Securing the man: Narratives of gender and nation in the verdicts of henry bournes higgins

Abstract

Historians have long debated the significance of the decisions of Justice Henry Bournes Higgins as President of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Court (1907–21), and his marginalisation of women in the paid workforce. Higgins’ motivations have been less thoroughly explored. Gender demarcation clarified the role of the working class in nation‐building. Women were relegated, as much as possible, to the domestic sphere, to fulfil their motherhood role on behalf of the nation and clear the way for the establishment of the disciplined workplace functions of the male breadwinner. The verdicts and transcripts of Higgins’ decisions reflect the complex exchange between the liberal architect and the governed as he regulated state‐sponsored freedom to bargain and organise—albeit in the name of law and order. On behalf of the development of the young Commonwealth Higgins regulated working‐class manhood by suppressing industrial militancy, upholding managerial prerogative—the right of management to rule their workplaces—and marginalising the participation of women in the workforce.