In stark contrast to the Opening celebrations, have a look at the working conditions of the men on the railway construction. [see below] I have found details of their working hours and conditions from a book titled 'Living on the Line' by Marylin Bitomsky & Lee Mylne,1995.
All camps had to be formed in a suitably picked spot at the nearest waterhole or creek. This meant that the camp was sometimes six or seven miles from the headworks and the men had to walk to work in their own time for a start of 6am. [YOU'RE KIDDING ME !!!... WOW.!!!]
A typical day: Up before daylight, walk for 4 miles or so to work for a 6am start. [I'm sorry, I'm out]. At 8am stop work for an hour for Breakfast, [that's more like it] another of one hour for Dinner [I'm back in again], work until NIGHT! [I'm out again] Knocking off at 6pm, he would have to walk back for his meat and supplies. In bed by 8.30pm. On Saturday's [What!] they knocked off at 4pm. This meant a worker would be up 93.5hrs hours a week in connection with his work.
Shifting camp was always done on Sunday's, without pay or overtime of any kind.!!! [I wonder why they went on strike? beats me. Sounds like they were just cry babies].
These men were all brought out from Great Britain by contractors and were purely and simply navvies, were all able, reliable and honest workers. In their first summers, they were tortured by the sun and some of them suffered sunstroke. [there goes my cry babies theory
]
I cannot believe what these men and women went through. Talk about a new respect. My poor old ancestors went through all of this just to survive and eke out a modest if not a poor living standard.
Not only did my GG-Grandfather John Ewing go through all of this, he virtually worked right up until his death, according to his Daughter Jane's letter to the editor of the Brisbane Courier Mail, 19th May, 1936.
*** The term 'navvies' for workers comes from England where labourers who built the canals were jokingly called 'navigators'.
I have recently found and received some more news about our little Ewing Clan here. Will post ASAP. Still waiting for the mailman to come, posted daysago from Brisbane. He must be walking all the way with it!!! 2 weeks wait for a letter and it's not a cheque.