Australia, an egalitarian society?

Was Australia an egalitarian society and a workers paradise in the early part of
the 20th century? An egalitarian society is an equal society. People, regardless of their
education, occupation or ethnic background, have the same rights and are treated fairly.
So Australia was certainly not an egalitarian society. The inequalities were shown
through housing, immigration policies and women rights. A workers paradise is a state
where all workers, skilled or unskilled, receive the same opportunities to get a job, work
in a safe working condition and they are protected from being exploited by their
employers. It could be debated that Australia was a workers paradise. This will be
expounded through the issues of working conditions and industrial/social services.
First of all is the big difference between housing of upper class and the lower
class. The upper and middle classes were usually people who had professional occupation
or owned large business. They were very wealthy and live comfortably in large houses
with spacious grounds. They have rooms and space to enjoy their life. Their house was
beautifully decorated with furniture and arts from England. There were rarely some
factories near this area. In contrast, the lower class lived in small, cramped and poorly
built tenants. There were more than ten people living in each household. “Official reports
of the time described many rented house as unfit for human occupation and extremely
overcrowded” (Living at the dawn of the century). They lived near factory where they
work; so their house was often dirty and unhygienic due to the soot from factories falling
down. Every day the first thing they had to do was to clean the soot left on the sills and
balconies. Semi-skilled and unskilled workers who earned little money often paid rent all
their lives. Housing had shown a great deal of inequality in the Australian society and so
Australia was not an egalitarian society.
A further reason showing that Australia was not an egalitarian society was the
immigration policies. The ‘White Australia Policy’ restricted non-white immigrants to
Australia. Two Acts was passed to protect this policy, ‘Immigration Restriction Act’ and
‘Pacific Island Labourer Act’. Any non-European immigrants to Australia had to do a
dictation test which was surely in a language they did not know. The kanakas and illegal
immigrants were deported; many left their children behind to live in a developed country.
The government thought by doing this they could keep the superior, white race pure.
Australian workers would have a higher wages and a better living standard. The
immigration policies showed that Australia was racist to non-white people and it was not
an egalitarian society.
The last reason for Australia wasn’t an egalitarian society was the women
franchise or rights. There were beliefs that women were intellectually inferior, weak and
dependant. Most girls didn’t complete their education only daughters of rich families
could afford could go to university. Women married at a young age. If she didn’t marry it
would be hard for her to live because women were paid very low wages. Women were
expected to devote their lives to their families. They were to look after their husbands and
the children, and make sure that everything in the house ran smoothly. Women often gave
up their job once they were married. Women were dependent on their husbands in
everything; they weren’t allowed to make any big decision. Women were not allowed to
vote until 1902 after many efforts, struggling and campaigning.

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 Now, it is time to debate whether Australia was a ‘Workers paradise’. Australia
was not a ‘Workers paradise’ in the issues of working conditions. Workers were badly
treated. In some factories, there was no toilet and the temperature could reach 40 degrees
Celsius in summer. Workers in factories worked long hours from 8 am to 6pm or 10pm
without any extra pay. They worked in dangerous sites without any safety regulations.
After work they often walked home which was a kilometer away. Shop assistant worked
12 hours from 9am to 9pm or 11pm on Saturday. They were not allowed to sit down
which led to exhaustion. Women were mostly employed as domestic servants. They were
paid $1.40 to $2.50 a week. Servants did all the housework which was very hard without
electrical appliances as we have today. They were badly treated, but some lived in and
were well treated. Those female servants who lived were seduced and sacked without any
support. Children became employees as young as eight years old. They were paid two
cents per hour. They were used to clean the spaces which were too small for adults. Some
were killed when the equipments failed. The working conditions for workers during the
turn of the century were too poor and dangerous. That’s why Australia was not a workers
paradise.
There was improvement for Australian workers, in the early 20th century. The
Australian Labor party (ALP) was formed during the 1890s. This party represented the
working class and protected their rights. The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and
Arbitration was established in 1904 to solve disputes between employers and their
workers, to find the best solution satisfying both parties. Many trade unions were formed.
They were workers’ organisation set up to represent and help members with work
problems, improve wages and working conditions. A “fair and reasonable wage” or basic
wage was entitled. This wage was seven shilling a day for a worker to support himself,
his wife and children. There were also many other reforms. These included the
introduction of Commonwealth old age and invalid pension in 1908 and the payment of
compensation for workers who were injured at work in 1912. These reforms led to the
idea that Australia was a workers paradise. Australian workers had higher wages and
better working conditions than workers from other countries.
In conclusion, Australia was certainly not an egalitarian society and a workers
paradise. This was shown through the barrier between the social classes, the upper and
lower classes, the racial attitudes of Australians to other non-white countries, the
difference between gender, men or women, and the poor and dangerous working
conditions. However, it could be debated that Australia was a workers paradise because it
provided it workers with industrial and social reforms which give them higher wages and
better working conditions than other countries at that time.

Bibliography:
Handouts: _The Labour Movement
_Was Australia Workman’s Paradise?
_Living at the Dawn of the Century
_The Workers’ Paradise, 1900-14: A Land of Equality
Book: Retroactive 2
Essays: two sample history essays