120th Anniversary of Australian Workers UnionPrint Page 
The plaque commemorates the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Australian Workers Union.
The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia’s largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s, and currently has approximately 135,000 members. It has exercised an influence on the Australian trade union movement, and on the Australian Labor Party throughout its history.
The AWU grew from a number of earlier unions, notably the Australasia Shearers' Union founded by William Spence and David Temple in Creswick, Victoria in 1886.
Location
| Address: | Sturt Street, Ballarat, 3350 |
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| State: | VIC |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -37.562147 Long: 143.859792 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Culture |
| Sub-Theme: | Community |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 16-June-1886 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 16-June-2006 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Friday 16th June, 2006 |
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At this location on 16 June 1886 a meeting of shearers from Ballarat was held to discuss the challenges facing men of the blade at that time.
The meeting resulted in the foundation of a shearers union now known as the Australian Workers` Union.
"But freedoms`s on the wallaby, she`ll knock the tyrants silly,
She`s going to light another fire, and boil another billy.
We`ll make the tyrants feel the sting of those that they would throttle.
They needn`t say the fault is ours if blood should stain the wattle"
Henry Lawson.
This plaque was unveiled by the Australian Workers` Union on the 120th anniversary of the foundation on the Union.
16 June 2006.
