A cook stands, holding a ladle, in the kitchen and dining room of a shearers’ quarters in 1909. All his cooking was done on the coal range. The photograph was probably taken by a Labour Department inspector. The Shearers’ Accommodation Act 1898 improved conditions for shearers by requiring that all accommodation and other sheds had to be inspected, and proper sleeping and eating areas provided. If the accommodation was inadequate, an inspector served the owner with a notice explaining what was required. Non-compliant owners were brought before a magistrate and fined.
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Reference: Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1909, H-11
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