day, six days a week. There was no sick leave, no holiday leave, and employers could sack employees at any time, without giving a reason. On 18 August 1855 the Stonemasons Society in Sydney issued an ultimatum to employers that in six months time, masons would only work an eight-hour day. However men working on the Holy Trinity Church (Garrison Church) in Argyle Cut, and on the Mariners Church, (an evangelical mission to seafarers, now an art gallery and café) in Lower George Street (98-100 George Street), could not contain their enthusiasm and decided not to wait. They pre-emptively went on strike, won the eight-hour day, and celebrated with a victory dinner on 1 October 1855. On 21 April 1856 Stonemasons led by Cooper Bridges, building workers on building sites around Melbourne stopped work and marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day. Their direct action protest was a success, and they are noted as being among the first organised workers in the world to achieve the eight-hour day with no loss of pay. It took further campaigning and struggles by trade unions to extend the reduction in hours to all workers in Australia. In 1916, the Victorian Eight Hours Act was passed granting the eight-hour day to a wide range of workers in the state. The eight-hour day was not achieved nationally until the 1920s, but that was in the context of a 48-hour week. The Commonwealth Arbitration Court gave approval of the 40-hour five-day working week nationally beginning on 1 January 1948. Trades Halls During 1856 the Melbourne Trades Hall Committee was formed and received a grant of land to build the Melbourne Trades Hall, which was completed in 1859. The Trades and Labor Council of Sydney was formed by eight unions in 1871, and Sydney Trades Hall was built between 1888 and 1895. The United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia has a history dating back to 1884. 1890s great strikes As the craft union movement broadened, less skilled and rural workers began to organise which led to the colonies of Australia being convulsed by a number of great strikes in the 1890s; The response to these events of union action saw the use of breakup actions. For Instance, the 1890 maritime strike was met by the New South Wales and Victorian armed forces to combat protestors. The 1891 shearers'