The Birth of an Organising Union

Darling Harbour wharves in March 1901
found that ‘in no instance were any
precautions taken by the masters of
vessels to prevent rats getting ashore
along the hawsers.’
The inspectors also found that,
‘Steaming slowly past the jetties one
noticed many of them in a dilapidated
condition, the piles wholly or half eaten
away, as well as the pile sheathing
which does duty for a wall. Here was an
ideal retreat for rats.’
The plague outbreak’s first victim was
Arthur Payne, a local trollyman, who
luckily recovered. In all, 103 people died
in the outbreak, which persisted for
over a year.
A program of disinfection and
demolition of condemned properties
was still underway around the Rocks
and the Darling Harbour area in 1901.
Darling Harbour in 1901
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