Wages in Australia

Listed below are various reported weekly wages, earned by Australian workers, in a variety of occupations, in the country’s early history.

It should be borne in mind that wages can vary significantly, depending on occupation, state, region, city, employer’s generosity, trade union effectiveness, legislative direction, as well as various other factors.

This list is only a starting point, and it is intended to add more entries to it in the future. However, even in its short form, it should provide an indication of wages in Australia.

To make comparisons easier, amounts have been converted to pounds and shillings where considered appropriate.

Weekly wages

1855: police = 36s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 6s. per day)
1855: labourers = 42s. to 60s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 7d. to 10s. per day)
Source: “Sydney”, The Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer (Geelong, Vic.), 20 August 1855, p. 2

1855: Town rates, living in the house:
nursemaids = 4s. 7d. to 7s. 8d. (at £18 to £20 per year)
housemaids = 4s. 7d. to 9s. 7d. (at £18 to £25 per year)
useful general female servants = 4s. 7d. to 9s. 7d. (at £18 to £25 per year)
female cooks = 9s. 7d. to 11s. 6d. (at £25 to £30 per year)
laundresses = 9s. 7d. to 11s. 6d. (at £25 to £30 per year)
male servants = 11s. 6d. to 15s. 5d. (at £30 to £40 per year)
labourers in town = £2 8s. to £3 (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 8s. to 10s. per day)
1855: Town rates, not living in the house:
useful lads (without board) = 8s. to 12s.
1855: Country wages, with rations:
hutkeepers = 7s. 8d. to 9s. 7d. (at £20 to £25 per year)
shepherds = 9s. 7d. to 11s. 6d. (at £25 to £30 per year)
farm labourers = 11s. 6d. to 13s. 5d. (at £30 to £35 per year)
bullock drivers = 13s. 5d. to 17s. 4d. (at £35 to £45 per year)
stockmen = 13s. 5d. to 17s. 4d. (at £35 to £45 per year)
married couples = 15s. 5d. to 19s. 3d. (at £40 to £50 per year)
butchers = 30s. to 40s. (£1 10s. to £2 per week)
* shearers, per score (i.e. per 20 animals) = 3s. 6d. to 4s.
* splitters and fencers, per rood = 3s. 6d. to 4s.
Source: 1) “Sydney labour report”, Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer (Sydney, NSW), 11 August 1855, p. 3
2) “Sydney labour report”, The Freeman’s Journal (Sydney, NSW), 11 August 1855, p. 11
* paid per unit or per outcome

1856: Town occupations:
tailors = £2 2s. to £3 (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 7s. to 10s. per day)
whitesmiths = £2 8s. to £ (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 8s. to 12s. per day)
carpenters = £3 to £3 12s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 10s. to 12s. per day)
blacksmiths = £3 to £4 4s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 10s. to 14s. per day)
joiners = £3 to £4 10s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 10s. to 15s. per day)
engineers = £3 to £4 16s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 10s. to 16s. per day)
painters = £3 6s. to £3 18s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 11 s. to 13s. per day)
tinplate workers = £3 12s. to £4 4s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 12s. to 14s. per day)
masons = £3 12s. to £4 10s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 12s. to 15s. per day)
plasterers = £3 12s. to £4 10s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 12s. to 15s. per day)
wheelwrights = £3 15s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 12s. 6d. per day)
quarrymen = £4 4s. to £4 10s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 14s. to 15s. per day)
bricklayers = £4 4s. to £4 16s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 14s. to 16s. per day)
shipwrights = £4 16s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 16s. per day)
1856: Town rates, living in the house:
nursemaids = 4s. 7d. to 10s. (at £18 to £26 per year)
housemaids = 8s. 5d. to 10s. (at £22 to £26 per year)
general female servants = 9s. to 11s.
female cooks = 9s. 7d. to 11s. 6d. (at £25 to £30 per year)
laundresses = 10s. to 11s. 6d. (at £26 to £30 per year)
lads, not found = 10s. to £1
male servants = 13s. 5d. to 17s. 4d. (at £35 to £45 per year)
labourers in town = £2 6s. to £3 (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 6s. to 10s. per day)
1856: Country wages, with rations:
hutkeepers = 9s. 7d. to 10s. 9d. (at £25 to £28 per year)
shepherds = 9s. 7d. to 11s. 6d. (at £25 to £30 per year)
farm labourers = 11s. 6d. to 15s. 5d. (at £30 to £40 per year)
milkmen = 13s. 5d. to 15s. 5d. (at £35 to £40 per year)
surveyor’s men = 13s. 5d. to 15s. 5d. (at £35 to £40 per year)
bullock drivers = 13s. 5d. to 17s. 4d. (at £35 to £45 per year)
ploughmen = 13s. 5d. to 17s. 4d. (at £35 to £45 per year)
bushmen = 15s. (per week)
stockmen = 15s. 5d. to 17s. 4d. (at £40 to £45 per year)
garden labourers, found = 15s. to 20s. (15s. to £1 per week)
married couples = 19s. 3d. to 21s. 2d. (at £50 to £55 per year)
gardeners, found = 20s. to 25s. (£1 to £1 5s. per week)
rough carpenters, found = 20s. to 25s. (£1 to £1 5s. per week)
rough carpenters = 20s. to 26s. 11d. (at £52 to £70 per year)
sheepwashers = 24s. (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 4s. per day)
butchers = 30s. to 40s. (£1 10s. to £2 per week)
* brickmakers, per 1000, not found = 20s. to 25s. (£1 to £1 5s. per week)
* sawyers, per 100, not found = 14s. to 16s.
* shearers, per score (i.e. per 20 animals) = 3s. 6d. to 4s.
* splitters and fencers, per rod = 3s. 6d. to 4s.
Source: “Commercial and monetary report: Sydney labour report”, The People’s Advocate (Sydney, NSW), 1 November 1856, p. 3
* paid per unit or per outcome

1861: drapery workers (excluding tailors) = £2 15s.
1861: tailors = £3
Source: “Recent Ballarat improvements”, The Star (Ballarat, Vic.), 22 January 1861, p. 2

1862: gold miners = £1 6s. 9d.
1863: gold miners = £1 6s. 3d.
1864: gold miners = £1 8s. 8¾d.
Source: “Mining”, The Age (Melbourne, Vic.), 25 January 1866, p. 6

1870: farm laborers = 17s
1870: ploughmen = 20s (£1)
1870: mowers = 29s 6d (£1 9s. 6d.)
1870: reapers = 31s (£1 11 s.)
Source: “[Some weeks ago we pointed out]” (untitled article), The Ballarat Star (Ballarat, Vic.), 10 December 1870, p. 2

Meatworks, adult employees:
1870: lightermen = 30s. (£1 10s.)
1870: packing and store workers = 30s. (£1 10s.)
1870: carters = 40s. (£2)
1870: miscellaneous workers (including stockmen, gardeners, boilermen, carters, clerks, and watchmen) = 40s. (£2)
1870: preservers and associated laborers = 40s. (£2)
1870: tinsmiths = £2 to £5
1870: slaughtermen, butchers, and associated laborers = 45s. (£2 5s.)
1870: coopers = 60s. (£3)
1870: sawyers = 60s. (£3)
1870: professional preservers = £3 to £5
Source: “Meat preserving”, The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA), 4 April 1870, p. 2

1874: boot and shoe factory workers = 30s (£1 10s.)
Source: “Boot and shoe manufacturers”, The Age (Melbourne, Vic.), 1 September 1874, p. 3

1878: Drapers’ assistant = £2
Source: “Drapers’ assistant wanted” (advertisement), The Age (Melbourne, Vic.), 19 March 1878, p. 1, column 5

1879: mine workers, combined = £1 16s. 6¾d. (Hamley Mine, SA)
1879: mine workers, combined = £1 18 0½d. (Moonta and Hamley Mines, SA)
1879: laborers = 6s. 6d. per day (£1 19 s.; estimate per a 6-day working week)
1879: stationmen = 7s. 6d. per day (£2 5 s.; estimate per a 6-day working week)
Source: “Wages”, The Yorkes Peninsula Advertiser and Miners’ & Farmers’ Journal (Moonta, SA), 12 September 1879, p. 3

1887: moulders = £3 (9s. 6d. to 13s. 6d. per day, per week of 44 hours, weekly average £3)
1887: engineers = £3 (9s. 4d. to 12s. per day of 44 hours, weekly average £3)
1887: draper’s assistants = £3 (from £2 10s., weekly average £3)
Source: “Work and wages”, The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld.), 24 December 1887, p. 2

1897: farm labourers:
New South Wales, single men, found = 12s. 6d.
South Australia, single men, found = 15s.
South Australia, man and wife, found = 20s.
Victoria, single man, found = 14s. 1d
Queensland single man, found = 13s. 9d.
Source: “Federation: Meeting at Bundaberg”, The Brisbane Courier (Brisbane, Qld.), 3 August 1899, p. 5

1898: dressmaking and millinery workers = 8s 7d to 11s
1898: clothing workers = 22s 9d (£1 2s. 9d.)
1898: butchers’ employees = 30s to 37s (£1 10s. to £1 17s.)
1898: boot workers = £1 7s 7d
Source: “The Factories and Shops Act”, The Bendigo Advertiser (Bendigo, Vic.), 2 November 1899, p. 2

1899: clickers and bootmakers (minimum wage):
in Queensland £1 17s. 6d.
in South Australia, £2 2s.
in Victoria = £2 2s.
1899: finishers (minimum wage):
in Queensland = £1 16s. 10d.
in Victoria = £2 2s.
Source: “Federation: Meeting at Bundaberg”, The Brisbane Courier (Brisbane, Qld.), 3 August 1899, p. 5

1901: carpenters = £2 14s. to £3 (estimate per a 6-day working week, at 9s. to 10s. per day)
Source: “The Critic”, Truth (Sydney, NSW), 3 February 1901, p. 1

1908: musicians = £3 (“£3 per week for six performances, with one matinee included, extra matinees to be paid at the rate of one-half night’s salary”)
Source: “The sweated musicians of Sydney: Federal union to be formed”, The Worker (Wagga, NSW), 23 January 1908, p. 11

Notes on Australian pre-decimal currency

One half-penny (½d.) was worth half of one penny. Plural: half-pennies.
One penny (1d.) was worth 1/12th of a shilling, or 1/240th of a pound.
One threepence (3d., pronounced “thruppence”) was worth three pennies.
One sixpence (6d.) was worth six pennies.
One shilling (1s.) was worth 12 pence (12 pennies, i.e. 12d.); a shilling was also known as a “bob” or a “deener” (also spelt “deiner”). 20 shillings (20s.) were worth a pound.
One florin was worth two shillings (2s.)
One crown was worth five shillings (5s.); a crown was also known as a “caser”.
One pound (£1) was worth 20 shillings (20s.) or 240 pennies; a pound was also known as a “quid”. “£1” could also be written as “L1” or “1l”.
One guinea (1gn or 1g) was worth one pound and one shilling, i.e. one guinea was equivalent to 21 shillings (21s.).

Notes on calculations

Wages per week, derived from yearly rates, were calculated as follows:
£12 per year = 4s. 7.384615d. per week
£18 per year = 6s. 11.07692d. per week
£20 per year = 7s. 8.307692d. per week
£22 per year = 8s. 5.538462d. per week
£25 per year = 9s. 7.384615d. per week
£26 per year = 10s. 0d. per week
£28 per year = 10s. 9.230769d. per week
£30 per year = 11s. 6.461538d. per week
£35 per year = 13s. 5.538462d. per week
£40 per year = 15s. 4.615385d. per week
£45 per year = 17s. 3.692308d. per week
£50 per year = 19s. 2.769231d. per week
£52 per year = 20s. per week
£55 per year = 21s. 1.846154d. per week
£70 per year = 26s. 11.07692d. per week

Editor’s notes:
d. = a reference to a penny, or pennies (pence); the “d” was an abbreviation of “denarii”, e.g. as used in “L.S.D.” or “£sd” (pounds, shillings, and pence), which refers to coins used by the Romans, as per the Latin words “librae” (or “libra”), “solidi” (singular “solidus”), and “denarii” (singular “denarius”)

farthing = a coin equivalent to one-quarter of a penny (the name “farthing” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “feorthing”, or “fourthling”); whilst farthings were not minted in Australia, they were used as units of monetary measurement, and British farthings could be used in Australia (“farthing” may also refer to something of little value)

found = regarding something which is provided without any additional charge, being included in the price, rate, or rent (e.g. when a lodger is paying for a room, and the host or landlord provides bed linen, heating, laundry, and meals without any extra charge)

half-a-crown = (also known as a “half crown”) a coin equivalent to two and a half shillings, i.e. two shillings and six pence (being one-eighth of a pound); whilst Australia never minted half crown coins, the United Kingdom did, and various British coins circulated in Australia, not only up until Australia created its own coinage in 1910, but also (unofficially) up until the 1930s
See: 1) “Half crown (British coin)”, Wikipedia
2) “English and British coins”, Sterling & Currency [re circulation of British coins in Australia]
3) “Half Crown, Coin Type from New Zealand – detailed information”, Online Coin Club [“Australia never minted the half-crown”]

ha’penny = a half-penny (a penny was a unit of British-style currency); “ha’penny” was pronounced “ha’penny” (phonetical: hape-nee)

L.s.d. = an abbreviation of the three basic British-style currency denominations used in Australia (prior to the decimalisation of Australia’s currency on 14 February 1966), i.e. pounds, shillings, and pence; the abbreviations stem from the Latin names for the common currency denominations: “librae” (or “libra”, a basic unit of weight in ancient Rome; from the Latin “libra” for “scales” or “balance”), “solidi” (gold Roman coins; singular “solidus”, Latin for “solid”), and “denarii” (small silver Roman coins; singular “denarius”, from the Latin “deni” for “containing ten”); pounds were commonly symbolized by a pound sign “£” (a stylized “L”) or by “L” (or “l”)

pen’north = a contraction of a penny’s worth; often used to indicate something of a very small amount

penny = a penny was a unit of British-style currency (12 pennies were worth a shilling, 240 pennies were worth a pound); pennies, shillings, and pounds were used in Australia, until the decimalisation of the currency in 1966 (the decimal monetary equivalent of a penny was approximately 0.833 cents, with sixpence coins being used as equivalent to five-cent coins during the changeover period; alternatively, one cent was worth 1.2 pennies)

pound = a unit of British-style currency used in Australia, until it was replaced by the dollar in 1966 when decimal currency was introduced in Australia

rood = a unit of land area equivalent to 1/4 acre or 40 square rods (40 square perches) (0.10117 hectares); may also refer to a unit of length, which varies (depending on place of origin) from 5 1/2 yards to 8 yards (5 metres to 7.3 metres)

s. = a reference to a shilling, or shillings; the “s” was an abbreviation of “solidi”, e.g. as used in “L.S.D.” or “£sd” (pounds, shillings, and pence), which refers to coins used by the Romans, as per the Latin words “librae” (or “libra”), “solidi” (singular “solidus”), and “denarii” (singular “denarius”)

score = twenty (sometimes used in conjunction with a cardinal number, e.g. “threescore”, “fourscore”) (may also refer to an undefined large number)

shilling = a coin equivalent to twelve pence (a shilling was colloquially known as a “bob”); a shilling was a unit of British-style currency used in Australia, until the decimalisation of the currency in 1966 (the decimal monetary equivalent of a shilling was ten cents)