Today in Labor History December 17, 1918: 1,000 workers, led by Harold Nelson and the Australian Workers' Union, marched on Government House in Darwin, Australia & demanded the resignation of the territory’s Administrator, John Gilruth. They were protesting unemployment, taxation, high prices, lack of political representation, and corruption by the district’s two main employers: Vestey’s Meatworks and the Commonwealth of Australia. They roughed up Gilruth as he attempted to flee inside, broke windows and burned Gilruth's effigy. Gilruth later admitted that if he had he promised to reduce the price of beer (at taxpayers’ expense) the mob would have left peacefully. The Government responded by sending a gunboat. Most people were unaware of the rebellion for several days due to wartime censorship. The press blamed a Soviet establishment in Darwin, along with an uncaring federal government and Gilruth himself.
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