ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the beginnings of Australian co-operatives before the commencement of the long economic boom of the 1860s. It provides the economic, industrial and political context for the period before exploring early co-operative influences and significant legislation. The idea of co-operatives, although vague, was brought by British immigrants following the European invasion of Australia. The chapter then explores the early types of co-operatives – community co-operative settlements, for both European immigrants and Indigenous Australians, flour and bread societies, worker co-operatives and consumer co-operatives. It concludes by examining building societies, which were most successful associations before 1860.
