ABSTRACT
This chapter explores Australian co-operatives during the long economic boom in the second half of the nineteenth century. It highlights the significance of the Rochdale model as an important basis for a growing consumer co-operative movement and the influence of Danish dairy co-operatives on dairy farmers, who formed marketing and production co-operatives to increase their returns by cutting out the “middle men” and pooling their resources to embrace new technology. As the labour movement developed in Australia, there was a focus on industrial action rather than worker or producer co-operatives. There was a major growth of building societies, particularly in Victoria, but tensions arose between their traditional focus of providing finance to build homes and speculative activities.
