‘A good man for the department’: The ethos of the railway and tramway officers association of New South Wales, 1913–1939∗

Stephen Garton, Greg Patmore and Harry Knowles read a draft of this article and I thank them for their comments and suggestions. I would also like to thank the anonymous readers and the editor of Australian Historical Studies. Lingering errors or omissions are mine. Material from RTOA records was originally researched for an unpublished thesis, A Happy World Now? Change and Continuity in the NSW Railway and Tramway Officers Association, 1920–1950, BA Hons thesis, Macquarie University, 1986. RTOA records are held by the Australian Services Union and the Mitchell Library in Sydney holds a comprehensive run of the Railway and Tramway Officers Gazette. The RTOA became the Australian Transport Officers Association in 1947, registered under the New South Wales Trade Union Act but effectively the NSW branch of the Australian Transport Officers Federation (previously the Federation of Salaried Officers of Railway Commissioners). The ATOF was registered under the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act in the same year. In 1991, the ATOF amalgamated with the Australian Services Union.

Abstract

This article explores the ethos of the Railway and Tramway Officers Association of New South Wales (RTOA). It also analyses the role played within the authority structure of the New South Wales Railways and Tramways Department in the period 1913–39 by the RTOA's members, the white‐collar salaried officers who were the administrative and managerial staff employed by the Railway and Tramway Commissioners. The article seeks to locate the source of the RTOA's ethos in the workplace relationships and the career and cultural aspirations of the salaried officers. Finally, the article argues that the salaried officers’ ethos is an important expression of Australian labourism, albeit in its most conservative form.

Notes

Stephen Garton, Greg Patmore and Harry Knowles read a draft of this article and I thank them for their comments and suggestions. I would also like to thank the anonymous readers and the editor of Australian Historical Studies. Lingering errors or omissions are mine. Material from RTOA records was originally researched for an unpublished thesis, A Happy World Now? Change and Continuity in the NSW Railway and Tramway Officers Association, 1920–1950, BA Hons thesis, Macquarie University, 1986. RTOA records are held by the Australian Services Union and the Mitchell Library in Sydney holds a comprehensive run of the Railway and Tramway Officers Gazette. The RTOA became the Australian Transport Officers Association in 1947, registered under the New South Wales Trade Union Act but effectively the NSW branch of the Australian Transport Officers Federation (previously the Federation of Salaried Officers of Railway Commissioners). The ATOF was registered under the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act in the same year. In 1991, the ATOF amalgamated with the Australian Services Union.