My great-grandfather, Tom McMillan, was born in Campbeltown, Argyle, Scotland, on 03 October 1867.   He had moved to New South Wales with his parents and sisters.  Thomas, 23yo, married 18yo Annie Maddron on 30 December 1890 at Glen Innes, NSW.   He was recorded as a miner.

 Annie was born in Lelant, Cornwall, in 1872.  She arrived on the Jerusalem  on the 15 April 1875 with her mother, Mary.  Mary was listed with a group of widows with families; she was a 27yo widow from Cornwall, a Weslyen who could read but not write.  Annie is listed as 2yo.  

One of the witnesses to the wedding vows was Mary McMillan, Thomas' 15yo sister.  (Mary and Annie appear to have been friends.  When Mary married at nearby Hillgrove some years later, Annie witnessed her wedding.  The photo of Annie's children, below, was found among Mary's belongings.)  

 Additionally, the certificate states that "the consent of James Martin Esq. J.P Guardian of Minors was given to the marriage of Annie Maddron and Thomas McMillan, the said Annie Maddron being under the age of twenty one years".  [A search of Trove reveals that James Martin Esq. was variously a J.P., member of the Lands Board, President of the Glen Innes Hospital, and returning officer for the Glen Innes Electorate.]

What happened to her family?  Annie needed the consent of her father, mother or guardian to marry.  It seems likely that she was banished from her home by her father - which he did for her stepsister some years later in similar circumstances.  Annie's marriage certificate records her as "home duties" at Rose Valley, Emmaville.   See Annie's page for further details.

 Annie had a child shortly before her wedding: Mary Ethel Maddron (05 September 1890) at Rose Valley, Emmaville, near Glen Innes.  The father was not listed on the birth certificate.  [Upon learning this, my father (LJM)  said it explained a lot; Annie always treated Mary differently.]  Until the 1990's, if a father was entered into the register, the baby would retain the father's surname.  Naturally, many mothers would not have wanted that, if the relationship was discontinued, so entered "Father unknown".  

Did she name her daughter after her mother?

 Tin was first discovered at Emmaville in 1872 and thousands of Australians and Chinese dug out 15,000 tons of stream tin, making the canvas town of Emmaville one of the largest and wildest in the north.  Deep shafts were then sunk and a smelter built.  Glen Innes became the centre of a mining bonanza during the late 19th century.  In 1875 the population had swelled to about 1,500 and the town had a two teacher school, three churches, five hotels, two weekly newspapers, seven stores and a variety of societies and associations.  On 19 August 1884 the new Main North railway from Sydney opened.  The arrival of the rail service and the expansion of mining contributed a new prosperity in the town.  The Glen Innes area has a strong Scottish heritage which it celebrates each year.

 Tom and Annie seemed to move around a lot judging from the birth records of their children:

1. Mary Ethel Maddron, 5 September 1890, Emmaville, NSW;

2. William Colin McMillan 17 September 1891, Kiama, NSW;

3. Annie McMillan 10 August 1893, The Pocket (near Murwillumbah), NSW;

4. Edwin Thomas McMillan, 25 May 1895, Hillgrove, NSW;

5. Agnes McMillan, 13 October 1897, Hillgrove, NSW;

6. Archibald Tasman McMillan, 01 April, 1901, Beaconsfield, Tasmania. [my grandfather].

 In the 1890's, Tom was working in Hillgrove, a very difficult gold mine due to the terrain.

The image above shows the dramatic tramway at Bakers Creek.  The tramway was completed in June 1889 and wound its way down 2,660 feet of track to the plant at the bottom of the gorge.  In places it was almost vertical.  The tramway was used to transport both men and materials up and down the steep gorge.  The trucks were lowered over the first fall by an engine until the weight of the loaded truck drew up an empty one from below.  When sufficient momentum was reached a powerful break steadied the truck to the bottom. 

- See more at: http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/imageservices/2012/06/bakers-creek-goldmine-tramway-to-riches/#sthash.WikDfdnU.dpuf

 In 1896, the Hillgrove goldfield produced an extraordinary 28,501 ounces of gold, which was also the highest return in New South Wales for that year.  However the difficulty of extracting and hauling the gold from the depths of the gorge as well as the inordinate cost of plant and railway maintenance, specialised technical expertise and fuel for furnaces and boilers made mining expensive and difficult.  As the more accessible reserves were mined out, deeper tunnels and pressure from above made conditions dangerous to miners.  At least eight men were killed in the area.  These circumstances led to a steady decline in the Hillgrove field. 

 Exactly why the family left Hillgrove is unknown. Some of the McMillans headed to Western Australia, but Tom moved to Tasmania.

This photo was found among Mary Fisher's collection.  On the back was written "To Mary and Alf, from Annie".  It was probably taken in Beaconsfield, Tasmania about 1902.

 Presumably Thomas and Annie moved around pursuing work.  The 1890s were a decade of severe depression.  Patsy Adam-Smith wrote that " the social realities of the 1890s were mass unemployment, starving and deserted families...a shattered trade union movement, a ragged army of workers from whom hope had been bled, and vindictive employers". 

 Eventually the family arrived at Beaconsfield, Tasmania, another gold mine, where my grandfather was born.  Blainey says that, at that time, the Tasmanian fields were "comparable comets to Kalgoorlie" for diggers.

 The Southern Cross Times, Sat 1 May 1909 

 Tom first appears in the strike of 1909 at Marvel Loch.  According to Naomi Segal, industrial unrest was partly caused by the pay differentials between skilled machine operators and labourers as machines were introduced into the mines.  In 1900, Western Australia had been the first state to introduce compulsory arbitration to resolve industrial disputes, which had become frequent.  She writes:

By the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, both the WGFMU [Westralian Goldfields Federated Miners Union] and the AWA [Amalgamated Workers Union] were divided over the problem of contracting and its regressive effect on wages.  They also had not resolved the situation of the 'least paid' workers in Kalgoorlie, the numerous truckers, mullockers and shovellers underground and those described as 'unskilled' on the surface whose wage of 10s 0d was considered by the court the official minimum mine wage.  In the Southern Cross district, the problem of workers on the minimum wage was compounded by regional rates which, anomalously, had always been lower than Kalgoorlie's, the supposed benchmark for the whole of the Goldfields.

In early 1909, disillusioned with the inaction of the Southern Cross Branch of the WGFMU, workers in several of the districts' mines established a union branch of their own, and began obtaining improved rates in the mines of the Marvel Loch area.  When the Chamber intervened to restore the old rates, workers in Marvel Loch went on strike. Unsupported by the WGFMU's executive, the strike collapsed within two weeks, and the case was referred to arbitration. 

In court, the evidence of the Southern Cross workers revealed besides low pay, insecurity of employment, casualisation, poor working conditions in under-capitalised mines, substandard living conditions, and a crippling level of household debt.  Again the Chamber succeeded in averting a rise in the wage floor, but the small number of skilled mine workers received a small increase.  As the new Award failed to resolve the problem of the most poorly paid workers on the goldfields, it was not long before trouble recurred.

 The local newspaper recorded several articles, including this:

WORK TO BE RESUMED. Southern Cross, Aug. 15.

Great satisfaction was expressed locally when a wire was received from the Chamber of Mines advising the managers to allow the men to resume work at the old rates on condition that an award of the Court of Arbitration shall be made retrospective, and that the union shall be pledged to accept it.  Mr. J. Delaney went out this (Sunday) morning to convey the news to the men, and returned this evening.  When interviewed, he stated that he addressed a mass meeting of the men affected and placed the decision of the Chamber of Mines before them.  Mr. Vale, of Marvel Loch was interviewed by Messrs. McLoughlin, McMillan and Gardiner on behalf of the men, accompanied by Mr. De laney.  Mr. Vale confirmed the Chamber of Mines' wire.  Later, at a mass meeting, Mr. McLoughlin moved, and Mr. McMillan seconded, that the men agree to accept the offer of the Chamber of Mines.  The motion was carried unanimously. Work at the mines will be resumed immediately.  Mr. McFarlane, manager of the Jacoletti mines, when spoken to, said that although not under the control of the Chamber of Mines, he would fall into line with the Chamber's decision.  Personally, he was not in favour of agreeing to all the concessions asked for by the men, and felt that concessions should only be granted by arbitration.

- Kalgoorlie Western Argus Tuesday 17 August 1909

 Tom and Annie appear in Western Australia on the electoral roll as living at the Mt Jackson mine, 110km NNE of Southern Cross in 1910.  However, there is no doubt that they did live at Marvel Loch.  Tom is mentioned in the Kalgoorlie Western Argus as the first president of the local miner's union.  His daughter, Annie, married David Hatt (1889-1945), one of the union's trustees, in 1912.  (David Hatt's father, also David Hatt (1865-1910), was a prominent mining engineer.  One mine was called Hatt's Reward.  The family had come from the Tarnagulla gold fields, near Bendigo, Victoria.)  

Kalgoorlie Western Argus  Tuesday 23 July 1912 p 13

MARVEL LOON -Marvel Loch, July 17. The Marvel Loch water scheme is just about completed, and water is now available at the standpipe for 1s per 100 gallons, with a minimum charge of threepence for every arts tendance. Mr. Law, district engineer, at 2 p.m. yesterday a4ter noon, turned on the water, and filled the first 100-gallon tank in one and a quarter minutes. They are at present reticulating the town, which will be finished in a week's tine.  The water rate to be charged will be 2s in the £ on all property within 100 yards of the main. It has been raining off and on for the last week, and the roads, especially between Southern Cross and Marvel Loch, are in a frightful state .  The motor-traction is bogged at the famous Kelly's Mile,  about eight miles from Southern Cross, and will probably remain there till the weather breaks.

A wedding of much interest to local residents will shortly eventuate between Mr. David Hatt and Miss McMillan, of this town. Mr. Hatt is one of the trustees of the. local miners union, whilst Miss McMilIan is the daughter of Mr. Tom McMillan, the first president of this union.  The happy couple intend going to Sydney for their  honey moon.

(And later:  August 1912

Friends of Miss McMillan, who is shortly to marry David Hatt, gave her a suprise kitchen tea party at Marvel Loch.

and

The couple were married in Methodist Curch at Marvel Loch last Wednesday and practically the whole town attended.  Bridesmaids were Annie Hatt and Miss Agnes McMillan.  Clive Dawson was best man.  Afterwards the reception was held in Dunn's hall.).

 At this point (and up until 2011), family lore had it that Tom deserted his wife and family and returned to the Eastern States.  He was never seen again or spoken of.  The truth is more complicated.

 The struggles of the 1890s had produced a new strain of Australian radicalism.  After federation and the removal of trade barriers between the states, union membership trebled from 1901 to 1909 while the number of unions doubled.  The Industrial Workers of the World was formed in Chicago at a convention of trade unionists and socialist in 1905.  In Australia, the Socialist Labour Party began forming IWW clubs, with the first formed in Sydney in 1907.  The aim was to form better links between socialists and working-class militants.  Activists became known as “Wobblies”.

 Tom became involved with the IWW, a revolutionary industrial organisation not averse to using violence to achieve its aims, which included that ultimately all workers should come together in One Big Union which would take over control of production, distribution and exchange from the employers.  Many workers were disallusioned with the new Australian experiment of industrial arbitration and conciliation.  The election of the world's first Labor governement had not brought the expected rewards.

 Perhaps Tom's continual moves were more to do with his dissatisfaction with working conditions, and arguments with his bosses.  Whatever the reason, he found his passion and motivation with the IWW.

"The workers have a club here but it is not run in the interests of the toilers.  Paddy and F.W. McGurn invaded the workers‘ hotel the other night and made things warm for the snobs and lickspittles who are in the habit of attending.  After a hot discussion on industrial unionism, Paddy and Mac took direct action and promptly heaved the manager from his position behind the bar. They duly installed themselves behind the pump and commenced to pump the juice that cheers before a thirsty and admiring crowd. This action has been resented by the local craft union and they held a meeting last night to deal with us.  We have not heard what they intend to do."

-      letter from Tom McMillan at Corinthian to fellow worker, Lunn (possibly 1914; source: the Direct Action pdf attached below).

 By 1914 Tom and his eldest son, William (Bill) were in Broken Hill, NSW, and became involved with the Port Pirie Free Speech fight in South Australia. 

 In June 1914 IWW notable Charlie Reeve was arrested and imprisoned for 10 days for addressing a street meeting and refusing to move on.  IWW activists ("free footers") flooded into the town.  

 Tom McMillan, along with Bill, travelled down from Broken Hill and wrote:

We came by rail and boat, on bikes, tired legs and blistered feet, to show to the world that our solidarity was not a vain empty boast, and to demonstrate by precept and example that an injury to one is an injury to all….They can gaol us or trample our faces in the dirty streets of Port Pirie, but they can never take us from us the militant spirit that permeates the breast of every member of the Industrial Workers of the World.  We will fight this fight with passionate devotion to our principles, and we mean to win, irrespective of the sacrifices to be made.

- quoted by Revolutionary Industrial Unionism, Burgmann, 1995, p120.

 Thirty activists were imprisoned and Tom was probably one of these.  The IWW announced its ability and readiness to fill every gaol in South Australia.  Open air meetings with as many as 3000 people alarmed authorities, who beat a strategic retreat and permitted the meetings.  Similar events occurred elsewhere, such as Newcastle, with many IWW members being gaoled.  (A couple of newspaper clippings citing Tom are attached at the bottom of the page).

 Tom returned to Western Australia that year to organise IWW branches in Fremantle and Boulder. 

 The IWW Clubs had transformed into Locals.  The Fremantle (no.5) and the Boulder (no.6) being formed in late 1914, and Perth (no.10) at Christmas, 1915.  The Boulder and Fremantle Locals were developed by the immigration of Broken Hill Wobblies enduring layoffs at the Barrier caused by the wartime disruption to trade.  “Originally from the West, Tom MacMillan (sic) arrived back in September 1914: by October he and Pat Daly, also a Broken Hill Wobbly, were mixing with Fremantle socialists, spreading the IWW message” (Burgmann, p124).  (Shipping records show him arriving at Fremantle on the Katoomba on 14th September, 1914).

 It published a magazine "Direct Action" and in it appeared a poem written by Tom.  Part of it is here:

We are hoboes and scamps and tired tramps,

But we love our Union well;

Our spirit wont fail, we will die in gaol,

And smile in the flames of hell.

      - Tom McMillan, Direct Action: July 15th 1914 (also cited by Burgmann, p65).

 Although in this poem he seemed more than a little exasperated with the working class!:

A Yell from Broken Hill                                                                       

Workers be up and doing,

discard your A.M.A*; 

To hell with its obsolete methods 

of fighting the boss today. 

With its courts and prejudiced judges, 

can you not see, you ass, 

that they fix your hours and wages 

to please the master class.

Have you not heard, you dullard, 

the beat of the Rebel’s drum; 

The tramp of the Industrial Workers 

with the cry “We come, we come 

To preach the revolution”. 

you crafts, get wise and choose; 

You have a world to win, you shirkers,

and nought but chains to loose.

* The Amalgamated Miners Association.

Tom McMillan, Direct Action 15 January 1915.

 [Dad told me that my grandfather, Archie, had seen a poem written by Tom in a union magazine.  Several other of his poems are in the Direct Action pdf attached below.]

 Concerned especially with the mining industry, the IWW concentrated its efforts on the Boulder Local.  A rigorous program of meeting, lectures, educational and reading classes was introduced.

A typical schedule for the Boulder Local, which covered the two nearby mining centres of Boulder and Kalgoorlie was: a class meeting on Wednesday evening in the hall; a propaganda meeting outside Boulder Post Office on Friday evening and in Kalgoorlie on Saturday evening; a business meeting at 10.30am on Sunday in the hall; a lecture at Keane’s Goldfields Hotel Athletic Club at 2.30pm on Sunday; and a propaganda meeting on Sunday evening in Boulder…These indoor meetings were in addition to the many open-air meetings.

- (Burgmann, p125).

 Tom and Bill then returned to the eastern states.

 In 1916, a wobbly received a 10 year sentence for printing 25000 pounds of forged notes in an attempt to undermine the currency and bring down capatilism.  In December the IWW was declared a proscribed organisation by the federal government due to the industrial disruption is was causing to the war effort.   Prime Minister Hughes blamed the IWW for defeating his conscription bill.  There was massive industrial chaos, particularly in NSW, during 1917.  In August two wobblies were found guilty of murdering a policman and hanged at Bathurst gaol.   Twelve more were arrested for intending to levy war against the King within NSW, allegedly by incendiarism of Sydney businesses.  Another eleven were charged with seditious conspiracy in Western Australia.  Police raids and harrassment became the order of the day.

 It was in this atmosphere that 34 wobblies were arrested in Broken Hill - including Tom and Bill.  They received 6 months with hard labour.

 A newspaper article of the time reports:

Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 4th September 1917, page 8.

34 ARRESTS AT BROKEN HILL.

BROKEN HILL., Monday.

Two more men alleged to belong to the IWW were arrested yesterday, and locked in with other 30 In all. The charge preferred against them is that of being members of an unlawful association, to wit, the IWW.

The whole thirty record themselves as having no religion. Their names are:-Robert WarrGraham (34). miner, native of Victoria; Thomas McMillan (49), miner, Scotland; Michael Sawtell (35) miner, South Australia; Richard James Trembath (25), miner, Queensland; Herbert Barnes (24), miner, New South Wales; Arthur Adams (25), labourer, Victoria; San Frizz" (33), miner, Italy; Charles Thompson (32), miner, New South Wales; John Carson (34), labourer, New South Wales; John Watts (IS), painter, Victoria; Charles Green (38) miner, Victoria; William Manning (35), miner; Victorla; Thomas Nicholson (35), minor Ireland; John McKell (25), miner, New South Wales; Edward Hogan (39), miner, New South Wales, William McMillan (26), miner, New South Wales; Edward Trlfllt (33), miner, Tas- mania; James Oliver (40) miner, South Australia; Frank Billo (23), miner, Spain; George Anderson (30), labourer, Denmark; Mark Anthony (34), miner, Victoria; Alexander McKay (32) miner, Scotland; James Hannan (33), miner Victoria; John Burtovich (25), labourer, Russia; Basil James Bryan (34), labourer, South Australia; Edward Victor Cogan (27), labourer, South Australia; Charles Foley (36), miner, Ireland; Samuel Kipling (24), miner, USA; Alfred James Carter (40), miner, South Australia; Edward Owen (20), miner, South Australia.

Of the ten men arrested and convicted in connection with Thursday week's disturbance in Argent-Street, slx have paid their fines and the others are serving sentences.

The Barrier branch of the A.W.U. at. a meeting yesterday carried a resolution, "That this meeting condemns the action of F. Lundie, secretary of the A.W.U., In using hls Influence in the interests of the employers at Port Pirie and elsewhere to prevent the men from striking; and we the members of this district require an explanation as to why the men were advised to scab on the unionists of this State”.

Another attempt was made last night by the I. W.W. men who are still at liberty to hold a meeting at the corner of Argent and Chloride streets. The police, however, interfered and arrested two speakers, Thomas V Bailey (53), labourer, a native of Queensland and William Johnson (27), labourer, of Queensland. Two more arrests were made this morning, viz., John Kiely (29), labourer, of Victoria, secretary of the local branch of the I.W.W., and Frank F. Ward (2S), carpenter, of England. These four, and the thirty who were arrested on Saturday night and Sunday morning, were before the Police Court to-day, and charged with being members of an unlawful association. They all pleaded guilty and were sentenced each to six months' gaol.  In passing sentence, Mr. H. Giles Shaw, S M., said: "In the past few months two members of this unlawful association have been hanged, and twelve have been sentenced to long terms of imprisonment; yet each of these accused continues to be a member of an association which has been declared by the people of Australia to be unlawful."

Superintendent Miller stated that one of the accused on being charged in the presence of the others said: "You have got the greatest gang of criminals in the world."  So far 31 arrests have been made In the clean-up.

William Johnson, 27, a member of the I. W.W. who was sentenced to six months' gaol to-day for being a member of an unlawful association, was also charged with being concerned in the raid on the mines early in the strike.  He was remanded on this charge until Thursday.

Joseph Stacey was also arrested this afternoon, and charged with participating in the mines raid, and he, too, was remanded till Thursday on ball.

 The NSW State Records hold Tom's prison records.  He was sentenced on 3 September 1917 for the offence of "Continueing to be a member of an unlawful association" and sentenced to 6 months with hard labour. He was described as being a miner of no religion, could read and write, 5'4", weighing 138lbs, brown hair, blue eyes with a crippled right hand.  It records that he arrived on the Rodal Bay (sic) in about 1876.

 Tom served his sentence at Broken Hill Gaol........

........whereas Bill served his sentence at Bathurst:

 Bill was also sentenced on the 3 September 1917 for the same offence and received the same sentence.  He was described as being a miner, nil religion, could read and write, 5'9", 11st 9lb, fair hair, grey eye with one artificial eye.

 Arrests were also made in Perth, and Tom and Bill appeared in the local press:

Western Argus, Tuesday 13 November 1917.

ALLEGED CONSPIRACY ACCUSED REMANDED.  STATEMENT FOR CROWN.  FURTHER ARRESTS FORECASTED.

Perth. Nov. 7.  In the Police Court to-day, Montague Candish, Sydney Campbell, Thomas P. Candish, Patrick Arm strong, Edward Bolt, Otto Saaron, Thomas Hawken, Sydney Morton, Alfred Ca!danan, and William Johnston were charged with having conspired to raise discontent and disaffection amongst the subjects of the King and to promote feelings of ill will and enmity between the different classes of the subjects of the King.  

Sir Walter James, K.C, who appeared for the Crown, asked that the case should be further remanded for eight days.  He opposed bail.  He then asked that Saaron should come to the front of the dock. He (Sir Walter) said that he thought Saaron was a German, and that he was the brains of the movement.   With regard to any charge of conspiracy, it was difficult to move quickly.  The authorities were doing all they could, and it was expected that in a day or two further arrests would be made.  It must be remembered that two persons who were likely to be called as witnesses had to be interviewed.  The operations of the I.W.W. were, like all German propaganda work, done by stealth.  It would be remembered that some time back, a number of men were convicted on a similar charge, amongst whom was Mick Sawtell.  Through clemency, the men were allowed to go free, and two of them, who had gone to the Eastern States, had got into trouble.  He then read a letter as follows, which, he said, had been found in Armstrong's possession:-

"Broken Hill, September 29.

Dear Jack,

Ever since I have been in Broken Hill I have been going to write to you, only I was waiting for the time, so as to write a long letter, and now I am in gaol.  I like Broken- Hill as a working class centre.  The people are fine, especially  in strike time.  The mines are better and easier to work in than the Boulder mines.  The actual town is like all mining towns, perhaps not as good as Kalgoorlie.  I worked for two weeks in two mines here, and then the strike started.  Instead of picketing the mines, we went up in a body and pulled the scabs out.  Out of 8000 workers, there was no scabs, really, but three or four shift bosses keeping up steam, but coal has been declared "black," so everything had to stop.  It was a great sight to see three or four thousand strikers take possession, even if it was only for a day, of the mines, and put everything at a standstill.  The strikers took no notice of the police, or the armed private Pinkertons, on the different mines.  The next day 50 police came from South Australia, and beat the boo-hoo rabble and larrikins up.  I was out of that.  A couple of days later 17 of us, eight A.M.A. and nine I.W.W. were arrested on a riot charge, and subsequently released on £200 bail, and then a couple of, nights later, 30 I.W.W. were arrested at a street meeting, for being members of an illegal association. We all pleaded guilty and got six months. Tommy McMillan and his son, Bill, are with us also.  Our riot charge has gone through the police court, and the whole 17 have been committed, and some of us are now in gaol and waiting our trial.  We are not sure when and where the trial will be held.  The venue is almost sure to be changed.  They are not game to have a working class trial in the Hill.  I am optimistic, however it goes, the unions will stick to us.  The president of the A.M.A. Geo Kerr, is in with us, and besides the A.M.A. is affiliated with the coalies, and Willis is in it.  Anyhow, by the time this letter reaches you, anything may have happened.  Of course, I cannot write all I should like, as I am in gaol, and writing this under the lap, but all is well, and I fear nothing.  At present there are 40 men in Broken Hill gaol and 37 of them are  I.W.W.  The I.W.W. ideas and propaganda have great force in the Hill yet the organisation is now out of existence.  Tom McMillan and his son wish to be remembered to you.  Pass this note on to Taddy Armstrong if you remember also to Mrs. Armstrong, Mrs. Sherman, Bill Johnson, and everybody else.  Also to Mrs. Green if you see her.  I can receive all letters anyone writes once in six weeks, even if it is a hundred.  The class struggle is very acute now, but the future is ours and Victoria is also ours.  There is nothing to fear.  I will be defending myself in the High Court, but am sure the workers, if we go up, will demand our release.  Remember me to all.

Yours.

Mick Sawtell.

Broken Hill Gaol."

Continuing, Sir Walter James said that the I.W.W., which was an illegal association, was still carrying on its work, and they could not close their eyes to the existence of such an organisation.  He asked for a further remand in the interests and safety of the public. Armstrong, in applying for bail, said that although the letter was found in his possession, it was not addressed to him.  Thomas Candish, who desired bail, said that he h.ad been 22  days in custody, and he considered that being kept so long in gaol was not British justice. .Johnston applied for bail, and in doing so said that he would certainly do in the future what he had done in the past, despite the law of the country.  Saaxon stated that he had worked in the State over seven years, and nobody could say anything against him.  He knew nothing about the charge preferred against him, and had never conspired with any man.  Sir Walter James, he said, had called him a German, but he could prove that he was a Russian subject, and was born in Finland.  He applied for bail.  All the other men made similar applications.  The magistrate said that he had decided to allow the men bail, as they could not be kept in custody indefinitely.  Bail was allowed, each accused in one surety of £50 and two of a like amount.  During the afternoon all the accused were allowed out on bail.

 What happened after their sentences were completed?.  It seems clear that Tom's marriage to Annie had broken down.  But there was another reason for not returning to W.A.  Tom was probably disillusioned with the West where the IWW had failed.  There had been an overwhelming vote for conscription in his own State and on the goldfields. 

Of all the Australian states, Western Australia sent more men per head of population to fight in World War One and those who remained on the homefront gave majority support for conscription.  In all, 32,231 men volunteered in Western Australia, almost nineteen per cent of the total male population.  More than six thousand were killed...figures suggest that as much as twelve per cent of Western Australia’s recruits enlisted on the goldfields and...the ‘Western Australian goldfields were outstanding in furnishing recruits’.  Indeed, one recruitment poster emphasised the importance of the Kalgoorlie ‘contribution’.  On a map of Australia, the poster displayed the names of only six places – Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide (all capital cities) and Kalgoorlie.  (Gregson, 2003)

 Most wobblies "found urgent business in other parts of Australia", searching for work and avoiding victimisation.  Some were deported.

 Burgmann writes that the IWW was weakest in Queensland but ironically many IWW activists sought a form of sanctuary there after being suppressed and persecuted in the other states.  By 1920, Tom was in Queensland and appointed by the AMA "as a representative to tour various centres in the Northern State".

Queensland, with a Labor government, was relatively safe because of Labor hatred towards the Labor "rats" of Hughes (prime minister) and Holman (NSW premier), who had split from the party in 1917.  Hughes complained to the Queensland premier that the Queensland police were not enforcing the Unlawful Associations Act.  (Partly because of this, the Australian Federal Police was formed).  However, the IWW was hemmed in by locals and unionists and wobblies were attacked by servicemen returning from France.  The IWW never recovered its former strength but still exists today.  Coming from an open and democratic organization, very few joined the new Communist Party because of its authoritarian and hierarchial leadership structure.

In 1921, Tom sent money to the Mt Morgan Distress Fund from Einasleigh Mine, a copper mine inland from Ingham.

Lucinda Point jetty, Ingham, Qld.

 Tom became a wharf labourer at Lucinda Point, near Ingham, Queensland, a major port for sugar exports.  No doubt the wharfies gave him an outlet for his industrial activism.  Burgmann cites a letter stating that the"old wobbly bunch up here are stirring into increased activity" especially the "waterfront slaves" at Lucinda, Mourilyan Harbour and Cairns. 

 Tom died in Ingham from a workplace accident:

Townsville Daily Bulletin  Thursday 28 July 1927

A waterside worker named Thomas McMillan, while sitting astride of the side of the hatch of one of the steamers at Luclnda Point, was struck by a piece of wood on the leg which was fractured. The man was conveyed to Halifax by line motor and there met by the Ambulance, which after attention brought him to Ingham where he was admitted to the General Hospital for treatment.

Western Mail, Thursday 25 August 1927 

Death Notices

McMILLAN.-On July 28, following an accident, Thomas, eldest son of the late Thomas and Agnes McMillan, and brother of Agnes, Alice, Mary, and the late Archie.

Gone before.

- Inserted by his sister, A. Alcock. [Alison]

 Tom died as a result of heart failure caused by a fat embolism - fat from the bone fracture leaks into the bloodstream and eventually enters the heart.

 Transcription of citation:

Occupation: wharf labourer

Age: 60

Died in District Hospital, Ingham.

Cause of death: 1) fat embolism 2) fracture of fibula 3) heart failure

Born: Patna, Ayrshire, Scotland.

Parents: Thomas McMillan and Agnes McCallum

Married: Glen Innes, NSW, 22 years, Annie Maddron.

Children: Mary Ethel 37, William Colin 36, Annie 34, Edwin Thomas 32, Agnes 30, Archibald Tasman 26

Burial or cremation Ingham Cemetery 30 July 1927.

Informant includes Annie McMillan, wife, Tenderden (sic), W.A.

 It seems that Annie didn't know where Tom was:

QUEENSLAND INQUIRY

Relatives Sought

On Monday, July 18, Thomas McMillan, a waterside worker at Lucinda Point, Queensland, met with an accident by which he sustained a broken leg, and was admitted to hospital at Ingham. McMillan died in hospital from heart failure on July 29. 

The secretary of the Waterside Workers' Union in Queensland (Mr. A. Morris) is anxious to get into touch with McMillan's relatives, some of whom are believed to be in Western Australia. To that end Mr. Morris has telegraphed to Mr. T. Fox (secretary Fremantle Lumpers' Union) requesting that relatives of McMillan be advertised for here. In the first instance inquiries should be directed to Mr. Fox at the Trades Hall, Fremantle.

- The Daily News, Tuesday 9 August 1927, page 1

So it seems that Tom survived for 10 days after his accident. 

The Hinchinbrook Shire Council website for the Old Ingham Cemetery lists the following details:

Name:  MC MILLAN , THOMAS

Date of Death:  29/07/1927

Age:  60

Birth Place:  SCOTLAND

Sex:  M

Last Address:

Cause of Death:  HEART FAILURE

Cemetery:  Old Ingham

Division:  Mixed Denomination

Section No:  0

Plot No:  674

Mortician:  UNKNOWN

(you have to search "mc", not "mcmillan" for some reason).

The Hinchinbrook Shire replied to my query: "Graves in the Old Ingham Cemetery, by virtue of the way it is laid, are sometimes very difficult to locate.  Added to this is that some records have been lost during a flooding event some time back.  The majority of records have been retrieved.  However, we do have graves with no names and names with no graves in our records."

Fortunately, Tom McMillan's unmarked grave site is known.

On March 21, 2014, my daughter Ellen and I travelled to Ingham.  We are the first members of the family to stand at Tom's grave in 87 years.

I don't care if the cause be wrong

Or if the cause be right -

I've had my day and sung my song

And fought the bitter fight.

In truth at times I can't tell what

The men ar driving at.

But I've been Union for thirty years,

And I'm too old to rat...

 - Henry Lawson

Through Ingham Funeral Services I arranged for a plaque to mark Tom's grave:

It is not generally appreciated today that, during WW1, Australia was bitterly divided over its commitment to the war effort.   Hughes had promised Britain another 80,000 men but was unable to get the necessary legislation through the Labor-controlled senate; two thirds of the party opposed the plan.   Universal military training for men had been compulsory since 1911.  The referendums, if carried, would have extended this requirement to service overseas.  Hughes reasoned that the senate would be morally obliged to pass the legislation if the public supported the referendums.   Twice the referendums were defeated due to the efforts of people such as my great-grandfather.  Tens of thousands more Australian men would have been killed and maimed.  That they weren't is his legacy.

 Bill McMillan (1891-1961) returned to Western Australia and spent his life working in the Murchison and Eastern goldfields.

He was barely out of prison when he was back in strife:

A CONSTABLE REMEMBERED.

William McMillan who was in September last

sentenced at Broken Hill to six months' imprison-

ment in connection with the I.W.W. prosecutions,

was yesterday fined £1 in the same court for

having used threatening words to Constable Leni-

han. This constable took part in the raid on

the I.W.W. men. McMillan on Monday met the

constable in the street, and wanted to fight

him.

The Argus Wed 26 Jun 1918  Page 7 

As noted in his prison record above, he had one eye.  In December 1914, while a young man working at Marvel Loch, a piece of steel flew into his left eye.  So serious was the injury, Bill bought a train ticket and went to Perth where the eye specialist said the eye would have to be removed.  Apparently he needed a next-of-kin signature, so he returned to Marvel Loch, obtained the written consent of his mother and once more caught the train to Perth where the operation was carried out.  Presumably he was in considerable pain.

Mr. W. McMillan, the steward for the local Miners Union at the Great Victoria mine, has lost his left eye.  Last December Mr. McMillan was making a new bunk, and a chip. as he thought, flew off  the piece of wood he was trimming and hit him in the eye.  He consulted Dr. O'Meara, of Southern Cross, who at once ordered him to Perth to see Dr. Martin.  An operation disclosed in the pupil a piece of steel, which had completely destroyed the sight.  The eye was removed and an artificial one provided.

Kalgoorlie Western Argus,  Tuesday 2 February 1915

 His union activities at the time of his IWW involvement were recorded:

Kalgoorlie Miner, Thursday 25 June 1914.

The annual meeting of the Marvel Loch Miners' Union was held on Sunday, January 17, when the president (Mr. A. Campbell) occupied the chair, and there was a large attendance.  The principal business was the installation of officers for the ensuing year, which was as follows:  Mr. Camnbell, president; Mr. E. McDonald, vice-president; Mr. J. Black, treasurer; Mr. J. H. Green, secretary; Messrs. G. Lathrope, W. Evans and F. E. Brown, trustees; auditors, Messrs. Withall and Ballantine.  The following committee was elected: Messrs. T. H. Edwards. A. Fairfull, J. McCarthy, W. McMillan, J: Young, H. Hynes, E. Jacobs, W.McKenzie. The credit balance of the union is £105 15/1, and other assets totalling £97.  The membership of 105.  One fact that the Marvel Loch Company had not paid wages for the recent' rescue work, was the subject of heated discussion.  The conmany appeared to be under the impression that the Government would pay, but the Secretary for Mines stated that the Government was not responsible, and the company had been so informed.  The secretaiy was instructed to take action to secure a settlement by the Company at an early date.

- Kalgoorlie Western Argus Tuesday 2 February 1915

 Bill was a strong man and reputed to to be able to carry a bag of wheat under each arm (each weighing about 112lbs or 50kg).  It was also said that, one night on the goldfields when a man was injured, Bill jumped on his bike and rode off to get aid.  On the track he hit an empty beer bottle (which were far more solid than today's bottle) and the force of his speed and weight smashed the bottle.  He was a man of those days when physical strength was essential in earning a living and when luxuries were few. 

Photos of Bill McMillan at Gabbin, Western Australia, 1920.

 Bill became an engine and winch driver during the 1930s and '40s at Wiluna; at that time it was the largest goldmine in the world.  

After WW2 it closed down and Bill moved to Big Bell, near Cue.  My father told me that Bill worked for the Main Roads Department as a grader drive.  

He lived in a de factor relationship with Florence May Hamilton (1901-1964; see attachment) who had been born in Port Augusta, South Australia.  She and Bill had no children but it seems that she had two children, Colin and Maureen who predeceased her, from a previous marriage.  She was a genial, plumpish woman.  

 Bill introduced my father and his brothers to Ion Idriess, the Australian writer, light horseman and one-time Western Australian gold miner, and sparked their interest in their Australian heritage.  My parents stayed with them in Boulder during their honeymoon in 1955.  He is remembered as a gentle, friendly person, with no hint of a firebrand past.  He died in Coolgardie in 1961.  Flo died 3 years later and is buried in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery.

Industrial Workers of the World

Tom McMillan was a miner, originally from Western Australia but active at various times in the Broken Hill and the Boulder Locals of the IWW. He, and his son, took part in a good number of the IWW fights of the WW1 period including the Port Pirie free speech fight where he summed up his attitude:

        We are hoboes and scamps and tired tramps,

        But we love our Union well;

        Our spirit wont fail, we will die in gaol,

        And smile in the flames of hell.

        Tom McMillan Direct Action: July 15th 1914

 Although he does not seem to have died in jail he certainly saw the inside. As well as the free speech fight he was arrested in 1917 both  for being involved in the industrial disturbances at Broken Hill and, in the same year was given, with his son, a six months sentence for being a member of an illegal organisation – as the IWW then was.

Source: http://www.iww.org.au/node/352

TO ARMS!

Capitalists, Parsons, Politicians

Landlords, Newspaper Editors, and

Other Stay-at-home Patriots

YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU IN THE TRENCHES

WORKERS

FOLLOW YOUR MASTERS

Tom Barker (IWW) recruitment poster in July 1915 for which he was fined $100.

References:

Adam-Smith, Patsy. (1982)  The Shearers.  Nelson.

Australian Dictionary of Biography: Sir James Martin.

Blainey, Geoffrey. (1993).  The Golden Mile.  Allen and Unwin.

Burgmann, Verity. (1995).  Revolutionary Industrial Unionism.  The Industrial Workers of the World in Australia.  Cambridge University press.

Campbell, E.W. (1945) History of the Australian Labor Movement - A Marxist Interpretation. 

Cottle, Drew (2011) "Bastards from the Bush": forgotten IWW activists.

Gregson, Sarah (2003) Foot Soldiers for Capital: The influence of RSL racism on interwar industrial.  A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour, Faculty of Economics, University of New South Wales.

Segal, Naomi (2007) 'War conducted under certain rules, but nonetheless war': Arbitration, Capital and Labour in the Western Australian Gold Mining Industry, 1901–14

The Dictionary of Sydney: Childrens institutions nineteenth century Sydney.

The Hinchinbrook Shire Council Online.

The Stolen generations: Apprenticeship and"boarding out" for white children.

Vere Gordon Childe (1923) How Labor Governs Chapter 10.  

Wikipedia, various.

Annie's Story