James Stephens

James Stephens (8 August 1821 – 14 November 1889) was a Welsh-born stonemason, Chartist, and Australian trade unionist who was active in the eight-hour day movement in the 1850s. Early life and work in Britain Stephens was born in Chepstow, Monmouthshire in south east Wales and, like his father (also James Stephens), became a stonemason. As a youth, he moved from Chepstow to nearby Newport, then a stronghold of formative Chartism. Stephens joined the Masons' Society in 1839, and later that year was seriously injured in a fall of thirty feet while working. He joined the Chartist movement and was one of the participants in the Newport Rising, which led to a riot and retaliation at the Westgate Hotel on 4 November 1839 when soldiers fired on the crowd of rebels, killing twenty. Stephens was 'severely handled' but escaped to London. He worked as a stonemason at Windsor Castle but was dismissed when it became known that he was a Chartist. Working on the new Houses of Parliament in Westminster, he found himself among like-minded people. He remained active in Chartism, carried the banner at rallies, and was acquainted with such leaders as William Lovett and Feargus O'Connor, but like many other supporters of the cause increasingly directed his energies to craft unionism. He became a prominent leader of the masons, acquiring a wide experience as a union organiser. He married Eliza Cuthbert when living in London. Activities in Australia When the Australian gold rush created an enormous demand for tradesmen and builders, Stephens, like many other Chartists, migrated to Victoria, arriving in July 1853. He continued working as a stonemason. In February 1855, the Operative Masons' Society, which had been suspended, was resuscitated, and, with James Gilvray Galloway, Stephens formed a local branch. This meeting is seen as the genesis of the "eight-hour day movement".