for increased police protection and the erection of a suitable lock up. They claimed that the Chinese had been engaged in shoplifting and disposing of spurious gold to storekeepers and to 'every description of petty marauding which can be imagined', including the pillaging of hen roosts. A petition was signed by 236 persons asking for the prohibition of the Chinese into the colony and for their withdrawal from the gold fields, but this was not accepted.¹⁸

At Araluen several public meetings were held in 1861 to petition the Government against allowing the Chinese miners to work on goldfields on Crown lands. One correspondent commented that this was a 'step in the right direction and it was hoped that other districts would follow suit, this likely to be a more effective way of dealing with the situation than the actions that took place recently at Lambing Flat'. At a second meeting, which attracted about 300 persons, the local Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Dr B. Wilson, condemned the actions of the Lambing Flat miners.¹⁹ The petitions were unsuccessful, however, and there were no 'roll ups'.

There were several occasions when Chinese men were beaten and robbed, but there is only one incident of violence which can be attributed to exclusionist racial motives. This particular event occurred at Jembaicumbene in 1860 where some Chinese miners were reported to be at loggerheads with the agent for the Seymour Estate. Many of them moved to Mongarlowe and Majors Creek where they expected to be better treated, but tents were destroyed, tools taken away and they were hunted off the grounds. Despite this incident, the Chinese miners were a large part of the Jembaicumbene mining population for many years, building a 'joss house' there later in 1860. Within the district most of the violent episodes involving the Chinese saw them as either the instigators or the main protagonists, and some of these involved conflicts between different Chinese groups or individuals.²⁰

Some of these incidents indicate a strong racial and exclusionist dimension to localist ideology. However, the Chinese people were not always outside localist boundaries. Unlike the Kooris at Port Kembla, the Chinese miners were in the majority on some goldfields, for instance, Jembaicumbene and Mongarlowe, which made it rather difficult to exclude them, even if that had been desired. Further, while they had separate camps and villages, they were not precluded from residing in the European settlements. Critically, there was a strong degree of economic co-dependence between Europeans and Chinese in market gardening and commerce, and even in mining. There was, for instance, an extensive network of stores and market gardens throughout the district, and the Chinese miners provided a ready and lucrative market for the purchase of mining claims, machinery and tailings from the Europeans.²¹

Furthermore, several Chinese residents and families, for instance, Quong Tart and the Nomchongs, became very prominent local citizens and were members of a number of essentially European institutions such as churches and lodges, and were benefactors of the community generally. Quong Tart, for instance, was a very successful reef miner and a member of the Bells Creek School Board, a Forester, Freemason and member of the Manchester Unity Lodge, and a patron of cricket and horse racing. At Mongarlowe in 1866 the Chinese miners were included in two meetings to protest at the new Goldfields Bill.²²

From the mid-1870s to the turn of the century, there were severe drought conditions throughout much of Australia, including the Southern Mining Region, and a depletion of easily won alluvial deposits. There was an important, but all too brief period of economic revival for the goldfields in the late 1880s and early 1890s due to better weather conditions, favourable real gold prices, large scale investment in new technology, and the arrival of unemployed men and their families. Away from the more highly capitalised ventures, however, very few men were earning more than wages, and many were only earning subsistence wages (defined as about 12s 6d a week).²³ Localist ideology reflected these more straitened circumstances, and there was often much bitterness and spite.

During the droughts, the depressing physical environment in which many of the mining fraternity lived, particularly those less well off, can only be guessed at. Formerly lush river flats and fertile river valleys were brown, dry and bare, and the more exposed tablelands areas were coated in a never-ending and unhealthy shroud of dust. Dreams of an independence and competence were now hostage to the winds of fortune, and blown away more often than restored. Rains, when they did come, especially in the depth of winter, often found the residents and their buildings unprepared, and ill health and discomfort were all too common.²⁴ These conditions did little to improve the temper of many of the residents.

There were a few reports of elections and party politics on the goldfields, and in these there was a distinctly local flavour. Election Day at Araluen in 1894 had a very strong localist flavour. The newly elected member, Austin Chapman, a popular local business man and Protectionist, was escorted into town by a large cavalcade of persons in buggies and on horseback. He later addressed a well attended meeting and thanked the electors for their support. Chapman was involved in several mining companies and local organisations, and worked tirelessly for his electorate, both as a State and Federal member. He has been described by H. Gibbney as 'one of the most expert constituency-managers in Australian political history'. His career is a classic example of the practical application of localist ideology to Parliamentary politics.²⁵

One of the strongest expressions of localist ideology was in the formation of strong community coalitions to press for the provision of social infrastructure, such as post offices and schools. These coalitions often took the form of progress committees, composed primarily of members of a middling class of small business proprietors, such as battery owners and working miners. Some members of the working class would have also been involved in or at least supported the committees, but there is no record of their participation. Generally the committees were characterised by consensus and cooperation, but there was also occasional dissent and conflict. Where committees were not formed, localist ideology was expressed through public meetings, many of which were also concerned with tensions and conflicts over land, mining and trading rights, and where the common foe was a recalcitrant government or bureaucracy, vexatious landowner or mining company. These issues impacted directly upon middling class welfare.

Most of the newly established gold mining communities in the 1880s and 1890s were small and isolated, with the peak population rarely exceeding 500, and often much less. The towns had hotels, post offices, schools and businesses, and sometimes churches, meeting halls, social and sporting bodies, but there were neither police nor newspapers. At the reef mining centre of Cowra Creek the miners were a mix of wage employees and self employed working miners, both of whom worked in close physical proximity. They had a sense of 'shared fate', which was possibly stronger than the experience of the working and petit bourgeois classes of Dempsey's Smalltown. Representations were initially the preserve of a few prominent members of the middling class, for instance, battery owners such as Messrs Murray, Kitchingham and Lewis, and the storekeeper Paulsen. During 1891 and 1892 Kitchingham was particularly active in pressing for a postal service, and on the latter occasion he was supported successfully by the local member, G.M. Miller MLA.²⁶

In 1893 a meeting was called concerning the mail route, following which a nine-member improvement committee was formed. One of the first tasks of the committee was to write to the Minister for Works asking for a better access road. There were repeated calls for the establishment of a school. The initial application in 1894 was rebuffed by the Inspector in terms which some residents regarded as insulting. Messrs Murray, Lewis and Paulsen wrote to Miller MLA complaining of the response, and on this occasion their representations were successful and the school was built.²⁷

A similar situation occurred at Garangula, which was comprised primarily of self employed alluvial miners, many of whom were refugees from the ranks of the urban unemployed. Representations on schooling were made by the progress committee and the Political Labour League. Two formal representations were made to the Department of Public Instruction within a five month period, in one of which the children were described as 'running wild amongst the miners'. Some months later in May 1895 the police constable commented that many parents could not afford to send their children to the private school because the fees were too high, and he considered himself 'powerless' to enforce attendance. A further application for the establishment of a school was made by the progress committee later that month and on this occasion it was successful.²⁸

At the 1890s reef mining settlement of Bywong, which was also comprised predominantly of working miners, the local MLA, E. O'Sullivan, made representations for a township to be laid out and for other facilities. Not long thereafter the progress association held its first meeting at a place called the 'tree of liberty'. One of its first tasks was to fence the only water hole to prevent pollution. Perhaps reflecting the less than prosperous circumstances of the community, however, the association lacked vigour. The local correspondent suggested that the first priority of the new doctor would be to provide the members with a tonic and 'livener'. Sufficiently goaded into action, the association was soon pushing for a school and a hall.²⁹

Although the miners at McMahons Reef were all employed by the one company, common purpose coalitions of interest were notable by their absence. There was almost complete indifference to matters of community welfare, which were left to the neighbouring Murrumburrah Progress Committee and individuals such as the teacher. In 1885 the Committee made representations to the local MLA for a post office, and in 1889 it pressed for the erection of a new school house and teacher's residence, but a progress committee was not formed to deal with this latter issue until 1896. The only other reference to a community body was in 1890, when a public meeting was held to elect the trustees of the Marshall McMahon temporary common.³⁰

During this time Araluen was still one of the largest gold producing communities in NSW, but falling yields and the ravages of drought and subsequent floods had taken their toll. In 1890 the landed gentry became the target of local discontent, and a public meeting was held to protest at attempts by a large landowner to dictate where the locals were to buy their meat. This incident was in response to the recent opening of a butcher's establishment, which offered lower beef prices, the landowner telling his tenants not to patronise the new shop or risk eviction. The meeting included Father Prendergast from the Roman Catholic Church and many supporters from Braidwood. One speaker described the landowner's actions as 'unjust, oppressive, and tyrannical', and several referred to the need to avoid the 'tyranny of the old world'. It was resolved that the new shop would be supported.³¹

Serious disputes over access to land still occurred. At Garangula the miners and their families objected to the excessive regulations imposed by the private landowners, the Macansh and Osborne families. The original agreement provided that Macansh or his agents had the power to enter any claim and inspect or prospect it. It also stipulated that the miners could not enter into any other business, could not cut timber without permission, build houses, bring their families to live with them, have a school built or improve the water supplies. In early 1895 the progress committee pressed the Government to resume the field under the Mining on Private Lands Act. The Government Geologist considered, correctly as it transpired, that the field had a short life and that resumption could not be justified. A Political Labour League was also formed and public meetings were held occasionally.³²

Dissatisfaction with the authorities' inability or unwillingness to enforce the mining regulations occurred on a number of goldfields dominated by working miners. At Cowra Creek concerns were expressed at the number of miners who were shepherding and the all too frequent suspensions of labour that were granted. It was commented that there was a need to 'give the working man a show as well as the rich'. Shepherding was also a problem at Bywong. At Bungonia, a small mining community of working miners located in the Shoalhaven River area east of Goulburn, a large area of ground had been monopolised for years by a large mining company. Public protest meetings were held and a deputation of miners visited the Minister of Mines in 1895 to seek an inquiry by a Warden other than the current one. Some of the ground was subsequently opened up for the working miners.³³

Another important issue attracting strong community coalitions of the middling class and workers was the pressing of governments for the establishment of mining infrastructure, a matter on which all classes saw their interests as strongly aligned. In 1893 the residents of Araluen, supported by the local member, sought Government funding for a covered water race to drain the east side of the valley to about three kilometres below the post office. By this means it was hoped that large areas of auriferous land would be made available for mining, thus restoring the fortunes of the valley. The request was, however, rejected by the Government.³⁴

The physical condition of the schools was an area of consistent community dissatisfaction and localist agitation throughout rural New South Wales. White ant infestation of school buildings, for instance, was a serious problem, but despite constant community agitation, there was usually little official response until the buildings were in a state of disrepair sufficient to imperil teachers and students alike. In 1885 the Majors Creek school was described as unsuitable for a locality which was 'intensely cold in winter'. The school building was unlined and the children subject to chills and drafts, and the slabs held together by only a few nails.³⁵

More critical was the seemingly endless round of disputes and bickering between parents and teachers. In these conflicts localist ideology was often reinforced by class loyalties and sectarianism. The teachers were understandably concerned with scholarly matters such as attendance and discipline. For instance, in 1876 less than one half of the students in the Braidwood district were regarded as regular attendees, with many absent for weeks or months at a time while they were engaged in potato picking, shearing, harvesting, lambing and other work. The teachers were also expected to have an economic intelligence on parents seeking waivers of school fees, and at the same time get along with the locals; two quite contradictory roles.³⁶

The teacher's lot was not a happy one, and their intrusions into the areas of fees and attendance were often resented, particularly by the less affluent residents. Most of the teachers were not wealthy, and often lived in conditions below those of many of the local citizenry, scraping into middling class status on the basis of aspirations only. However, to many residents they were outside localist boundaries; representatives of an uncaring and blinkered bureaucracy. Many locals may have also resented the fact that the teachers had regularly paid employment, and were only temporary residents.

Examples of these conflicts abound. At Cowra Creek existing tensions boiled over in the early 1900s, particularly between the teacher, Mr Newnham, and Mrs Murray, the wife of one of the main battery owners. An aborted official inquiry resulted, which exonerated the teacher. His hapless successors fared little better and sought with differing degrees of success to leave the town on transfer after serving only a few months, suggesting that by then the ill feelings by the parents were widespread. It is notable that these altercations occurred when the local mining industry was in serious decline and many residents, including the Murrays, were on the poverty line.³⁷

At Bywong in 1899 a formal complaint was made against the teacher, John Gunnell, concerning the hours of opening and closing and the non-collection of fees. Gunnell replied that he had never heard of any complaints from the parents and that he had collected fees wherever practical, using the storekeeper at Bywong as 'his informant'. He described the complainant, Maston, as 'one of those meddlesome individuals who frequently appear on mining fields'. In a subsequent inquiry Maston was very indignant that he had to substantiate his complaints, particularly as his accusations had caused the 'whole of the town' to be 'against him'. A petition supporting the teacher was forwarded by a number of parents and Gunnell was absolved of any wrongdoing. This incident also occurred at a time when the mines were fading and there was considerable hardship.³⁸

McMahons Reef presents a classic case of localist bonding, bolstered by strong class and possibly sectarian loyalties. Ms Halloran, the teacher from 1886 to 1889, was in constant dispute with the parents, and occasionally the inspectors. In response to a complaint from a parent she replied that the complainant's main motive was to get even because she had discontinued to board with them. She claimed later that she was 'continually tantalised' because she was a female by a

class of cowardly ignorant parents who when I have punished their children as they deserved, have sent me insulting notes and messages, accusing me of cruelty and kept their children from school.³⁹

Ms Halloran was subsequently removed, but Manson, the new teacher, fared little better, and he also had problems with accommodation and parents, particularly with the local publican, John Cahill.⁴⁰ His housing was very substandard, a correspondent in August 1889 writing that

Should the buildings noted be erected the thanks of this neglected community ... will be due to the Murrumburrah Progress Committee who although thoroughly disinterested took the matter up with much spirit and energy. As for the majority of parents at Cunningar Reef ... they take no more interest in school matters, or in fact any local want, than would a habitation of beavers.⁴¹

Cahill pursued the teacher relentlessly, and organised a petition complaining about Manson's treatment of his children. Manson commented that it was obvious from the first day that discipline at the school would require special attention. When he had arrived he found the children split into opposing parties and to promote unity he had encouraged games, opened a school library and held picnics and prize distributions. He suspected that there was some animosity towards him because he was of a different religious persuasion to Cahill. The Inspector agreed with the teacher's account, stating that 'They are a disagreeable lot at the reef'. Other parents had organised a counter petition in support of Manson. In the early 1890s Manson sought leave on health grounds as both he and his wife were ill and the house uninhabitable, a local correspondent commenting that the Education Department did not seem to care whether the teachers had 'a residence or a hole in the ground like a wombat'.⁴²

By the late 1880s the mines at McMahons Reef were struggling, the future of the town was very much in doubt, and a number of the complainants were having problems paying their school fees. Another factor contributing to strong localist sentiments was illness and physical discomfort. Sandy blight (now known as trachoma) was very prevalent in the dry and dusty summer months. Influenza and whooping cough were also common in the winter and spring, and impacted very severely upon the school children.⁴³ These health considerations would have been felt more keenly by the poorer members of the community and reinforce the notion that localism and class are closely aligned.

The Base Metal Communities

A base metal mining boom commenced in earnest in the region in 1865, and continued until the late 1870s. The most important mining fields in this early period were Currawang and Frogmore, the former of which would have had a peak population of at least 500, possibly more, and the latter of about 300. Both communities, but particularly Currawang, were characterised by a large Welsh population, vigorous church congregations and lodges, and the notable absence of working miners, for the men were company employees.

Currawang and Frogmore were prosperous communities for a number of years. Socially, the most striking phenomenon of the communities was the over-riding eminence of the mine managers, in particular the Deer family and several of the landed gentry, who appeared at least in Currawang to have formed a coalition of the elite. In the late 1860s Eynon Deer, the future mine manager, saved many Currawang miners and their families from dire poverty when the previous management defaulted on their payments to him as a contractor. For this intervention he was revered by the townspeople, for at the time many employees were 'bordering on destitution and starvation'.⁴⁴

There were no unions or progress associations at Currawang, although there was an improvement society. The main institution was the Miners' Lodge, and the various mine managers, including Eynon Deer, were strong supporters. Its prime function was the promulgation of community values and the provision of welfare; dissent and disagreement were rarely on the agenda, and class and sectarian issues were eschewed. For instance, at a Lodge function in 1873, Eynon Deer stated:

it is a pleasing thought that if anything happened to you — that if your family were to be deprived of your support that they would not be entirely destitute; but they would receive the sympathy and benefit due to them from the society.⁴⁵

On another occasion, in 1874, Captain Trevarthan remarked that the object of the Miner's Lodge was to assist members in times of trouble, disease and accident and to support the widows of deceased members. He commented that

What could there be more noble or grand than the fact that people of all shades and climes, and of varied thoughts and creeds, could meet together upon the same level...their object was to train men in the greatest and highest state of morality...to teach men, when they joined their society that they were all brethren, that they were all derived from one common father...and endeavour to implant into the minds of men the necessity of not thinking that because they were elevated in that world a little above their fellows that they were in any degree superior to their fellow creatures.⁴⁶

Eynon Deer was succeeded by Mr Williams, who also gave his strong support to the Lodge. At his farewell in 1875, he remarked that it gave him

great pleasure also to see that in this meeting all classes living around Currawang are represented, showing that all can join in doing honour to a cause that they believe to be right.⁴⁷

Some of the prominent land owners in the district were also members of the Lodge, and were involved closely with the Currawang community. For instance, the Cooper and Byrnes families donated land upon which the Anglican church and the Roman Catholic church and school respectively were built. The elite, which also included the clergy, were also important in dispensing welfare and organising social functions. For instance, Williams was described as someone who had 'always shown himself ready to give practical assistance to the sick, and always ready with the helping hand and the kind word of advice to those requiring them'. He was also seen as 'kind and considerate yet firm and always using his influence in a reasonable way to elevate the moral character of those over whom he had control'. The following year, Mr Martyn, the Anglican licensed lay reader, drew 'well merited praise from all classes irrespective of all denominational predilections'. He had relieved 'the destitute, widows, and sick and others while suffering under affliction'. The organisation of social functions was the prerogative of the 'ladies of the mine', the mot prominent of whom were the wives of the elite.⁴⁸

In this environment localist ideology was clearly subsumed by the hegemony of the managers and other members of the elite. There was no call for progress committees or other localist groupings, and class considerations were firmly eschewed. Political debate only surfaced at election time, when Currawang was visited by candidates for the seat of Argyle. But class, wages and working conditions were not on the agenda. There were no reported instances of labour disputes, other than a strike by the wood carters in 1877 in support of a new weighbridge. Neither was there a deal of antagonism in other quarters. For instance, there was no recorded conflict between teachers and parents, and although there was the occasional antisocial 'incident' when the mines were failing, neither police nor police courts were established.⁴⁹

While Currawang may appear to meet all the hallmarks of a hegemonic community, however, the importance of agency by the miners and their families in willingly accepting and participating in these arrangements should not be discounted. Religion and ethnicity were clearly major forces for cohesion, for a large proportion of the miners were Welsh and strong supporters of the Wesleyan church. There is no evidence that there was direct or even covert coercion by the elite, or resistance by the miners and their families.

Eynon Deer left Currawang in 1873 and by the following year he had joined his sister and his brothers, James and John, at Frogmore, where he was very soon again at the helm of community activities. For instance, in 1875 he requested the establishment of a post office, the Reid's Flat postmaster reporting that the Deer Brother's store was the most suitable place and that they were the only ones responsible enough to conduct the business. Eynon was also instrumental in pressing for the establishment of a school. He wrote to the Council of Education in 1875 and asked that a teacher be sent immediately to open the school, which was in a temporary building provided by the residents. The school was established later that year, with Eynon appointed as Chairman of the School Board.⁵⁰

By 1878, however, the Deer Brothers had begun to loosen their reins, for in that year they convened a meeting to consider the various needs of the district, which was well attended by the inhabitants of Frogmore, Hovell's Creek, Phill's Creek and Boorowa River. Just why this change occurred is not clear, for there is no evidence of representations or agitations by local residents. It could have been based on personal reasons as simple as fatigue or burn out, as much as any desire to demonstrate a more democratic approach.

The hegemonic reins were loosened a step further in 1881 when a Local Wants Committee was established, although Eynon Deer was still prominent as the president and secretary. The main concerns of the new Committee were the construction of a bridge over the Boorowa River, road repairs and a police quarters and lockup, the appointment of a police magistrate to attend a court of petty sessions, and the construction of a weather shed for the public school. A proposal to remove the local police officer brought a howl of protest from the community, and was vigorously opposed at a meeting of the Wants Committee. Eynon Deer wrote to the local member, who passed the matter to Sir Henry Parkes. Some weeks later it was reported that the police authorities had decided to let matters rest for the present.⁵¹ With the establishment of the Committee localism now had all but full sway.

Other than the occasional representation to the local member and the Premier, the wide world of politics attracted little attention at Frogmore, and the focus of public debate was entirely on local affairs. There were no reported visits by local politicians or political candidates, no unions and no incidents of industrial unrest. Little is known of the activities of the Oddfellows Lodge as a worker's organisation. Arrangements were made in late 1878 for a doctor to visit the mines weekly to attend to the workers and their families for a stated sum per man to be paid monthly.⁵² This arrangement, however, appears to have been made independently of the Lodge.

Captains Flat was originally a small gold mining community, but by 1886 attention had shifted to the rich silver deposits. Fuelled by fabulously high silver prices companies were formed and furnaces quickly erected. The town grew to a population of well over 600, and experienced boom conditions until the early 1890s when this growth was halted by markedly lower silver prices and problems with mineralisation. Favourable copper prices and large scale investment in processing facilities led to another boom in the mid-1890s, when the population was in excess of 2000, but by 1899 the economics of the operation could not be sustained and the mines were closed.⁵³

In many respects the Captains Flat community was very different in character to Currawang and Frogmore. The mine managers had only a limited authority in the town for almost all the mine employees belonged to the AMA, and the progress committees were active at a very early stage in the town's development. Union and localist concerns were, however, closely aligned, and discussion and debate had a sharpness that was almost entirely absent in other mining communities in the region. Public meetings were used extensively as a forum for debate and also the expression of localist sentiments. For instance, in 1888 there was a visit by the local member, E. O'Sullivan, and Messrs Garvan MLA and a Dr Fitzpatrick, at which a crowd of about 45 miners asked for and received an address by O'Sullivan on protection, mining claims, the land bill and general politics.⁵⁴

A pertinent example of the use of public meetings as a localist forum concerned the Mining on Private Property Bill. In 1893 a well attended meeting 'of all classes in the community' was held to elect delegates to represent the Flat at the forthcoming conference on the bill in Sydney. At a subsequent report on the conference residents were advised of the necessity of communicating with other leagues to agitate for a fair and equitable bill. In another public meeting later that year both James McInerney, Secretary of the Goulburn branch of the Shearers' Union, and W.G. Spence, addressed local residents.⁵⁵

One of the more famous meetings concerned the fate of the Lucknow miners. In 1897 a large public meeting heard Messrs Hughes MLA and Brown MLA speak on behalf of the miners. Money was collected and the men agreed to pay 2s 6d a week from their wages. A much-awaited debate on this issue was held the following year between O'Sullivan and Hughes, who was accompanied by Griffiths, the Labor member for Waratah, before an audience of 500. Federation was another important issue at the Flat. In 1898 O'Sullivan addressed a large gathering of miners on this subject, and the following year those in favour of the bill held a torchlight procession on the night of voting, with much excitement at the federal victory. Disputation over wages, working conditions and the use of non-unionised labour occurred only occasionally.⁵⁶

Consistent with this level of political awareness, there were frequent visits by O'Sullivan and his political opponents, particularly at election time. In January 1897 O'Sullivan visited the Flat to inquire into local needs such as the bad state of water supplies, and the need for public buildings, such as a police barracks, court house and post and telegraph office. But by the late 1890s O'Sullivan was encountering increased opposition. For instance, although O'Sullivan won the 1898 election, the Free Trade candidate obtained a majority at the Flat. He also came in for direct criticism, for he was perceived at times as out of step with local sentiments and concerns. On one occasion dissatisfaction was expressed at the way he had voted on a signicant industrial dispute in Broken Hill, and on another he was criticised for his infrequent visits.⁵⁷

The progress committees were a vehicle for the expression of localist concerns and the airing of class sentiments. A committee was formed in 1886 and almost immediately it approached O'Sullivan on matters of local importance, such as the establishment of a better mail service, a public school, better roads and the presence of a mining registrar and a permanent policeman. The selection of a site for the school was a vexed question, for the temporary site was very close to the hotel and in swampy ground with digger's holes all around. A much more suitable site had been selected by the committee, but the Inspector had refused to look at it. A new progress committee approached the authorities in 1887 requesting the establishment of a money order office. The request was refused, and the matter was subsequently taken up by O'Sullivan following a public meeting.⁵⁸

At times the committees were riven by class conflict. For instance, in 1889 a public meeting was held for the purpose of forming a new progress committee, but there was a very poor attendance and a deal of opposition by those living in the less salubrious environs of Bogtown, who felt that the failure of the previous committee through party feeling would be repeated. A further meeting was held and some candidates were elected, but not long thereafter another public meeting was convened to protest at the alleged unrepresentative nature of the committee. After considerable discussion it was decided to appoint delegates from those parts of the district that were not represented on the committee to devise a remedy. Even after this process a satisfactory arrangement could not be arrived at, and another meeting was called at which it was decided to reconstruct and elect a representative committee. On this occasion the results were accepted unanimously.⁵⁹

One explanation for these tensions was the prevalence of health and sickness and the generally poorer living conditions at Bogtown. In 1895 influenza was very prevalent and there was also a shortage of vegetables. Two years later there was an attack of scarlatina, which caused the school to be closed temporarily. Many people were struck down by influenza in 1898, and the following year there was considerable sickness in the town through want of water. Whooping cough and other ailments were widespread and several young children died. Pollution contributed to some of these illnesses, for on one occasion some residents were forced to shift their homes because of fumes from the calciners. For most of this period the Flat was at least blessed with the services of one, and sometimes two, resident doctors, but the issue of health and sickness was an ever-present concern, particularly for the poorer people.⁶⁰

Parent-teacher conflicts occasionally surfaced in the base metal communities, but nowhere near to the extent that they did on the goldfields. For instance, at Frogmore in 1886, the teacher, Charles Beardow, was fined and reprimanded by the Police Magistrate for punishing a boy, an outcome which displeased the Inspector, who considered that the teacher had been harshly dealt with. Later that year Beardow requested a transfer, stating that he did not have the support and sympathy of the parents of the children, and was subject to complaint and abuse from most of them if he tried to correct an 'indolent or disorderly pupil'. In 1887 false allegations by one of the parents again saw Beardow before the court, but on this occasion the case was dismissed.⁶¹

His successor did not fare much better. In early 1890 a parent complained about Wigg's 'unmerciful beating' of his son and in October some parents protested at dancing being held at the school. Matters came to a head in January 1891 when eight parents signed a petition asking for his removal. He was accused of 'harsh conduct to children', and being 'overbearing' and 'haughty' towards those parents who remonstrated with him. Following further complaints in 1892 he was removed, despite a counter petition from 17 parents.⁶² It is significant that these incidents all occurred when the mines were either shut down or going through a period of decline. They represented an outpouring of class based localism by many of the residents.

Conclusions

Discussions on the importance of localist ideology have focussed understandably upon the larger, more obvious communities, where there was a high degree of unionism. My purpose has been to examine the operation of localism in small mining communities and in those where formal institutions such as unions and even progress committees were less prevalent. In these instances localism was for the most part a consensus model, the residents forming local coalitions across class divisions to press for new or improved services or mining facilities or for the amelioration of restrictive mining or land owning practices. Formation of consensus coalitions was abetted by the overwhelming dominance of the middling class in many of the gold mining communities. Where committees were not formed, the main forum for the expression of localist sentiments was by public meeting and petitions.

Seeing the working miners as members of the middling class helps explain the general absence of labour organisations on most gold mining fields and the basis for many localist agitations. These were rarely directed at working conditions or wage levels. But it was a different matter when the laws or landowners acted to frustrate their aspirations to gain a competence, particularly through denial or restriction of access to mining lands. On these issues there was a strong degree of consensus. This also occurred in the area of parent-teacher relations, where class and localist sentiments were strongly aligned against a common foe, although not without dissent by some residents. The physical environment was also important for while poor housing, pollution and consequent ill health were not the preserve of the poorer folk, they felt them more keenly.

In base metal communities such as Currawang and Frogmore in their early years, the expression of localism was largely subsumed by the hegemony of the managers and other elites. This situation was not resisted, for there was a strong ethnic and religious bonding and a general consensus within the community that there was no place or need for formal localist organisations such as progress committees. Suitably qualified, hegemony does, therefore, provide a useful explanatory tool for some communities. Captains Flat was the exception, for it approached more closely the towns discussed by historians such as Patmore and Eklund. It had an active union presence, vigorous political debate, localist bodies in the form of progress committees, and widespread recourse to public meetings. There was also occasional class conflict within the community and its various forums.

Localism can take many guises, and should be viewed as a broad spectrum of experiences. The debate on localism may need to shift, therefore, to accommodate other types of communities and experiences, particularly those on the goldfields. Because so many of these communities have either ceased to exist or been reduced to rural hamlets, it is tempting to dismiss them as trivial. This temptation should be resisted, for while there may be few of them now, there were considerably more in the nineteenth century, and some of them, such as Araluen, were very substantial. When the mining did fade or disappear the residents did not depart to another planet, but for the most part resettled elsewhere in Australia, quite likely in places such as Lithgow and Port Kembla, and in so doing took with them the baggage of their earlier experiences, which included localism.

Endnotes

^1. The region ranges broadly from Goulburn in the north to Harden in the west, Cooma to the south and Braidwood in the east. Like Day and Murdoch's Welsh villages, many of them were 'remote, sparsely populated ... with high levels of self employment'. Graham Day and Jonathan Murdoch, 'Locality and Community: Coming to Terms with Place', Sociological Review, vol. 41, no. 1, 1993, p. 95; Iris Young, 'The Ideal of Community and the Politics of Difference', Social Theory and Practice, vol. 12, no. 1, Spring 1986, pp. 17–18.

^2. Ian Gray, Politics in Place: Social power relations in an Australian country town, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 1991, p. 161; Ken Dempsey, Smalltown: a Study of Social Inequality, Cohesion and Belonging, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1993, pp. 3–4; Greg Patmore, 'Localism and Labour: Lithgow 1869–1932', pp. 53, 66–67; Erik Eklund, 'The "Place" of Politics: Class and Localist Politics at Port Kembla, 1900–30', pp. 95–96, Labour History, no. 78, May 2000; Erik Eklund, '"We are of Age": Class, Locality and Region at Port Kembla, 1900 to 1940', Labour History, no. 66, May 1994, p. 73.

^3. R.S. Neale, Class and Ideology in the Nineteenth Century, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1972, p. 30. I have discussed the role of the working miners in my thesis, Dust and Dreams. A Regional History of Mining and Community in south east New South Wales 1850–1914, PhD, ANU, 2002, and in a paper 'The working miners of southern New South Wales; Subsistence men, entrepreneurs or proletarians?', Work Organisation Struggle, seventh National Labour History Conference, 2001, Phil Griffith and Rosemary Webb (eds), Australian Society for the Study of Labour History Canberra Region Branch, Canberra, 2001, pp. 168–173. The linkage between working miners and the middling class has been discussed in my paper, 'The working miners of southern New South Wales, adaptability, class and identity', Australasian Mining History Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, September 2003, pp. 95–109.

^4. John Ferry, Colonial Armidale, Queensland University Press, St. Lucia, 2000, p. 102.

^5.Ibid, pp. 102–103, John Dean, Captain's Flat, privately published paper, pp. 14–17; Queanbeyan Age, 21 December 1886; Braidwood Dispatch, 29 November 1893, Burrowa News, 8 October 1911; Cooma Express, 22 December 1912.

^6. R.W. Connell and T.H. Irving, Class Structure in Australian History: Documents, Narrative and Argument, Longman and Cheshire, Melbourne, 1980, p. 22.

^7. Blainey, The Rush That Never Ended, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1978, pp. 105–127, 132; Ruth S. Kerr, Irvinebank: Mining Community and Centre of an Empire, paper delivered to the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, 24 May 1984, J.D. & R.S. Kerr, St. Lucia, 1984; Ruth S. Kerr, John Moffat of Irvinebank, J.D. & R.S. Kerr, St. Lucia, 2000; Eklund, 'We are of Age', p. 77. It could be argued that some of Ipswich's nineteenth century coal mining centres also fall into this category. Bradley Bowden, 'A Time "the like of which was never before experienced": Changing Community Loyalties in Ipswich, 1900–12', Labour History, no. 78, May 2000, pp. 71–93. Claire Williams has also used the concept of hegemony as an analytical tool in her study of the working class in an Australian mining town.; Claire Williams, Open Cut: the Working Class in an Australian Mining Town, Studies in Society: 8, George Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1981, pp. 18–20.

^8.Goulburn Herald, 6 December 1851, 10 January, 1, 28 February 1852; 26 March, 16, 30 April, 7 May 1853.

^9.Sydney Empire, 24 February, 6 April 1853.

^10. At the time of the 1871 Census the population was 4,239; almost four times that of Braidwood, and the settlement was strung out along the valley for 11 kilometres. Barry McGowan, The Golden South: a History of the Araluen, Bell's Creek and Major's Creek Gold Fields, Barry McGowan, Canberra, 2000, pp. 70–71; Town and Country Journal, 5 February 1870; Registrar General, New South Wales Census of 1871, Sydney, 1873, pp. 1124–1128.

^11.Goulburn Herald, 22 December 1869; Richard Kennedy, 'The Braidwood gold fields in the 50s and 60s', Braidwood Dispatch, 11 January 1908; Report from the Committee on Elections and Qualifications (Webb v Kelly), New South Wales Legislative Assembly (NSWLA) Votes & Proceedings, 1870–71, vol. 1, pp. 1–2.

^12. Margaret Carron, 'The Braidwood-Araluen Goldfields, 1851–1871', Canberra Historical Journal, September 1976, p. 71; Netta Ellis, Braidwood, Dear Braidwood, N.N & N.M Ellis, Canberra, 1989, pp. 95–96; Report from the Committee on Elections and Qualifications, p. 1; Goulburn Herald, 7 July 1869.

^13.Ibid, 5 February 1870; Trevor Jenkin, The Alley Story, private paper, Braidwood and District Historical Society, Braidwood, p. 25.

^14.Sydney Empire, 20 February 1860; Braidwood Observer and Miners' Advocate, 18, 21 February 1860; Braidwood News and General Advertiser, 23 April, 22, 25 June 1864; Goulburn Herald, 29 June, 8, 14 August 1867.

^15.Ibid, 6, 27 May 1871; Town and Country Journal, 16 September 1871.

^16. R.J. Willson, A Colonial Clergyman: James Allan and the Church of England in the Braidwood District, thesis, BLt. Australian National University, Canberra, 1982, p. 48; Sydney Mail, 28 February 1866; petition from the gold-miners of Jembaicumbene, 'Church and School Lands', NSWLA, Votes and Proceedings, 1871.

^17. 'Report of Council of Education on Public Schools, 1872', NSWLC, Votes and Proceedings, 1872–73, vol. 3, p. 47;' Report of Council of Education on Public Schools, 1873', NSWLC, Votes and Proceedings, 1873–74, vol. 5, p. 44; Alan Barcan, A Short History Of Education in New South Wales, Martindale Press, Sydney, 1965, pp. 127–142; New South Wales Department of School Education, Government Schools of New South Wales 1848 to 1993, New South Wales Department of School Education, Sydney, 1993, pp. 8–17. In isolated areas education was often left to chance and was of a very indifferent quality; Mary Moore-Bentley, Journey to Durran Durra, 1852–1885 : a Story of the Bentley Family and the Gold Rush Era, privately published by Jeanne Bow, Connells Point, 1984, pp. 13–16.

^18. Eklund, 'The "place" of politics', p. 106. Another favourite issue with some local and metropolitan newspapers included their habitation with European women of doubtful repute. Sydney Empire, 16 July 1860; Braidwood Observer and Miners' Advocate, 11 July, 29 September, 10 October 1860; Goulburn Herald, 2 May 1863, 13 March 1867; Braidwood News and General Advertiser, 25 June 1864; Ellis, Braidwood Dear Braidwood, pp. 86–87; Braidwood Dispatch, 19 March 1926.

^19.Braidwood Observer and Miners' Advocate, 3, 10, 21 August, 1861.

^20.Ibid., 28 September 1861, 2 November 1861, 16 August 1862; Sydney Mail, 14 July 1866; Sydney Empire, 20 April 1860; Sydney Morning Herald, 11 February 1861; Goulburn Herald, 24 December 1864, 21 October 1865, 17 January, 11 April 1866, 28 November 1866, 29 April 1868, Yass Courier, 1, 8, 12 November 1862.

^21.Braidwood Observer and Miners' Advocate in the Sydney Empire, 18 June, 23 July, 14 July 1859; Sydney Empire, 14 June 1859; John Hyland, Account books, 1857 to 1861, in the possession of Murray Hyland, Braidwood; Sydney Morning Herald, 21 June 1860; Braidwood Dispatch in the Sydney Morning Herald, 21 December 1860; Braidwood Dispatch in the Goulburn Herald, 24 June 1863; Town and Country Journal, 22 January 1870; Goulburn Herald, 4 June 1873; Mary Anne Bunn, The Lonely Pioneer, William Bunn, Diarist, 1830–1901, St Omer Pastoral Co, Braidwood, 2002, p. 735; photographs and information provided by Roslyn Maddrell, Braidwood; Account books, Glendaurel Station, provided by Geoff Hassall; Eileen Morgan, The Calling of the Spirits, Canberra, Aboriginal Studies Press, 1994, pp. 1–2.

^22.Goulburn Herald, 8 February 1873; Mrs Quong Tart, The Life of Quong Tart: or, How a Foreigner Succeeded in a British Community, W.M. Maclardy, Ben Franklin Printing Works, Sydney, 1911. Discussion between author and Lionel Nomchong, Canberra, 1996; See also Barry McGowan, 'The Braidwood Goldfields: Historical and Archaeological Opportunities', Symposium on the Chinese in Colonial Australasia, University of Melbourne, 20 June 2003; 'Chinese people and their influence in the Braidwood District', Braidwood and District Historical Society, Annual Foundation Day, 27 June 2003; Barry McGowan, 'Reconsidering Race: the Chinese Experience on the Goldfields of Southern New South Wales', forthcoming Australian Historical Studies, 2004.

^23. McGowan, Dust and Dreams, pp. 106–107.

^24. Robyn Annear has documented these problems on the early Victorian gold rushes. Robyn Annear, Nothing but Gold: the Diggers of 1852. Text Publishing, Melbourne, 2000, pp. 160–174. In the southern mining region they persisted well beyond that period.

^25.Braidwood Dispatch, 25 July 1894; Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1891–1939, vol. 7, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1979, pp. 611–612.

^26. Dempsey, Smalltown, p. 272; E. Kitchingham to Postmaster General, 11 May 1891; G.M. Miller, MLA to Postmaster General, 26 October 1892, W. Mussen to H. Dawson, MLA, 17 November 1892, Bartlett to Inspector Tucker, 30 November 1892, Bartlett to Postmaster General, 6 December 1892, memo from Inspector Tucker, 8 December 1892, SP 32/1, Box 151, National Archives of Australia (NAA), Sydney.

^27. W. Lewis to Inspector Nolan, 6 November 1894; W. Lewis, P. Paulsen and J. Murray to Inspector Nolan, 7 November 1894; Inspector Nolan to Chief Inspector, 12 November 1894, 12 February 1895, Lewis, Paulsen and Murray to G.M. Miller, MLA and the Minister for Public Instruction, 27 November 1894, Department of Public Instruction, 5/15558.1, SRCNSW, Sydney; Cooma Express, 27 October 1893, 4 January, 1, 26 February 1895.

^28.Cootamundra Herald, 10 August 1895; Charles Kohn to Minister for Education, 18 August 1894; Inspector Sheehy to Chief Inspector, 17 September, 10 December 1894, 17 June 1895; undated petition; M. Wilson to Officer in charge of Police, Gundagai, 28 May 1895; application for the establishment of a public school, 28 May 1895; Department of Public Instruction, 5/15962.1. State Records Centre New South Wales, Sydney (SRCNSW). Sydney.

^29. There was dissension over the construction of the hall, with one of the miners taking charge of the fund raising committee and refusing to hand the money over. He was subsequently voted off the committee. Queanbeyan Age, 16 February, 20 March, 8, 15 May, 15 June 1895, 19 September 1896; Goulburn Evening Penny Post, 14 February 1895.

^30. Progress Committee to T.M. Slattery MLA, 12 March 1885; petition of 21 November 1885, SP 32/1, Box 343, NAA, Sydney; Murrumburrah Signal, 24 August 1889, 12 July 1890; W. Manson to Inspector Lawford, 21 December 1889; W. Corbett to Inspector, 16 May 1896; W. Ditchburn to Minister for Public Instruction, 19 May 1896, 5/16683, SRCNSW, Sydney.

^31.Braidwood Dispatch, 19 November 1890.

^32. 'The Garangula gold field', Harden Murrumburrah Society Bulletin, no. 3, October 1976, p. 3; Cootamundra Herald, 23 March 1895.

^33.Cooma Express, 9 January 1894, 5 February 1895; Goulburn Herald, 3, 8 October 1895; Goulburn Evening Penny Post, 4 June, 24 October 1895, 16 June 1896.

^34.Braidwood Dispatch, 19 November 1890.

^35. Mary McPherson, Telling Tales Out of School, Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, 1996, pp. 34–76, 114–119; Edward Knapp to Minister of Education, 24 April 1885; Alex Ryrie to Minister of Education, 24 October 1888; Inspector Willis to Chief Inspector, 16 April 1892; Department of Public Instruction, 5/16713.4, SRCNSW, Sydney; Architect to Under Secretary, 14 December 1887, Department of Public Instruction, 5/14668, SRCNSW; Sydney; Inspector Hunt to Chief Inspector, 28 October 1897, Department of Public Instruction, 5/14668.5, SRCNSW, Sydney.

^36. 'Report of Council of Education upon the Condition of Public Schools, 1876', NSWLC, Votes and Proceedings, 1876–77, vol. 5, p. 53.

^37. Mary Burke to Secretary Wilkins, 21 January 1880; Inspector to Secretary, 17 April 1880, Department of Public Instruction, 5/14668.5, SRCNSW, Sydney; Newnham to Chief Inspector, 17 August 1897; H. Newnham to Inspector Baillie, 18 December 1900, 20 February 1901; Inspector Baillie to Chief Inspector, 8 March 1901; W. McDonell to Chief Inspector, 26 February 1902; E. McIntosh to Accountant, Department of Public Instruction, 7 September 1902; A. Faulks to Inspector Walker, 21 July 1903; Department of Public Instruction, 5/15558.1, SRCNSW, Sydney; Manaro Mercury, 12 September 1898.

^38. W. Maston to J. Maynard, Secretary for Education, 15 December 1899; J. Gunnell to D. Cooper, District Inspector, 1 January 1900; D. Cooper to Chief Inspector, late January 1900 (exact date uncertain); W. Maston to Department of Public Instruction, 18 January 1900; petition from residents to Minister for Education, 19 January 1900, Department of Public Instruction, 5/515225.2, SRCNSW, Sydney.

^39. M. Halloran to Chief Inspector, 25 July 1884, 21 July, 22 August 1888, 15 April 1889; Chief Inspector to District Inspector, 6 August 1887; Chief Inspector to Halloran, 12 July 1888; Inspector Lawford to District Inspector, 28 August, 1 December 1888, 27 April 1889; B. Olden to Inspector Lawford, 21 November 1888; Halloran to Inspector Lawford, 6 July, 28 November 1888, 21 December 1889, Department of Public Instruction, 5/16683, SRCNSW, Sydney.

^40. W. Manson to Inspector Lawford, 4 June 1889, Department of Public Instruction, 5/16683, SRCNSW, Sydney.

^41.Murrumburrah Signal, 24 August 1889.

^42. C. Cahill to Inspector Lawford, 7 December 1889; Manson to Inspector Lawford, 21, 23 December 1889; Inspector Lawford to District Inspector, 23 December 1889, Manson to Minister for Education, 4 February 1890; Manson to Chief Inspector, 28 February 1890, Department of Public Instruction, 5/16683, SRCNSW, Sydney; Murrumburrah Signal, 15 March 1890.

^43. Halloran to Chief Inspector, 25 July 1887; Government Medical Officer to Chief Inspector, 25 July 1898; Corbett to Inspector Sheehy, 23 March 1899, 5 August 1900, Department of Public Instruction, 5/16683, SRCNSW, Sydney.

^44. Joan and John Wheeler to Barry McGowan, 9 February 1995; Goulburn Herald and Chronicle, 31 March 1869; Town and Country Journal, 25 November 1871.

^45.Goulburn Herald and Chronicle, 25 October 1873.

^46.Goulburn Evening Penny Post, 17 December 1874.

^47.Goulburn Herald and Chronicle, 22 September 1875.

^48.Ibid., 24 April, 22 September 1875, 30 August 1876, 23 September, 12 October 1872, 17 December 1874; G. Sykes, The History of the Syke's family in Australia, private publication, undated, p. 1.

^49. Goulburn Herald and Chronicle, 6, 24 October 1877, 15 September, 13 October 1880. The only instances of anti-social behaviour concerned a few incidents of inebriation and swearing and an altercation between the teacher and some hotel clientele. Goulburn Herald, 28 July 1880, 17 January 1882; W. Walsh to the Under Secretary, 29 May 1880, Department of Public Instruction, 5/15631.1, SRCNSW, Sydney.

^50. John and Joan Wheeler to Barry McGowan, 9 February 1995; E. Deer to Postmaster General, 15 March 1875; internal memos of 6, 7 April, 7 May, SP 32/1, Box 214, NAA, Sydney; Frogmore Centenary Committee, Frogmore Public School Centenary 1975–1975, publisher unknown, 1975, pp. 5–7.

^51.Burrowa News, 5 November 1878, 14 January, 14, 25 March, 8 April 1881, 27 October 1882, 19 January 1883.

^52.Ibid., 6 September 1878.

^53. McGowan, Dust and Dreams, pp. 78–80; 167–177.

^54.Queanbeyan Age, 15 February 1888; Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1891–1939, vol. 11, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1988, pp. 106–107.

^55.Braidwood Dispatch, 2, 27 September, 9 December 1893.

^56.Ibid., 29 November 1893, 18 September 1897, 9 February 1898, 28 June 1899; John Dean, Captains Flat, privately published account, 2001, p. 14, 17; Queanbeyan Age, 21 December 1886, 21 August 1897.

^57.Ibid., 8 October 1892; 16 January 1897, 27 July, 3, 6 August 1898; Braidwood Dispatch, 27 September 1893.

^58.Queanbeyan Age, 27 May, 24 August 1886; J. McDonagh to Postmaster General, 2 February 1887, E. O'Sullivan to Postmaster General, 17 August 1887, SP 32/1, Box 106, NAA, Sydney.

^59.Braidwood Dispatch, 27 July, 6 November 1889.

^60.Ibid., 11 October 1893; Queanbeyan Age, 12 October, 23 November 1895, 27 August 1898, 11 March, 27 September, 7 October 1899; E. Keys to W. Cooper, District Inspector, 29 March 1897, Department of Public Instruction, 5/15292.2, SRCNSW, Sydney.

^61. M. Halloran to the Under Secretary, 5 March 1886; C. Beardow to District Inspector Dwyer; Inspector Lawford to the District Inspector, 16 March 1886; Inspector Lawford to the Chief Inspector, 20 April 1886; Beardow to the Under Secretary, 25 September 1886; Beardow to Dwyer, 28 July 1887, 15 August 1887, Department of Public Instruction, 5/15951.2, SRCNSW, Sydney.

^62. Mary McPherson, It Happened at School, Kangaroo Press, Roseville, 1997, pp. 67–68.

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