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:

8672.83a The document consists of three pieces of correspondence from 1934 concerning the Bendigo Unemployed Association and its communications with the Bendigo Town Council about assistance for unemployed people during the Great Depression. The letters show the Association advocating for improved welfare support and the Council's official responses.

In the first letter, dated 10 August 1934, the Bendigo Unemployed Association writes to the Town Clerk requesting that the Council reconsider its earlier decision regarding rent allowances. The Association argues that, with the Council's support, rent assistance should be extended to unemployed people living in country areas. The secretary appeals to the Council's sense of fairness, noting that councillors had previously expressed sympathy for the unemployed and urging them to match those sentiments with practical assistance.

The second letter, dated 21 August 1934, outlines a broader list of requests submitted by the Association to the Council. These include free use of the Town Hall for a public protest meeting, clarification on when the "dole cut" would be restored, permission to hold weekly street meetings on Friday nights, better housing for single unemployed people, provision of first aid kits at relief work sites, rent allowances for unemployed tenants, payment for wet weather and public holidays on relief work (as practised by some metropolitan councils), increased firewood supplies, and improved sanitary conditions at relief works. Together, these requests reflect the Association's efforts to improve both living conditions and employment relief for unemployed residents.

The final document, dated 5 September 1934, is the Town Clerk's formal reply to the Association. The Council declines several requests, including the free use of the Town Hall and permission for weekly street meetings. It explains that matters such as housing for single unemployed people, rent allowances, and firewood supplies fall under the responsibility of the Government rather than the Council. The letter notes that the Council has applied for a government grant of £100,000 to provide sustenance work, that first aid kits are already available on principal works, that payment policies for wet weather and holidays will not be changed, and that sanitary arrangements at relief works are considered adequate. Overall, the response demonstrates the Council's limited willingness to intervene directly, instead referring many concerns to higher levels of government while maintaining existing local policies.