Joseph Badger’s home ‘Arlington’ at 28 Woodstock Rd, Toowong, 1906. Joseph Stil…

Joseph Badger’s home ‘Arlington’ at 28 Woodstock Rd, Toowong, 1906.
Joseph Stillman Badger (1851–1934), an American Electrical Engineer, was General Manager of Brisbane Tramways from 1899 – 1922, at which point he retired to a fruit orchard in California.
Able, courageous and ruthless, Badger would stretch the law to its utmost limits when the interests of his firm were at stake. When the new electric cars were delayed he converted worn-out horse-cars; in the first seven years he added over thirty-three miles (53 km) of suburban track to the system.
He refused to accept trade unionism, decreed that union badges could not be worn on duty, and suspended the many employees who refused to submit. Over-confident leaders of the militant…