Mr. Boreham's Report

Maoriland Worker, Volume 11, Issue 476, 28 April 1920, Page 6

Mr. Boreham's Report

Second spasm:—"From Queeiislown on December "I 1 left for Mi. Nicholas, notorious to shearers owing lo various disputes ami strikes there, and given wide k-rtli -by shearers because of reasons having been mentioned in The Worker. Contrary lo expect;'t.iou everybody iield I lie owners, M' , - Konzie and Souk, t.o lit; Hie finest, family in the district, anil anions the besi. employers in New Zealand. On arrivai at. the station 1 was accosted by an old gentleman wearing a long dust, overcoat, who innuirert whether I was a shearer he expected by the boat. On telling him I was the representative of the New Zealand Workers' Union it had the effect, of dropping a match in a barrel of. blasting powder. 1 asked him to be_ oalin. but he .said something about Tiu , .Maorilaiid Worl>vv and swiftly disappeared. I ask'-d v man standing by who he was mn! be replied (hat ihe old c.li./j) was ;V!r. Hugh A!cken/.ie. "one of tlio best, bosses in New Zealand." Filled viii. thoughts 1 made my way to the shearing shed, there to Hud only, three shearers on I lie board wilh about 3,000 sheep on tiio front waiting to be shorn and feed very scarce. 1 thought, to relieve '.he pressure , during the time at my disposal, and sliore till 4 in Hie afternoon, and did 40 to 50, when i started enrolling members. After enrolling all the men and boys in sight I had a cheque of £11/7/(5 given to mc by one of the young MacKenzies. The rep. afterwards sent, mc another cheque for £0/14/-, thus making a total of £17/11/(5 from iVIt. Nicholas. In his letter the rep - reported no complaints, good bosses, good accommodation, and good tucker. I agree will) the rep. re the accommodation and state that it. is second to none in the Dominion. Tiie hut is roomy, well ventilated, -bunks up to the mark, splendid bathroom furnished with hot and cold water, shower bath, in fact, every convenience necessary is provided. Why this station should be short of shearers is a problem that is still worrying mc, the more so because on seeing Hie police inspector at, Queenstown he informed'me that, every suggestion he made , with respect to accommodation there was carried out with demur. January left for stations at head of the Lake. On arrival a; Glenorchy Mind the little village en fete with the Caledonian Sports. Everyone was , in at-

tendance and this Organiser floated round the crowd until a water-spout broke (described lengthily and. feel- ! ingly by Boreham) and drove the hap|py revellers like half-drowned cats to I their several homes-. The rain precluded any chance of success at the shearing sheds as the shearers who had left for the Sports would not reI turn for three or four days. Accord- | ingly hunted up an agent ,in the person of Mr. McLeod, President of the Caledonian Society, left him 15 tickets, and have since received from him £3. He failed, however, to send 7/6 for levies, the assumption being that as they were- not in the books he sold them. F>om Queenstown on January 3, left for Cromwell via Gibson (?) Station and the Kaiwara Gorge. Geo. Taylor ; was the rep. at Gibson(?)• and Gore IJrunch had supplied him with neees- ! saries. ■■ Reached Cromwell after a lourney of 43 miles. Next day, went to Big Kaiwara Station where 1 learnt that all the men had taken tickets at former stations. C. .Tocelyn, of Bannockbarn was rep., and at his house T left 10 tickets, but have not heard from him since. Headed for Lowburn Ferry, and on 5/1/20 went to Northburn Station where the rep., T. Udy, i had ■enrolled all hands. (A maze of movements here. Tickets left at Smith Bros, and Patterson's, Lowburn Ferry. J. T. Cowie, rep at (he latter place, has no! squared up yet. Dip Crock Station next- from Tarra;-;, .1. T. Jones rep., whose promptitude in settling up Mr. Boreham comments to other agents.) I then went to Jit. Pjsa on the* 7th to settle a wet sheep dispute. Races were on and 1. had i<> go to the course to seek the disputants. Got the owner's (Scoullar) view of case, then departed, by train for Chatto Creek. From here next day started for Little Valley, but was compelled (o return by a bad puncture. Kcvisilod Black's race course rigain to set nieiits view ot the wet sheep case, and after golfing full information advised ihe men to put Head Office in possession of ■facts. January i», left for Alexandra, and Lilth>. Valley per ni010. ,, car. At Little- Valley found Ihiil. Mr. Midrtle- ' niirts had boon there. Sol out for a small shed between Alexandra and Chatto Creek, where there were shearers, who, to h>l. them down light, are the rankest of rank shirkers. One informed mc Ihiil he go I his liokei from a M, : \ .Nash which I found afterward:; io In , inaccurate. as it was alleged ihau the sheen were too wet to shear and these dodgers dodged away in different directions. Returned to Omakau for Ihe night, and next day left for Manifoio and way places. Called at Gilohrist's and found three continued impostors. One, however, took la book of tickets, and if ho succeeded iin getting his two males Io join along with..himself I will apologise in the columns of Tiie Wdi'iiSW. Krott's, IdaI burn. noxl. A. Pilhie. ivp., received I tickets, but sold none, his mates evidently having got their tickets up north. Then left, for Wodderburn, and visited Bhiiv's, 1 , . Dowlius's. AY. Dow ling's and Jligii Field. All hail iinisliod {.-.hearing I except P. Dnwhiu; who had not startfed. :\ltddlemiss, who should have done ' this (Ju-lriei. never loucliod it. which moves mc to say Ilia!, in future we shall have to organise our organisers (before sending ihem out In organise j Ihe unorganised. .loiinston's on the J'llli. The lull! , shearers with Air. A. -Me. MJregor rep., were all good ami true Unionists. On Air. McGregor's advice ! I let! for ('aiiiliriaii:-. to ;-.ee I), .tones. • who '! discovered was at a shed three i mile.', oi,l on Ihe lon uf a hill as sleep ]us tlic Crown Itniige. I I'eralched up j ibis incline with a head wind dead agninsl mc, and dug up Mr. Jones, who with three mails, was shearing his own sheep. 1 introduced my business, he look a book of iiekois. and ho has enrolled all the men working for him and sen! mc the money. Hack Io j St. Bathan's Tor ihe nighl. and on the next day rain fell furiously, Ihe wind .blew, and things, looked worse than awful. Next day dodged in between Ihe showers to Oliirelnta when'V Ihe weather ehauged. gmnjv us snow inI siead of rain and wind. Willi the I hills covered Io iheir li;ise with snow. ; f decided to lake irain to nimedin and j wrote a criticism, of the Musterors' J Award which appe.'i'ed in the Olago "Daily Times" on January IT. On Ibis date 1 left for Chatlo Creek. All ; the workers on the irrigation works wiih their women folk mrned up in the schoolroom lo hear mc. They ! decided to form a llranch of the New J Zealand Workers' Union, and Mr. [Johnston was elected ['resident, and I Mr. L.' Glt'cson. Secretary. All pre- | son! agreed lo become members. Left. ■ Mr. Cleeson r.: , , adull's tickets.. .-..