V - LABOUR AND WAGES

Summary

NEW SOUTH WALES

As we have seen, there was considerable reluctance on the part of the wage-earners throughout Australia to consent to the lowering and adjustment of wages, which became inevitable after the passing of the gold period. There was everywhere no little uncertainty as to what should be recognized as a standard wage, and wage-earners had to face a disposition on the part of a large section of employers, to force a return to the conditions existing prior to the gold discoveries. In Sydney and in the other towns of New South Wales the average wages of mechanics began to settle down to about 8s. 6d. per day, bricklayers being the best paid class with 9s., while unskilled labourers generally obtained 5s. per day. Agricultural labourers and shepherds were usually paid from £30 to £35 a year with rations and hut accommodation, and married couples hired as farm servants from £45 to £60. In Sydney there was some want of employment at the beginning of the period, and during the latter part of 1862 the country districts were also affected. The summer of 1862–63 was marked by an almost entire absence of rain, but when the drought broke in March 1863 employment both in town and country showed a tendency to improve and country wages to rise. This improvement lasted until the continuous heavy rains brought on floods in almost every part of the colony, which did not abate until after August.