Historical information

Dr Michele Matthews has been a local and social historian for nearly three decades since she first used correspondence held by the then Bendigo City Council for her Honours thesis. She is an ardent advocate for the use of local history records to tell Victorian and Australian history from a grassroots perspective. Michele’s MA thesis, ‘A forgotten “Father” of Federation: Sir John Quick 1852‑1911’ (2003), and her PhD thesis, ‘Survivors, schemes, Samaritans and shareholders: the impact of the Great Depression on Bendigo and District 1925‑1935’ (2007), both drew heavily on Bendigo and district records.

Physical description

Michele Matthews Collection: PHD Research - Relief during the great depression

This item includes the following documents:

8672.74a The document is a copy of a letter dated 30 April 1934 from the Department of Labour, Sustenance Branch, Melbourne, addressed to Mr. F. C. Sweeney of Bendigo. It responds to Sweeney's earlier correspondence concerning the issue of official representation for unemployed people in Bendigo.

The letter explains that, under the Unemployment Relief Administration Act, the local Public Assistance Committee is the only officially recognised body responsible for administering unemployment sustenance within the district. The Assistant Minister maintains that decisions regarding who may represent unemployed people before the committee are matters for the committee itself, and that the government does not intend to dictate how local committees organise or recognise representatives.

The writer argues that this approach is consistent with practice throughout Victoria. Because local Public Assistance Committees possess detailed knowledge of conditions in their districts, they are considered best placed to make decisions about local administration, including determining appropriate representation for unemployed people. Government intervention, the letter suggests, could undermine the valuable voluntary work these committees perform in cooperation with the state.

The letter distinguishes the situation in metropolitan Melbourne from Bendigo by noting that the official recognition of the Trades Hall Council applies only to representations made directly to the Minister and does not affect the authority or administration of local Public Assistance Committees. Consequently, the Minister sees no justification for granting any particular organisation in Bendigo special recognition to represent unemployed men receiving sustenance.

Finally, the Minister advises that no decision should be made on the matter until Mr. Sweeney has had an opportunity to meet with him personally. In the future, however, the letter recommends that all issues relating to the administration of sustenance and work-for-sustenance schemes in Bendigo be referred directly to the local Public Assistance Committee rather than seeking separate recognition or intervention from the Minister.