File:Wheat storage at Keswick - showing wheat stacks(GN02306).jpg

The image, dated 6 February 1919, shows wheat bags being handled at Keswick, on the edge of the Adelaide city area. In late 1918, Wheat Board employees cleared and fenced a portion of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Showgrounds near the railway line at Keswick, for storing bags of wheat destined for export from Port Adelaide. Five wheat handlers are on and near the stack, apparently covering the bags with protective sheets of corrugated iron. Less than a fortnight after the picture was taken, on 17 February, heavy rain damaged thousands of bags which workers were not able to cover in time. (Daily Herald, 27 December 1918, p4, 20 February 1919, p3). A sign warning against trespassers is visible. (See also GN02304, GN02305)

Industrial and financial disputes plagued the Wheat Board and its Wheat Scheme throughout 1919 and well into 1920. Both the clerical staff and wheat handlers campaigned for higher wages, and the handlers took action in an attempt to be paid the same rate as members of the Waterside Workers Union. The report of nthe Royal Commision into the Wheat Scheme led to major changes in 1920.