the way we worked

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The ever-changing face of work For the first tens of thousands of years of human habitation in the valley of the river we now call the Hunter, work meant the direct day-to-day business of extracting food, shelter and other requirements from the natural environment. But when the British Empire claimed the continent of Australia and put it to use for the exiling of unwanted prisoners and political malcontents, convicts were soon put to work at the Coal River extracting the fossil fuel that powered the industrial revolution, as well as cedar and lime to help build Sydney. A new world of work, in which labour was a commodity to be traded or coerced, had arrived on Australian soil. Newcastle began as a secondary prison-within-a-prison for the colony’s most troublesome convicts. When the Hunter district’s isolation was broken by the discovery of overland routes from Sydney, farming moved in and turned the region into Sydney’s food-bowl, with Maitland as its prosperous centre. Next, large-scale private exploitation of the vast coal reserves beneath Newcastle created what many called a “Coalopolis” and, over the decades to come, industries of many kinds were drawn to the mouth of the Hunter River by the lure of cheap energy and abundant willing workers. World wars came and went. Industries sprouted, blossomed and died. In the 21st century Newcastle is a post-industrial city, and the Hunter might be described as a postagricultural valley, with massive-scale open-cut coalmining – mostly for the export market – one of the most visible players in the regional economy. But mining isn’t labour-intensive anymore, and the transnational corporations that dominate the sector are constantly seeking ways to make it even more capital-intensive. The really big employers, these days, are in the service sectors. Manufacturing, a dominant sector in the Hunter in the second half of the 20th century, has suffered a spectacular decline as “globalisation” – the movement of capital investment in industrial production to countries with lower wages and environmental standards – has become the dominant force in economic and political life. Anybody observing Newcastle in the years from 1980 to 2000 would have seen industry after industry and factory after factory shutting down, displacing thousands of workers and rendering hard-won skills obsolete or unmarketable. This trend in the private sphere was accompanied in the public sector by increasing centralisation, typified by the withdrawal of local jobs, services and decision-making autonomy back to the state capital. Trade union power declined massively. The once influential Newcastle Trades Hall Council has declined in power and the mining union that could once stop the valley wields far less clout than in past years. From a personal perspective my experience may be typical. My paternal grandfather worked in various jobs around Newcastle, including as a coalminer and as a foreman with the Hunter District Water Board. My grandfather on my mother’s side worked at the BHP steelworks until he was injured at work and “let go” to find alternative employment outside the city as a railway ganger. Both my grandmothers were fully employed on “home duties” for most of their adult lives, though my maternal grandmother did some paid cleaning work to supplement the family income. My mother had some clerical jobs but marriage and childbirth intervened and, during much of her time as a potential member of the labour force married mothers were not encouraged to seek paid work. My father trained as a fitter and turner in the years when the metal trades were ubiquitous in Newcastle, seizing the opportunity to switch to the drawing office and moving from Stewarts and Lloyds to the Sulphide Corporation, which offered generous inducements for skilled employees and opportunities for his advancement into senior plant engineering roles. I recall being told while still at high school that I should prepare myself for a career in one of the big secondary industries – the BHP steelworks was highly recommended – and although I didn’t follow that advice I never suspected that the great steel plant’s days were so nearly numbered as time proved them to be. But few jobs are safe from change. My 30-year career in journalism was notable for the knowledge I had from my first day that newspaper circulation was declining. As time passed, massive changes were adopted by media companies seeking to cut costs and maintain profits. Printers were laid off wholesale and computer technology was embraced. Offshoring came. Formats changed. Content was trimmed. The onslaught of competing technologies – culminating in the internet – was an irresistible tide. What jobs or careers my three children may choose is unclear to me. Work is still changing.
This book, our seventh, is a celebration of work in the Hunter and its ever-evolving nature. We hope it will prove entertaining and informative to some readers, and that it will be a source of pleasant memories for those who spent some of their own working days in the industries and with the companies illustrated and described. As usual we have many people to thank for their help and kindness in assembling this collection of images and anecdotes. Jorg Griep, whose father Horst took many photographs that appear in the book, was kind enough to make available a substantial collection of prints and negatives. Ron and Liz Morrison – our mentors in some ways – have also been exceptionally generous in permitting us to use some of their marvellous images. Norman and Betty Mead also shared information and photos. Ron Bell, a former colleague at The Newcastle Herald, provided still more negatives. We must acknowledge the enduring legacy of the late Ken Magor, whose collections started us on our publishing path in 2010, and of the families of the late Milton Merrilees and Arch Miller – both Herald photographers – who have helped us repeatedly. The same is true of Daphne Barney, wife of my late former Herald colleague Norm, whose unfailing support has been of immense value. Yvonne Austin, niece of the late Douglass Baglin, has been very kind in letting us use some of her uncle’s wonderful work. Thanks too, to Brian Andrews, for helping me with details of coal industry history. Many other contributors deserve thanks, and some of their names will be found in the acknowledgement column at the end of the book. To my regret I have mislaid the details of some helpers, and can only say that I am sincerely sorry and will try to make up for my carelessness in any way I can. As always I thank my wife Sylvia for her skill and patience in making these images as fit for printing and publication as can be, and for helping me make the transition in this past year from paid employment to selfemployment. Again, the changing nature of work . . . We intend this book to be the first in a series following the same theme, and encourage people with interesting pictures and stories about jobs and work in the Hunter to contact us at the email address in the back of the volume. Greg Ray BHP steelworks was the definitive face of work in Newcastle for many decades.
Page 1 and 2: The Way We Worked in Newcastle and
Page 3: The Way We Worked in Newcastle and
Page 7 and 8: Coke made sailing excursions to Ash
Page 9 and 10: Chasing coal, from Newcastle to the
Page 11 and 12: Ralph Snowball photograph of miners
Page 13 and 14: Above: BHP’s basic oxygen plant i
Page 15 and 16: A superb Horst Griep photograph sho
Page 17 and 18: These fine press photographs of var
Page 19 and 20: Above: Bernice Matthews, a recorder
Page 21: Men at work at a Waratah brickworks

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