Chapter 4 - Work on the Railways - Rail, Tram and Bus Union of NSW

*On Wooden Rails <strong>Chapter</strong> 4 8/30/05 8:28 PM Page 172
On Wooden Rails - Celebrating 150 Years of <strong>Work</strong> on the NSW Railways
At Play on the Railways
Rail workers and their families ,as is the case in other
industries to a greater or lesser extent, often mixed with
rail families. The similarities in lifestyles determined by
the shifts and peculiarity of work on the railways, as
well as location and proximity, rendered this a logical
social extension.
The railways ‘family’ however, is also much more
extended than location or occupation. It is a bond that
extends to all parts of the country and amongst rail
workers around the world.
Max Harrison describes this phenomenon – as one
where you would never be lonely in a strange town if
you were a railway man. “You could go into the local
pub [most towns had a ‘Railways Hotel’], start up a
conversation, say that you were a railwayman, and
you’d be immediately accepted by other railway men as
a ‘lost brother’.” 1
The rail industry, as any other, is as much a social
phenomenon as it is strictly technical, industrial or
political. The social requirements and expectations of
workers and their families are essential to their working
lives and general well-being. A sense of belonging, of
being a part of the railway ‘family’ has been at the
centre of a rail identity. This was recognised early by the
Department and is reflected in the resources and effort
directed towards attempts to provide a range of social
and educational activities for rail workers.
Healthy Bodies, Minds and Attitudes
The Railway Institute was formally opened in 1891 to
provide education and appropriate recreational activities
for rail workers. In stating some of the grand goals of the
Institute, Sir Henry Parkes concluded his speech at the
opening with the following remarks:
“ I look to the Institute to do so much in the direction of
improving the condition of those connected with it, to
raise the character of all, and to impress the true sense
of brotherhood upon all those connected with that great
and important public service.” 2
Employers such as the Railways provided social
activities and education and training to employees and
their families for a number of main reasons, all primarily
in the self-interest of the company. These efforts also
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indicated long-term strategies to not only develop
‘suitable’ employees, but also to provide a supply of
labour, minimise industrial unrest, and serve a wider
public relations and recruiting purpose.
Many rail workers not only received a range of technical
training through the Railways Institutes, but also their
social activities. In many locations the Institute was the
social gathering and meeting place, in lieu of publicly
provided or commercial leisure venues. They were often
the place where not only sports were organised, but
where the town dance, banquets, smoke ball or other
social events took place. They provided an opportunity
for workers to mix socially, dress up, step out and to
meet new people on a social basis. The nexus of this
relationship is not only apparent in the reports of sport
and social activity around the Institutes, but even in their
naming. For example, this desired relationship is
reflected in the Institute in Junee the Railway and Town
Institute.
The range and types of social activity organised by the
Railway Institute was extensive, and included sporting
teams and competitions in most sports (including rugby
league, cricket, swimming, gymnastics, aussie rules,
wrestling), leisure activities such as billiards, card
games, bowls, darts, flower shows, orchestras, brass
bands, choirs, theatre, dances and concerts. An example
of the extent of the activity is that by the late 1920s the
Institute had 63 tennis courts in country areas, many
built by member’s voluntary labour 3 . A similar story can
be told for billiards halls and other facilities built in
country towns.
1 Interview with Max Harrison, June 2005
2 Cited in a summary of the history of the Institute in Institute News , Summer 2005, p13
3 See Nikki Balnave, Company-sponsored recreation in Australai: 1890-1965, Labour History, November 2003, p5
<strong>Chapter</strong> 4 - <strong>Work</strong> on the Railways