Charters Towers District Australian Labour FederationPrint Page 
The plaque commemorates the centenary of the establishment in 1891 of the Charters Towers District Australian Labour Federation (ALF).
Location
| Address: | Mosman Street, Edmeades Park, Charters Towers, 4820 |
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| State: | QLD |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -20.075597 Long: 146.257044 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
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| Monument Theme: | Culture |
| Sub-Theme: | Community |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 11-March-1891 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 11-March-1991 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Monday 11th March, 1991 |
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A TRIBUTE TO THE PIONEER MEN AND WOMEN OF THE CHARTERS TOWERS DISTRICT WHO STRUGGLED FOR A BETTER WAY OF LIFE
On 11 March 1891, the Charters Towers District of the Australian Labour Federation (ALF) - the supreme trade union body of the time - convened a meeting for the purpose of formally establishing a Workers Parliamentary Committee.
On 1 August 1890 at the A.L.F.`s inaugural General Council meeting in Brisbane, the Charters Towers delegate, Charles McDonald raised the question of the trade union movment involving itself directly in political action and the Labor Party was born.
A program of political reform was drawn up and, on 9 December 1890, the A.L.F. Executive met in Blackall to draft a set of rules for the organisation of their new political party.
It was decided to form units of the Labor Party in every district, for the purpose of electing workers to the Queensland Parliament. Charters Towers was one of the first branches established and continued to play a central role in the early days of Labor`s existence.
Charles McDonald went on to become the first Federal Member for Kennedy in 1901, holding the seat for Labor until his death in 1925. McDonald also holds the honour of being the first Labor Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Another famous Labor pioneer from Charters Towers was Anderson Dawson who, as the Member for Charters Towers in the Queensland Parliament, became the first Labor Premier in the world in December 1899.
UNITY OF LABOUR IS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD
(This plaque donated and unveiled by Mr. Rob Hulls M.H.R., Member for Kennedy, on the occasion of the centenary of the establishment of the Labor Party branch in Charters Towers - March 11, 1991).
