Socialism in six colonies: the aftermath

Abstract

This chapter deals with the legacy of ‘Colonial Socialism’. In 1890 the Australian colonies collectively operated by far the largest government-built, government-owned, and government-operated railway system in the world. The chapter examines the consequences in the twentieth century for the state railway system created by the nineteenth century. It is argued that the propping up of declining railways over the last hundred years has been the occasion for an array of anticompetitive practices and policies. The system was also significant as providing a template for the ‘independent statutory authority’ that has been so pervasive in modern Australia. The state railways also proved to be a seedbed for the growth of the Labor Party.