Regulating labour in a colonial context: Maritime labour legislation in the Australian colonies, 1788–1850

Abstract

The development of separate laws in the Australian colonies, regulatory responses to the emergence of a free labour market in particular, has received limited attention from historians. The punitive and oppressive character of early labour laws has been explained largely in terms of the ‘convict heritage’. However, an examination of maritime labour law shows that the convict experience provides only a partial explanation. The main impulse for these laws, and their deviation from imperial statutes, was mercantile and labour market factors. Most notably, shipowners and merchants influenced colonial authorities, which were themselves keenly aware of the colonies ‘ dependence on shipping. This article demonstrates the need to include a wider array of interest groups in explanations of the legal and political culture of convict and settler societies before 1850.