Provides prices for groceries, houses and wages for Victoria, spanning the 19th to the 20th century.
The basic wage was introduced in 1907 and was £2 2s per week.
The court case which paved the way for the basic wage is known as the Harvester Judgement.
Commonwealth basic weekly wage rates (adult males)
|
YEAR |
WAGE ($) |
|
1923 |
9.15 |
|
1933 |
6.28 |
|
1943 |
9.80 |
|
1953 |
23.50 |
|
1964 |
30.70 |
Sources: Victorian year book 1940-41, p.276.
Australian Bureau of Statistics: Average weekly earnings--Australia; 1993-2007
The Library's Ergo website provides information on the 8-hour day, unions in Victoria, and all about the men and women who fought for workers' rights.
May Day 1890-1990. 100 years of struggle, H2003.90/780
The book Decades of change includes detailed figures on wages, groceries and real estate as well as many other areas, organized by the decades of the twentieth century (1900-1988). Each chapter gives the weekly wage for that year according to chosen occupations, i.e. the weekly wage of a coachman in 1929 was $10 (figures are converted), the price of milk in 1929 was 7c per litre.
The book is also divided into a series of junior books, according to decade.
[Meat market] [picture], PCLTA 2204
