People/labour leader

Mary 'Pickhandle Mary' Fitzgerald

Mary 'Pickhandle Mary' Fitzgerald (1882–1960), labour leader, from Ireland.

The lucky break

Worked as a typist for the Mine Workers' Union in Johannesburg and was drawn into the plight of miners.1

The downfall

Arrested in 1922 during the miners' strike for allegedly leading the group that set fire to Park Station.1

Legacy

Earned her nickname in 1911 when she led women into a hardware store armed with pick handles. In 1921 she became the first woman on the Johannesburg City Council.1

Story cards

Timeline

  1. 1946African mine workers' strike on the Witwatersrand2
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Where next

Events

An example ofAfrican mine workers' strike on the WitwatersrandArrested in the 1922 miners' strike. In 1946 African miners struck.1

Places

Worked atJohannesburgIn 1921 she became the first woman on the Johannesburg City Council.1

Sources

  1. Mary Fitzgerald South African History Online
  2. 1946 African Mineworkers Strike South African History Online

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: The Big Hole by Rudolph Botha, CC BY-SA 3.0; Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Underground mining equipment by Kaupo Kikkas, CC BY-SA 4.0. Pictures: Kimberley, South Africa: the Kimberley mine and town. Woodburytype, 1888, after a photograph by Robert Harris., Harris, Robert, active 1881-1888. (Public Domain Mark 1.0).