William Guthrie Spence
Contents
Background
William Spence was born in 1846, on the Orkney Islands, Northern Scotland. The Spence family emigrated from Scotland in 1852 and settled at Spring Hill, Creswick in 1853. [1]
Spence died in 1926
Goldfields Involvement, 1854
As a young boy Spence was an eyewitness to the events of the Eureka Stockade, claiming to have heard the shooting. Spence started work as a shepherd aged 13, and obtained a miners licence as a 14 year old. [2]
Post 1854 Experiences
Spence founded the Australian Workers Union at Jackass Creek near Creswick. Spence was self-educated, a teetotaller and a member of the Creswick Presbyterian Church. In 1874 he started a trade union that became part of the Amalgamated Miners’ Association of Victoria (AMA). In 1878 Spence assisted to bring the Creswick Miners’ Union in the AMA, and was secretary of the Creswick Branch. By 1883 the AMA had nineteen Victorian branches, and around eight thousand members. From 1882 to 1892 Spence was general secretary of the AMA. He broke with the union in 1891-2 over political representation. He formally entered politics in 1998.[3]
See also
Further Reading
Corfield, J.,Wickham, D., & Gervasoni, C. The Eureka Encyclopaedia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
References
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
External links
