Communist Party of Australia aggregated collection, ca. 1917-1992

fonds

ca. 1917-1992

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Nonmusical Sound Recordings, Moving Images, Objects, Clippings, Drawings, Photographs, Posters

826044

8 boxes textual material
140 boxes, 19 'X' items
16 sound tape reels, 5 sound cassettes, and 2 videotape reels
4 albums (192 photographic prints and 1 printed item)
1 box
4 metal forms
74 boxes and 3 outsize items
64 drawings
68 photographic prints
2 posters
1 banner
3 boxes textual material
1 folder textual material

The Communist Party of Australia was formed in 1920 and dissolved in 1991.

Among its media activities, the Party published Tribune, a weekly newspaper (1939 - 3 April 1991), and The Australian Left Review and a radio broadcast in New South Wales in the 1950s, “The Voice of the Countryside”.

As a legal political party, it contested state and federal elections.

Organisationally, the National Congress constituted the highest authority of the Party, ruling on the Party’s statement of aims, constitution and rules. The National Committee had the authority to decide new policies in pursuit of the Party’s objectives between National Congresses. The National Executive held political and organisational leadership between meetings of the National Committee to which it was responsible. The organisational structure of the Party extended to State and District Committees and to party branches in sections (e.g. industry) and areas.

The Party was banned in 1940-1942 because of its endeavours to defeat the war effort. Security agencies regarded the CPA as a subversive organisation, and surveillance of the Party was heightened in the Cold War period. In 1950 in an attempt to ban the Party the Menzies Coalition government passed the Communist Party Dissolution Act which was declared invalid by the High Court. In 1951 the Menzies government suffered defeat in the Communist Party Dissolution Referendum when it sought to alter the constitution to empower it to ban the Party: a majority “no” vote was returned.

The Party’s greatest support derived from the trade union movement. The Party suffered ideological splits throughout its history, resulting in the formation of rival socialist parties including the Australian Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist), 1964 and the Socialist Party of Australia, 1972.

Over time, the Party was involved in many campaigns and movements including unemployment, workers control, peace and disarmament, student groups, women’s liberation, ecology and Aboriginal issues.

This aggregated collection comprises:

COLLECTION 01:
Communist Party of Australia, records, 1922-23, 1945-1967
Presented by L. Aarons, 1972

COLLECTION 02:
Communist Party of Australia records and pictorial material, ca. 1917-1987
Presented by Brian Aarons, 1987

COLLECTION 03:
Communist Party of Australia - further records and pictorial material, 1920-1991
Presented by Brian Aarons, 1987 and 1991

COLLECTION 04:
Communist Party of Australia - further records, ca. 1919-1991
Presented by Brian Aarons and Beverley Symons on behalf of SEARCH Foundation, 1992 and 1993

COLLECTION 05:
Communist Party of Australia. Sydney District Committee - further records, 1979-1992
Presented by Search Foundation in 2000

See bibliographies in Communism in Australia : a resource bibliography / compiled by Beverley Symons with Andrew Wells and Stuart Macintyre([Canberra] : National Library of Australia, 1994), and Communism in Australia : a supplementary resource bibliography, c. 1994-2001 / compiled by Beverley Symons ; with the assistance of Stuart Macintyre ([Newtown, N.S.W.] : Sydney Branch, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, 2002)