 From 1906, several unions came together to form the Seamen's Union of Australia as well as the earlier 1902 Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia.During this period, the world witnessed a number of great maritime strikes, especially in England and Australia, during this period the "Queen Bee" was often picking up the unprecedented demand for cargo space

During March 1908 strike on vessels on the northern rivers, Captain Joseph Weston temporarily entered into the trade with his steamers "Sophia Ann" and "Queen Bee" running between Sydney and the Clarence and Richmond rivers.with items such as the "Sophia Ann", loading a cargo at Sydney for the Clarence River with a manifest of over 300 barrels of beer.