Story: Strikes and labour disputes

Miners’ Federation meeting, 1908

Miners’ Federation meeting, 1908

Two of the leading figures in the Blackball strike, Pat Hickey and Bob Semple (front row, second and third from left respectively), went on to join the executive of the Miners’ Federation, seen here meeting in December 1908. Both men also became key figures in the ‘Red’ Federation of Labour. Semple, a well-known boxer and radical orator in his younger days, was an important member of the 1935–49 Labour government.

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How to cite this page:

Mark Derby, 'Strikes and labour disputes - 1908 Blackball strike', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/20480/miners-federation-meeting-1908 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Mark Derby, published 11 Mar 2010, updated 1 Mar 2016