Finance:Commercial traveller
A commercial traveller, in Australian English, is an agent for a manufacturer or wholesaler, who solicits orders for goods from retailers or businesses.[1]
The Commercial Traveller's Association (CTA) was founded in both Adelaide[2] and Melbourne[3] in 1866 as a mutual benefit association, or fraternity, providing sickness and other benefits, such as discounted accommodation at participating hotels and discounted travel from some companies. Membership expanded into warehousemen and other white collar occupations.
The organisation rapidly spread to other states. A national body, United Commercial Travellers' Association of Australasia Ltd was formed in 1895,[4] and disbanded in 2014, along with the Victorian CTA. The New South Wales and South Australian chapters persisted well into the 21st-century as a business executives association.
In popular culture
The commercial traveller has long been the butt of cartoons and jokes, generally characterised as a middle-aged roué.[5]
The Commercial Traveller's Wife is a poem by Ronald McCuaig, illustrating the invidious position of a young man who rejects the advances of his landlady.[6]
References
- ↑ Macquarie Encyclopedic Dictionary (2nd ed.). 2010. p. 253. ISBN 9781876429218.
- ↑ "Central Road Board". South Australian Register (South Australia) XXX (6047): p. 3. 21 March 1866. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41030517. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ "Wednesday, April 4, 1866". The Argus (Melbourne) (Victoria, Australia) (6,185): p. 4. 4 April 1866. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5787489. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ "Commercial Travellers' Conference". The Sydney Morning Herald (New South Wales, Australia) (17,809): p. 4. 17 April 1895. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13989261. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ "One Against the Commercial Traveller". The Brisbane Courier (Queensland, Australia) (19,797): p. 6. 4 July 1921. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20521741. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ↑ 60 Classic Australian Poems edited by Geoff Page, University of NSW Press, 2009, pp. 76-79
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