Good morning Listers, I am hoping SKS can assist me with what waged could have been paid to Agriculture Labourers in the late 1850s. I just need this information for a friend to fill in the story of Irish settlers who arrived in the Colony in the 1850s. Cheers Janice Belrose - Sydney

Hi Janice, Don't know about the late 1850s, but according to the Colonization Circular issued by Her Majesty's Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners in May 1854, which provided info for people leaving Great Britain at that time, ag labourers migrating to NSW could expect, as at 30 Sept 1853: £25 to £30 per annum with rations and lodging, consisting of a dwelling, with a ration of 10 lbs of meat, 10 lbs of flour, 2 lbs of sugar and 4 ozs of tea (or milk in lieu of sugar and tea), per week. Female farm servants received £14 per annum at that date. but note "The wives of farm labourers with families do not receive this amount of money wages, as a sufficient quantity of food is generally allowed for the support of their children, and a corresponding reduction from the money wages is of course made." It varied from state to state, some states indicating different rates for married and single labourers. Let me know if you would like details for the other states. Info from a facsimile edition of the Colonization Circular pub by Macbeth Genealogical Books in 1990. HTH Judy