The Great Shearers’ Strike: The Birth of Australia’s Union Spirit

The Great Shearers’ Strike of the 1890s is one of the most powerful — and often misunderstood — moments in Australian history. Long before workplace laws, minimum wages, or industrial protections existed, shearers and rural workers stood together against exploitation in one of the earliest and most consequential struggles for workers’ rights in this country.

For MYUNION, the Shearers’ Strike is not just history. It is the foundation of collective action, solidarity, and the principle that working people deserve dignity, fairness, and a voice.

The Great Shearers’ Strike: The Birth of Australia’s Union Spirit

Life in the Sheds: Exploitation by Design

By the late 1800s, the wool industry dominated the Australian economy. Wealth flowed from the land — but not to the workers who laboured in brutal conditions to produce it.

Shearers faced:

• Low and irregular pay

• Unsafe and exhausting working conditions

• No job security

• Blacklisting for union involvement

• Contract systems designed to undercut wages and break solidarity

Pastoralists held enormous economic and political power. Workers had none.

In response, shearers organised through the Amalgamated Shearers’ Union, one of Australia’s first mass unions. Their demands were simple and fair: standard rates of pay, union recognition, and protection from exploitation.

1891: When Workers Drew a Line

In 1891, pastoralists in Queensland refused to recognise union agreements and imposed contracts explicitly banning union membership. This was a direct attack on collective organisation.

Workers responded the only way they could — by standing together.

Thousands of shearers walked off the job. Camps were formed across Queensland. Union banners were raised. Meetings were held in open defiance of employer power.

The response from the state was swift and brutal.

• Police and mounted troops were deployed

• Union camps were raided

• Strike leaders were arrested

• Workers were charged with conspiracy and imprisoned

The government made its position clear: it would protect property and profit, not workers.

A Strike “Lost” — A Movement Born

On the surface, the strike ended in defeat. Workers were forced back to work. Union leaders went to jail. Employers maintained control.

But the real outcome was far more significant.

The Shearers’ Strike taught workers a critical lesson: industrial power without political power is not enough.

Out of this struggle emerged:

• The growth of organised unions nationwide

• The formation of labour political organisations

• The foundations of the Australian Labor movement

• The long push for arbitration, awards, and worker protections

Many of the men jailed for leading the strike later became leaders in parliament and the union movement. What began in the shearing sheds reshaped Australian democracy.

1894: The Fight Continues

A second major shearers’ strike erupted in 1894, again met with repression and military force. Once again, workers paid a heavy price.

But each confrontation strengthened solidarity and reinforced the belief that rights are won through collective action, not granted by goodwill.

Why the Shearers’ Strike Still Matters Today

The Great Shearers’ Strike is not a relic of the past. Its lessons are urgently relevant today.

It reminds us that:

• Employers still attempt to divide workers

• Casualisation and contract labour remain tools of exploitation

• Governments often side with corporate interests unless challenged

• Unions exist because workers need collective strength

Every award wage, safety standard, unfair dismissal protection, and right to representation can be traced back to struggles like this one.

MYUNION: Carrying the Legacy Forward

The shearers did not fight for comfort. They fought for fairness.

They stood together knowing the consequences — arrest, poverty, imprisonment — because they understood something fundamental: an injury to one is an injury to all.

At MYUNION, we honour that legacy by standing with workers today — in workplaces, tribunals, communities, and campaigns for justice.

The Great Shearers’ Strike reminds us who we are, where we came from, and why union strength still matters.