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168:"). The union workers reacted angrily, and the new workers were attacked with stones. Tensions between the union and non-union workers were very high — the union workers saw the newcomers as threatening their livelihoods and as being traitors to the working class, while many of the newcomers felt they had little choice but to take what work they could find, and resented the attacks and condemnation.
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saying that Evans had been "doing his duty and should have shot more of them". Despite this, however, many people in the union movement actually moderated their positions after the strike — it had, after all, failed to achieve its goals. The strike also contributed to unity in the New
Zealand
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The violence gradually escalated, with union workers on one side and non-union workers and police on the other. The greatest level of violence came on 12 November, known as "Black
Tuesday". A group of armed non-union workers and police attacked the union hall, which was defended by a small group of
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drivers who rejected the
Federation of Labour's strong positions established a breakaway union. Although the Waihi Goldmining Company claimed to have no involvement in the breakaway union, saying that it was a matter of union politics, many workers believed that the Company was attempting to split
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were frequent. Miners had many grievances regarding their working conditions and often downed tools and walked off the site in response to accidents in the mine (falls, broken limbs, crushing, brusings and even the occasional fatality). A more insidious killer than the accidents was miners'
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The police buildup in Waihi continued until an estimated 10 percent of New
Zealand's police force was present. Around 60 strikers were arrested and jailed. Anger among the strikers grew, and the Federation of Labour gradually began to lose control to even more radical groups, such as the
92:, dust on the lungs. Because of 'miners complaint' as it was known, men who started mining at 16 would be lucky to reach 40. The company offered no compensation for miners and long before the strike (1906) there was a feeling among them that
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Several other mines around the country were affected by the action at Waihi, with miners downing tools in support of the Waihi miners or with their own claims against the harsh working conditions. At
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the union, and called a strike. The local police chief reacted cautiously to the action, but Police
Commissioner John Cullen ordered a strong response, dispatching additional police.
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there were too many accidents, too many maimings, too many deaths... Miners would ask themselves bitterly what they were dying for. The answer seemed to be: for themselves,
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2/8s. a week, just enough to feed and clothe their families; for the shareholders in the Waihi Gold Mining
Company, a quite fabulous flow of unearned income.
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was bankrupted, was shot in the knee, and a police constable (Gerald Wade) was shot in the stomach. The shots were fired by
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The scene outside of the Miners' Hall just after it was stormed and Evans was beaten (the Hall is on the right).
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were released in
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union workers (also armed). Thomas
Johnston, a non-union worker who had come to the mines after his
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At the time of the strike, the labour movement in New
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A large march of unionists and their families through Waihi, led by the union band.
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In late 2016, the play 'Scarlet and Gold' told the story of the Waihi strike.
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In
October, the Company was able to re-open the mine with non-union workers ("
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being killed, one of only two deaths in industrial actions in New Zealand.
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Evans was later held by the hardliners up as a hero and a martyr, with
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The Red and the Gold: An informal account of the Waihi Strike, 1912
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