Work Agreement 1908

Barambah is not simply a reserve, it is a labour depot – a source of cheap labour ready to be exploited by the influx of selectors into the South Burnett and throughout Queensland.

Males work as manual labourers on farms and pastoral properties — scrub clearing, shepherding, shearing, fencing, dairying and general farmwork. Women are employed as domestic labourers in rural and urban areas. Children as young as eleven are sent to work.

Pictured: A work Agreement is a signed contract between the superintendent and the employer. It set out the terms and conditions for the employment of the inmate. The inmate does not have any say in the negotiations.