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Manifesto of the Queensland Labour Party to the people of Queensland
The Manifesto of the Queensland Labour Party, dated 9 September 1892, can be regarded as one of the formative documents of the present day Australian Labor Party.
The Manifesto was written at a time of political and social upheaval in Queensland, with the Labor movement looking for alternatives to industrial action to progress its aims. It provides a detailed coverage of the party’s grievances, with a focus upon the ruling class of the time, including squatters, employers, the government and others, who they saw as opposing what they aspired to in terms of working benefits. Electoral and land reform as well as social equity are specific themes.
According to Labor folklore, the Manifesto was read out under the well known Tree of Knowledge at Barcaldine following the Great Shearer’s Strike. Barcaldine was at the centre of the industrial strife that was taking place in the early 1890s and was the centre point for contact and communication for the strikers, who were later to form the vanguard of the Labor movement. Whether or not this event occurred, the Manifesto stands as one of the planks upon which the Labor movement focused on the attainment of political power and parliamentary representation as a means of progressing the party’s aims and aspirations.
Subsequently, Barcaldine has become known as the birthplace of the Labor Party in Queensland with the Tree of Knowledge surviving until recently as a physical reminder of the events of the time. The Manifesto was an important link in the chain of actions and events in Queensland that culminated in the formation of the first Labor government in the world. This was the short-lived Anderson Dawson Labor Government that came to power in 1899.
The Manifesto was written by Charles Seymour, who was heavily involved in the formative years of the Labor movement in Queensland. It was signed by the party’s president, Thomas Glassey, who was also the first person to be popularly elected on a Labor platform in Queensland.
The Manifesto is item 16 of the Charles Seymour Papers, held at OM69-18. "Charlie" Seymour had a long and militant service in the early stages of the Labor movement in Queensland. He was editor of The Worker from 1911 to 1915. In addition to the Manifesto, Seymour's Papers also include correspondence, cuttings, pamphlets, leaflets, photographs and documents relating to his activities in the Labor movement as well as to his work as editor of The Worker.
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Last updated: 4th February 2008
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