Labour Australia

Another prominent and stalwart link with the stirring nineties and the memorable shearers' strike was broken last week when Harry. J. [Henry James] Jackson passed into the Great Beyond. Harry Jackson, who was stationed at Barcaldine when the first strike committee was arrested in '91, was heart and soul in the fight against the introduction of Coolie labour and the squatters' 'Freedom of Contract.' Being a man of some education and familiar with books and records, and, above all, being a man or irreproachable character, shrewd, quiet, and absolutely fearless, Harry Jackson was chosen as secretary of the strike committee at Barcaldine, a position he held with courage and great ability until the termination of the struggle. On this committee he was associated with the late John Payne, M.L.A, and throughout his long life of varied enterprises and activities he remained staunch and true to the colleagues of his earlier days and the Cause that they espoused.  Some years ago, the late Harry Jackson and John Payne contemplated writing a history of the Labor Movement in Queensland and although it was known that they collected quite a lot of data and had developed the scheme to some extent, the history was never completed. Of late years Harry Jackson became the licensee of different country hotels, and everywhere he lived he was highly regarded amongst men as a very fine type of man. For a number of years, during his residence in Brisbane, Harry Jackson was a frequent visitor to 'The Worker' Office, and his memories of the past and his shrewd appreciation of current political and industrial matters were a source of constant and valuable inspiration and assistance. Of late years Harry had not enjoyed the best of health, and he died at the Warwick Hospital on June 23. The sincere sympathy of 'The Worker' and its staff is hereby conveyed t0 his staunch and faithful helpmate, who, with a grown-up family, has been left to mourn her loss.