The Evolution Of ‘Malay’ Labour Activism, 1870-1947: protest among pearling crews in Dutch East Indies-Australian waters
Article Sidebar
Keywords:
Malays, seamen, activism
Main Article Content
Abstract
The history of Indonesian labour activism as seen from an Australian perspective is best known in the context of World War Two when the presence of Asian seamen in Australia sparked a flourish of internationalism and anticolonial protest under the umbrella organization of the Seamen's Union of Australia. But the story of Malay maritime worker protest has a deeper history, reaching back to the early years of the pearl-shelling and trepang industries when Malay workers from the Dutch East Indies were brought to work off the northern Australian coast. Before the advent of a seamen's union, these workers faced harsh working conditions and had little recourse to legal forms of protest. Their refusal to accept poor conditions was met with reprisals which included physical punishment, gaol sentences and detention on board ships without shore leave. There is evidence that in the late nineteenth century the most common form of protest was mutiny, with Malay crews seizing vessels and sailing to the Dutch East Indies. By the twentieth century there was more scope for negotiation, with increasing support from Australian unions and improved government regulation. The milder forms of more recent protests and the willingness of Indonesians to take their cue from Australian unionists has somewhat obscured the nature of early Malay protest. This paper takes a longer view of worker activism in order to highlight the deep roots of maritime protest in the Indian Ocean region.
Article Details
Issue
Section
Articles
Authors submitting a paper to UTSePress publications agree to assign a limited license to UTSePress if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication. This license allows UTSePress to publish a manuscript in a given issue.
Copyright is retained by the authors who assert their moral rights. Authors control translation and reproduction rights to their works published by UTSePress.
Downloads of specific portions of the Transforming Cultures eJournal are permitted for personal use only, not for commercial use or resale.
Requests for permission to reprint or use any materials should be directed to the Author.
References
Argus, The "Dutch Mutiny", 21 February 1933: 7.
Argus, The "Javanese mutineers", 17 November 1933: 10.
Argus, The "Sydney Unions Support Mutineers", 10 February 1933: 7.
Argus, The "The North-West Coast", 21 May 1873: 7.
Argus, The "Western Australia", 21 January 1873: 15.
Bain, May Albertus (1982) Full Fathom Five, Perth: Artlook Books.
Balachandran, Gopalan (2008) "Cultures of Protest in Transnational Contexts: Indian Seamen Abroad, 1886-1945", Transforming Cultures eJournal 3 (2): 53.
Bligh, A.C.V. (1958) The Golden Quest, The roaring days of West Australian gold rushes and life in the pearling industry, Carlisle: Hesperian Press.
Brisbane Courier "Mutiny and Murder on Board the Schooner Gift", 18 February 1873: 2.
Crown Solicitor, Opinion, to Secretary, Attorney-General's Department, 1 March 1916, "Koepang Pearling Incidents" A1 1916/10463, NAA Canberra.
Cunningham, Adrian (1992) "On Borrowed Time: The Australian Pearlshelling Industry, Asian Indentured Labour and the White Australia Policy, 1946-1962", Master of Letters thesis, Australian National University.
Customs and Excise Office, Darwin to Department of Home Affairs, 26 March 1929, A1/15 29/1132, NAA Canberra.
Dickson, Rod (2002) The Price of a Pearl, Carlisle W.A.: Hesperian Press.
Edwards, Hugh (1984) Port of Pearls, Broome's First 100 Years, Swanbourne: Hugh Edwards.
Ganter, Regina (1994) The Pearl-Shellers of Torres Strait, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
Ganter, Regina with contributions from Julia Martinez and Gary Lee (2006) Mixed Relations, Asian-Aboriginal Contact in North Australia, Crawley, University of Western Australian Press.
Goodall, Heather (2008) "Port Politics: Indian Seamen, Australian Unions and Indonesian Independence, 1945-4", Labour History, 94 pp 43-68. https://doi.org/10.2307/27516270
Honniball, J.H.M. (1975) "E.H. Laurence, Stipendiary Magistrate", Early Days: Journal of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society, 7 (7): 19-24.
Ingleson, John (1986) In Search of Justice, Workers and Unions in Colonial Java, 1908-1926, Singapore: Oxford University Press.
Instructions Regarding Employment of Coloured Indentured Labour in the Pearling Industry, 1925, A1/15 30/880, NAA Canberra.
K. Nylander to Manager, Territory Pearling Company, 10 December 1938, F1 1938/726, NAA, Darwin.
Kepert to Department of Home and Territories, 25 January 1929, A1/15 28/11303, National Archives of Australia (hereafter NAA) Canberra.
Linebaugh, Peter & Rediker, Marcus (2000) The Many-Headed Hydra, Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic, London: Verso.
Loney, J.K. (1994) Wrecks on the Western Australian coast: and Northern Territory, Perth: Lonestone Press.
Macknight, C.C. (1976) The Voyage to Marege, Macassan trepangers in northern Australia, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
Martínez, Julia (1999) "Questioning 'White Australia': Unionism and 'Coloured' Labour, 1911-1937", Labour History 76: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.2307/27516625
McCarthy, Mike (1994) "Before Broome", Great Circle 16 (2): 76-89.
Memo, Sub-Collector of Customs, Darwin to Department of Home and Territories October 29, 1928, A1/15 30/880, NAA Canberra.
Milner, Anthony (1994) The Invention of Politics in Colonial Malaya, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Moor, J.H. (1837, 1968) Notices of the Indian Archipelago and Adjacent Countries, London: Frank Cass & Co.
Moore, Ronald (1994) "The management of the Western Australian pearling industry, 1860 to the 1930s", Great Circle 16 (2): 121-138.
NAWU, Constitution and General Rules, Rule 6, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.
Nor'West Echo, "Pearling Industry Malay Divers", 4 April 1914.
Nor'West Echo, "Pearling Industry", 11 July 1914.
Northern Standard, "Aroe Island Notes", 26 February 1937.
Northern Standard, "Indentured Laborers Obtain their wages", 14 April 1931.
Northern Standard, 30 August, 1 October, 8 October 1929; 19 February 1932.
Northern Standard, J.A. McDonald, "Indentured Labor in Darwin, White Australia Policy Flouted", 24 January 1936.
Northern Standard, Letter to the editor, "The N.A.W.U. Thanked", 23 December 1938.
Pearling Conditions, A1/15 1914/12612, NAA Canberra.
Philipps, Lorraine (1980) "Plenty More Little Brown Man! Pearlshelling and White Australia in Queensland 1901-1918" in E. L. Wheelwright & K. Buckley (eds.) Essays in the Political Economy of Australian Capitalism, Vol. 4, Sydney: Australia and New Zealand Book Company.
Ricklefs, M.C. (1981) A History of Modern Indonesia, London: Macmillan Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16645-9
Sather, Clifford (1997) The Bajau Laut: Adaptation, history, and fate in a maritime fishing society of south-eastern Sabah, New York: Oxford University Press.
Stokes, Lawrence (1977) Review of J.C.H. Blom, De muiterij op de Zeven Provincien [The Mutiny on The Seven Provinces], American Historical Review 82 (2): 377. https://doi.org/10.2307/1850027
Sun, Sydney, 1 February 1929.
Sutherland, Heather (2001) "The Makassar Malays: Adaptation and Identity, c. 1660-1790", Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 32(3): 397-421. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022463401000224
Taunton, Henry (1903) Australind: Wanderings in Western Australia and the Malay East, London: Edward Arnold.
Toupein to Minister of Home Affairs, 11 January 1930, A1/15 30/880, NAA Canberra.
Warren, James (1981) The Sulu Zone, 1768-1898, Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery, and Ethnicity in the Transformation of a Southeast Asian Maritime State, Singapore: Singapore University Press.
Argus, The "Javanese mutineers", 17 November 1933: 10.
Argus, The "Sydney Unions Support Mutineers", 10 February 1933: 7.
Argus, The "The North-West Coast", 21 May 1873: 7.
Argus, The "Western Australia", 21 January 1873: 15.
Bain, May Albertus (1982) Full Fathom Five, Perth: Artlook Books.
Balachandran, Gopalan (2008) "Cultures of Protest in Transnational Contexts: Indian Seamen Abroad, 1886-1945", Transforming Cultures eJournal 3 (2): 53.
Bligh, A.C.V. (1958) The Golden Quest, The roaring days of West Australian gold rushes and life in the pearling industry, Carlisle: Hesperian Press.
Brisbane Courier "Mutiny and Murder on Board the Schooner Gift", 18 February 1873: 2.
Crown Solicitor, Opinion, to Secretary, Attorney-General's Department, 1 March 1916, "Koepang Pearling Incidents" A1 1916/10463, NAA Canberra.
Cunningham, Adrian (1992) "On Borrowed Time: The Australian Pearlshelling Industry, Asian Indentured Labour and the White Australia Policy, 1946-1962", Master of Letters thesis, Australian National University.
Customs and Excise Office, Darwin to Department of Home Affairs, 26 March 1929, A1/15 29/1132, NAA Canberra.
Dickson, Rod (2002) The Price of a Pearl, Carlisle W.A.: Hesperian Press.
Edwards, Hugh (1984) Port of Pearls, Broome's First 100 Years, Swanbourne: Hugh Edwards.
Ganter, Regina (1994) The Pearl-Shellers of Torres Strait, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
Ganter, Regina with contributions from Julia Martinez and Gary Lee (2006) Mixed Relations, Asian-Aboriginal Contact in North Australia, Crawley, University of Western Australian Press.
Goodall, Heather (2008) "Port Politics: Indian Seamen, Australian Unions and Indonesian Independence, 1945-4", Labour History, 94 pp 43-68. https://doi.org/10.2307/27516270
Honniball, J.H.M. (1975) "E.H. Laurence, Stipendiary Magistrate", Early Days: Journal of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society, 7 (7): 19-24.
Ingleson, John (1986) In Search of Justice, Workers and Unions in Colonial Java, 1908-1926, Singapore: Oxford University Press.
Instructions Regarding Employment of Coloured Indentured Labour in the Pearling Industry, 1925, A1/15 30/880, NAA Canberra.
K. Nylander to Manager, Territory Pearling Company, 10 December 1938, F1 1938/726, NAA, Darwin.
Kepert to Department of Home and Territories, 25 January 1929, A1/15 28/11303, National Archives of Australia (hereafter NAA) Canberra.
Linebaugh, Peter & Rediker, Marcus (2000) The Many-Headed Hydra, Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic, London: Verso.
Loney, J.K. (1994) Wrecks on the Western Australian coast: and Northern Territory, Perth: Lonestone Press.
Macknight, C.C. (1976) The Voyage to Marege, Macassan trepangers in northern Australia, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
Martínez, Julia (1999) "Questioning 'White Australia': Unionism and 'Coloured' Labour, 1911-1937", Labour History 76: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.2307/27516625
McCarthy, Mike (1994) "Before Broome", Great Circle 16 (2): 76-89.
Memo, Sub-Collector of Customs, Darwin to Department of Home and Territories October 29, 1928, A1/15 30/880, NAA Canberra.
Milner, Anthony (1994) The Invention of Politics in Colonial Malaya, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Moor, J.H. (1837, 1968) Notices of the Indian Archipelago and Adjacent Countries, London: Frank Cass & Co.
Moore, Ronald (1994) "The management of the Western Australian pearling industry, 1860 to the 1930s", Great Circle 16 (2): 121-138.
NAWU, Constitution and General Rules, Rule 6, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.
Nor'West Echo, "Pearling Industry Malay Divers", 4 April 1914.
Nor'West Echo, "Pearling Industry", 11 July 1914.
Northern Standard, "Aroe Island Notes", 26 February 1937.
Northern Standard, "Indentured Laborers Obtain their wages", 14 April 1931.
Northern Standard, 30 August, 1 October, 8 October 1929; 19 February 1932.
Northern Standard, J.A. McDonald, "Indentured Labor in Darwin, White Australia Policy Flouted", 24 January 1936.
Northern Standard, Letter to the editor, "The N.A.W.U. Thanked", 23 December 1938.
Pearling Conditions, A1/15 1914/12612, NAA Canberra.
Philipps, Lorraine (1980) "Plenty More Little Brown Man! Pearlshelling and White Australia in Queensland 1901-1918" in E. L. Wheelwright & K. Buckley (eds.) Essays in the Political Economy of Australian Capitalism, Vol. 4, Sydney: Australia and New Zealand Book Company.
Ricklefs, M.C. (1981) A History of Modern Indonesia, London: Macmillan Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16645-9
Sather, Clifford (1997) The Bajau Laut: Adaptation, history, and fate in a maritime fishing society of south-eastern Sabah, New York: Oxford University Press.
Stokes, Lawrence (1977) Review of J.C.H. Blom, De muiterij op de Zeven Provincien [The Mutiny on The Seven Provinces], American Historical Review 82 (2): 377. https://doi.org/10.2307/1850027
Sun, Sydney, 1 February 1929.
Sutherland, Heather (2001) "The Makassar Malays: Adaptation and Identity, c. 1660-1790", Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 32(3): 397-421. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022463401000224
Taunton, Henry (1903) Australind: Wanderings in Western Australia and the Malay East, London: Edward Arnold.
Toupein to Minister of Home Affairs, 11 January 1930, A1/15 30/880, NAA Canberra.
Warren, James (1981) The Sulu Zone, 1768-1898, Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery, and Ethnicity in the Transformation of a Southeast Asian Maritime State, Singapore: Singapore University Press.