Royal Commission on Industrial Troubles on Melbourne Wharfs
Royal Commission on industrial troubles on Melbourne wharfs · Dethridge Royal Commission (1919)
7 June 1919 – 6 May 1920
The barrister George Dethridge inquired into the industrial dispute on the Melbourne waterfront, including how waterside workers were engaged after the wartime strikes.
How it came into existence
Appointed by Letters Patent dated 7 June 1919 by the Hughes government, with the Melbourne barrister George James Dethridge as sole commissioner, to inquire into the industrial troubles on the Melbourne wharfs, including the conditions for picking up waterside workers and the bureau that gave preference to 'loyalist' labour.
How it ended
Dethridge's report reached the government by late July 1919 but was withheld; a copy was laid before Parliament on 6 May 1920, which the Parliamentary Handbook records as the date of the final report. Dethridge was appointed a County Court judge the following year.
Main functions
- Industrial dispute on the Melbourne wharfs
- Engagement of waterside workers and preference to loyalists
Lineage
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Sources
Primary sources
Government records and websites
- Parliamentary Handbook: Royal Commissions (dates of Letters Patent and final reports)
- Industrial Trouble on Melbourne Wharfs - Report of Royal Commission (ParlInfo)
- Historic Hansard: House of Representatives, 30 July 1919 (report withheld)
- Historic Hansard: House of Representatives, 6 May 1920 (report tabled)