ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following reference: Kirkman, Noreen Suzanne (2011) Mount Isa Mines' social infrastructure programs 1924-1963. PhD thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/39437/ The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owner of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please contact [email protected] and quote http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/39437/ Mount Isa Mines’ Social Infrastructure Programs 1924-1963 Thesis submitted by Noreen Suzanne KIRKMAN BA(Hons) JCU, DipEd Qld, MAppSc(Lib&InfoMgt) CSU, AALIA In September 2011 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Arts and Social Sciences James Cook University Statement of Access I, the undersigned, the author of this thesis, understand that James Cook University of North Queensland will make it available for use within the University Library and, by microfilm or other means, allow access to users in other approved libraries. All users consulting this thesis will have to sign the following statement: In consulting this thesis I agree not to copy or closely paraphrase it in whole or in part without the written consent of the author; and to make proper written acknowledgment for any assistance which I have obtained from it. Beyond this, I do not wish to place any restriction on access to this thesis. N.S. Kirkman Date: 19 September 2011 i Statement on Sources Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any university or other institution of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given. N.S. Kirkman Date: 19 September 2011 ii Electronic Copy I, the undersigned, author of this work, declare that the electronic copy of this thesis provided to James Cook University library is an accurate copy of the print thesis submitted, within the limits of technology available. N.S. Kirkman Date: 19 September 2011 iii Statement on the Contribution of Others I recognise that this thesis would not have been possible without the following contributions. Supervision: Dr Janice Wegner, School of Arts and Social Sciences, James Cook University Editorial assistance: Dr Jan Wegner, Katharine Fowler, Vanessa Cavasinni, and Rachel Walls. Stipend assistance: Australian Postgraduate Award N.S. Kirkman Date: 19 September 2011 iv Declaration on Ethics The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted within the guidelines for research ethics outlined in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (NHMRC, 2007), the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (NHMRC/ARC, 2007), the James Cook University Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2009), and the James Cook University Policy on Experimentation Ethics: Standard Practices and Guidelines (2001). N.S. Kirkman Date: 19 September 2011 v Acknowledgements I gratefully acknowledge the role of my principal supervisor, Dr Jan Wegner, whose academic experience has been invaluable to me. I am indebted to the assistance of librarians from the Mount Isa City Council, James Cook University and John Oxley Libraries, as well as archivists from the Queensland State Archives. I especially thank Katharine Fowler for her editorial assistance in the submission of this thesis. The informal support and encouragement of friends and colleagues has been indispensable, and my family have been a constant source of support. It is to my parents, June and Maurice Kirkman, that I dedicate this thesis. N.S. Kirkman Date: 19 September 2011 vi Abstract During the twentieth century, social infrastructure programs were provided by mining companies for their workers for many reasons, such as retaining workers or reducing industrial discontent. At Mount Isa, the Isa Mines settlement was constructed by the British company Russo-Asiatic from 1928, providing housing, recreational facilities, a store and butcher’s shop, bank and post-office, water and electricity supply. The American company ASARCO supplied the necessary capital to complete facilities, such as the Clubhouse, and added a hospital and a government resourced school. After 1953 under an Australian manager, George Fisher, cooperative housing schemes were used to encourage home ownership, and Mount Isa Mines promoted the business sector of the Townside through an appliance scheme and the closure of the company stores. The principal reason for all programs was found to be the reduction of labour turnover by attracting a higher proportion of married men. The home ownership schemes, in particular, strategically consolidated the local labour market for a mine with reserves that would last into the twenty-first century. vii Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction: Concepts, Aims And Research Questions ............................................ 1 Chapter 2. Literature: Twentieth Century Mining Communities ................................................. 7 Chapter 3. Birth Of A Mining Community 1923-1929 ............................................................. 30 Chapter 4. Under The Mining Trust 1929-1930 ....................................................................... 50 Chapter 5. Reactions To Mining Trust Programs 1929-1930 .................................................... 70 Chapter 6. Asarco: Production, Plumbism And Protests 1930-1932 ......................................... 86 Chapter 7. Government Enquiry, Closure And Depression 1933-1938 .................................. 103 Chapter 8. Manpower, Military And Copper Matte 1939-1946 .............................................. 120 Chapter 9. Post-War Prosperity And Lead Bonus Volatility 1947-1953 ................................. 137 Chapter 10. Under Australian Management 1953-1956 ......................................................... 160 Chapter 11. The Bonus And The Home Ownership Schemes 1957-1963 .............................. 183 Epilogue ...................................................................................................................... 211 Conclusion: Findings, Contributions And Recommendations ................................................ 214 Findings To The Research Questions ........................................................................... 214 Contributions To The Literature And Theoretical Implications ..................................... 218 Recommendations For Future Research ....................................................................... 221 Limitations Of The Study ............................................................................................ 221 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 223 viii List of Figures Figure 1.1 Map of north-west Queensland showing the location of Mount Isa. ........................... 6 Figure 4.1 Plan of Isa Mines settlement showing the South End extension, 1949. .................... 52 Figure 10.1 A sketch of the one-bedroom house, Cooperative Housing Scheme No.1 ............ 165 ix List of Tables Table 9.1 Mount Isa Mines, Labour Turnover Percentages, July 1947- June 1952 ................. 147 Table 10.1 Mount Isa Mines, Labour Turnover Percentages, July 1953- June 1956 ............... 173 Table 11.1 Retail Price Index - Food & Groceries 1957-1964 ............................................... 197 Table 11.2 Mount Isa Mines, Labour Turnover Percentages, July 1957- June 1963 ............... 209 x List of Plates Plate 3.1 John Campbell Miles & Douglas McGillivray c. 1924 .............................................. 31 Plate 3.2 W. H. Corbould, first Managing Director of Mount Isa Mines ................................... 31 Plate 3.3 Mount Isa Mines’ camp, 1924. .................................................................................. 35 Plate 3.4 Leslie Urquhart, 1922. .............................................................................................. 41 Plate 3.5 Official opening of the railway into Mount Isa, 6 April 1929..................................... 47 Plate 4.1 Front and rear of C, C1 and C2 houses in 1930, built 1929. ....................................... 53 Plate 4.2 Executive House provided by Mount Isa Mines, 1930. .............................................. 54 Plate 4.3 B & C Dormitories, 1932. ......................................................................................... 55 Plate 4.4 Community buildings within the Isa Mines settlement, 1930s. .................................. 56 Plate 4.5 Mount Isa Mines Employees Clubhouse built 1930. .................................................. 57 Plate 4.6 Clubhouse counter in 1931........................................................................................ 58 Plate 4.7 Community centre of the Isa Mines settlement during the 1930s. .............................. 66 Plate 5.1 Interior of a room in one of the dormitories, September 1931. ................................... 71 Plate 5.2 Group on the verandah of a house at North End, 1930s. ............................................ 72 Plate 5.3 Tin-hut belonging to the Whitaker family c. 1935. .................................................... 73 Plate 5.4 Interior of room within Staff Quarters, 1931. ...........................................................