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Collection of ephemera relating to Robert McErlane merchant seaman
Collection of ephemera relating to Robert McErlane merchant seaman

Collection of ephemera relating to Robert McErlane merchant seaman

Date1930-1980
Object numberANMS1451
NameArchive series
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection gift from John Duncan
DescriptionA collection of ephemera relating to the career of merchant seaman Robert McErlane from the late 1930s to the 1970s. Includes certificates of discharge, seaman's union books, wages accounts, licences, certificates, military leave passes, etc.HistoryThe history of maritime unionism can be traced to 1872 when the world's first union was formed in Australia. This union, under a variety of names, is the oldest continuing maritime union in the world. Currently known as the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), this organisation was formed in 1993 from the amalgamation of several maritime unions. The forerunners to the Maritime Union of Australia include the Sydney Wharf Labourers Union, founded in 1872 and the Seamen's Union in Melbourne the same year. The Seamen's Union grew quickly and within four years of forming in Victoria it became an Australian body. Four years later the union was an Australiasian body - encompassing New Zealand in its activities. Over the years the union underwent many developments to adapt to changes in maritime labour. The Marine Cooks Bakers and Butchers Association (formed in 1908) merged with the Seamen's Union of Australia (SUA) in 1983 and the Federated Marine Stewards and Pantrymen's Association was absorbed into the SUA in 1988. The Professional Divers' Association also joined the SUA in 1991, shortly before it merged with the Waterside Workers' Federation to establish the MUA.SignificanceThe Seamans' Union material in this collection forms an important documentation of an often neglected but critical area of Australian maritime history. It portrays the conditions, service and centrality of the union to an individual who worked his whole career on board merchant vessels, including a period in the merchant navy during WWII.

The special leave passes, identity cards and permits are rare, surviving documents of the period in WWII where Australian maritime workers were working with British and American military forces.