Dock labourers at the East India Docks.

Dock labourers at the East India Docks. © National Maritime Museum, London

Repro ID: H4468

Description: The majority of workers in the port during the 19th century were casual labourers taken on for the day. Sometimes the dockers would only be employed for a few hours. Casual work at the East India Docks in the 1880s consisted mainly of unloading and trucking tea and spices from the Far East.

Creator: 'Illustrated London News'

Date: 14 September 1889

Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London