ABSTRACT
The 1890s and the years before the outbreak of the First World War had a major impact on the shape of the Australian co-operative movement. The Australian labour movement moved towards political action, which emphasised the state rather than co-operatives to ensure workers’ living standards. The federation of the Australian colonies weakened a potential national public policy focus on co-operatives as states administered them. Australian co-operatives, particularly consumer and agricultural, continued to expand during the period leading up to the First World War. Two notable co-operative responses to 1890s Depression were worker co-operatives and co-operative community settlements. A downside for the co-operative movement was the collapse of building societies, whether based on mutual principles or not, which weakened public interest in financial co-operatives and saw the rise of Starr-Bowkett societies.
