The Argus, Riots in the City 1923

The Argus

Registration number

1612178

Artist/maker

The Argus

Printer

The Argus

Title

The Argus, Riots in the City

Production date

1923

Medium

newsprint, ink

Dimensions (H x W x D)

62 x 11 cm (print) 86 x 35 cm (framed)

Inscriptions

The Argus / Sunday 2am / RIOTS IN THE CITY / UNPRECEDENTED SCENES / Window Smashing & Looting / APPEAL BY THE MINISTRY / No Trains or Trams To-Night [extensive text]

Credit line

Purchased, 2014
City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection

Keywords

The Argus, Melbourne riots, 1923, Victorian Police strike

Summary

Australia’s only police strike occurred here in Melbourne over the Cup weekend of 1923. On Derby Day rioters caused over £100,000 worth of damage, mostly in broken glass and looted goods, within the city blocks bordered by Collins, Elizabeth, Bourke and Russell Streets. The response to the crisis saw a legal prerogative first established in Melbourne in 1842 invoked, or read: the Riot Act. The act had been invoked on several previous occasions by the state government, enabling volunteers to be sworn in as Special Constables in times of crisis. This single column of newsprint was the entire newspaper, a 2a.m. edition on 4 November 1923 reporting on the strike, associated looting and distribution from Melbourne Town Hall of the Special Constable armbands.