Nick Origlass papers, 1907-1992

MLMSS 6614

fonds

1907-1992

Textual Records, Clippings, Ephemera

395096

2.34 Meters of textual material (18 boxes) - typescript, carbon, printed, photocopy

Nick Origlass (1908-1996), Trotskyist, trade unionist and alderman, was born at Woodstock, North Queensland. He came to Sydney in 1931 and joined the Communist Party of Australia (CPA). He found work at Mort's Dock, Balmain, where he went on to become a long-serving delegate of the Federated Ironworkers' Association of Australia. Expelled from the CPA in 1932, he took up with Australia's first Trotskyist group in Balmain. During World War II Origlass and fellow Trotskyists formed the Labor Socialist Group; he became a regular contributor to and editor of its paper, The Socialist. In 1945 Origlass played a central role in the Balmain Ironworkers' Strike. His removal as shop delegate by the local branch executive precipitated, in part, the strike. Buoyed by rank and file support, he contributed to the quashing of a Stalinist takeover of the branch executive. From 1952 to 1955, under the name 'Ben Jones', he published the newsletter About Labor's Problems which advocated a Socialist direction for the Australian Labor Party (ALP). In 1954 he had been admitted to the ALP and was expelled the following year. After being reinstated, Origlass was elected a Labor member of Leichhardt Council in 1958. A decade later he and another Labor alderman, lifelong friend Issy Wyner, were expelled from the Party. Both had defied Labor Caucus in favour of their constituents' interests. They then formed the Balmain-Leichhardt Labor Party which enjoyed electoral success until its demise in 1970. Origlass served as Mayor of Leichhardt from 1971 to 1973, and retired from the Council in 1995.

A. Correspondence, with newscuttings, 1932-1992
B. Australian Labor Party and Balmain-Leichhardt Labor Party, 194--ca. 1990
C. Fourth International, 1948-1984
D. 'Vietnam: Campaigns', 1950-1973
E. Social and Political Issues, 1950-1991
F. Australian Left and Socialism, 1928-1991
G. 'Miscellaneous, left wing, political, t.u. [trade union] leaflets', 1907-1991

A. Correspondence, with newscuttings, 1932-1992

1932-1989; Correspondence, 1932, 1943-1953, 1966-1989, mainly with Guido Baracchi, Alf Bradley, Ken Gee, Mary Dickenson, J. R. (James Robert) McClelland, George Petersen, Laurie Short and Issy Wyner, with enclosures, including 'The Movement of Ideas in Australia', being a speech by B. A. Santamaria, Date unknown, and newscuttings of death notices and about Nicholas (snr) and Ellen Origlasso, 1981-1992, Date unknown, together with letters received by 'A. McLean', 1949-1980 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/1/1)

B. Australian Labor Party and the Balmain-Leichhardt Labor Party, 194--ca. 1990

1944, 1951-1989; 'ALP Journals', being mainly periodicals and pamphlets concerning the Australian Labor Party and the Australian labour movement, including issues of A.L.P. News; The Youth Call: Journal of the N.S.W. Council of A.L.P. Youth, 1951-1953; About Labor's Problems, Nos 1-12, 29 Oct. 1952-22 Feb. 1955; Labor Forward: Advocating the Socialist Objective, 1958-1963, printed and published by I. Wyner for the Painters & Dockers' Union Socialist and Industrial Labor, 1960-1962 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/2)
1940-1969; A.L.P. Rules and Constitution and the Policy and Platform, Annual Conference Agenda, Official and Executive Report, being various issues of the New South Wales and Victorian Branches, and Half-Yearly Report of the Trades and Industrial Hall and Literary Institute Association of Sydney Limited, 163rd: 1966, 164th: 1966 and 169th: 1969 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/3)
1947-1966; Papers concerning various A.L.P. matters and anti-Industrial Groups, including A.L.P. (Vic.) Annual Conference Agenda Paper, 1947-1948, 1950 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/4/1)
1948-1966; Papers concerning 1948 A.L.P. Industrial Group Conference Declaration on Communism; amendment to 1949 Rules; 1953 A.L.P. (N.S.W.) Annual Industrial Group Conference and 1966 A.L.P. (N.S.W.) Annual Conference (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/4/2)
1949-1967; Papers mainly concerning various A.L.P. conferences, including 1949 A.L.P. (N.S.W.) Rural Conference; 1951-1952, 1954, 1967 A.L.P. Annual Conferences; 1953 A.L.P. (Vic.) Annual Conference Agenda and 1961 Labor Women's Central Organising Committee Annual Conference (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/4/3)
1925, 1955-1959; Papers mainly concerning 1959 A.L.P. (N.S.W.) Annual Conference; 1955 Federated Ironworkers' Association of Australia elections and anti-Industrial Groups, and including a copy of Rules of the N.S.W. Branch of the Food Preservers' Union of Australia [1925] (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/4/4)
1955-1968; Papers concerning various A.L.P. matters, including Balmain State Electoral Council and Dalley Federal Electorate Council (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/4/5)
1956-1963; Papers mainly concerning Australian Labor Party. Balmain Branch , including membership lists (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/5/1)
1957-1958; Papers mainly concerning 1958 A.L.P. (N.S.W.) Annual Conference and various political and trade union elections (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/5/2)
1957-1968; Papers mainly concerning 1957 A.L.P. (N.S.W.) Labor Women's Central Organising Committee and 1961 A.L.P. (N.S.W.) Regional Conference (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/5/3)
1958-1963; Papers mainly concerning various A.L.P. (N.S.W.) Conferences, including 1958 and 1960 Regional Conference, 1960-1962 Annual Conferences, 1962 Annual Youth Conference, and 1961 N.S.W. Legislative Council Referendum and Federated Ship Painters and Dockers' Union of Australia, 1960 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/5/4)
1959-1965; Papers mainly concerning Mount Isa Mines Limited workers' dispute, 1965 and 1965 A.L.P. (N.S.W.) Annual Conference (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/6/1)
1960-1968; Papers mainly concerning the election of officers for A.L.P. Balmain Branch and Victorian Labor College 44th Annual Conference, 1961 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/6/2)
1962-1963; Papers mainly concerning 1963 A.L.P. (N.S.W.) Annual Conference (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/6/3)
1964; Papers mainly concerning 1964 A.L.P. (N.S.W.) Annual Conference (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/6/4)
1958; Papers concerning by-election for the office of one alderman for Balmain Ward, Municipality of Leichhardt, 19 Apr. 1958 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/7/1)
1959; Papers concerning A.L.P. candidacy for Balmain Ward, Leichhardt Municipal Council election, 5 Dec. 1959 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/7/2)
1962; Papers concerning A.L.P. candidacy for Balmain Ward, Leichhardt Municipal Council election, 1 Dec. 1962 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/7/3)
1965; Papers concerning A.L.P. candidacy for Balmain Ward, Leichhardt Municipal Council election, 4 Dec. 1965 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/7/4)
1968-1969; Papers concerning Balmain-Leichhardt Labor Party (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/7/5)
1968; Papers concerning candidacy for Balmain-Leichhardt Labor Party at N.S.W. State election, 24 Feb. 1968 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/7/6)
1968; Papers concerning candidacy for Balmain-Leichhardt Labor Party at Leichhardt Municipal Council election, 7 Dec. 1968 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/7/7)
1969; Papers concerning candidacy for Set Labor Free Campaign Committee at Federal election, 25 Oct. 1969 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/8/1)
1971; Papers concerning Leichhardt Municpal Council election campaign (18 Sep. 1971) (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/8/2)
1974; Papers concerning candidacy for Balmain-Leichhardt labor Party at Leichhardt Municipal Council election, 21 Sep. 1974 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/8/3)
1977; Papers concerning Leichhardt Municipal Council election campaign (17 Sep. 1977) (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/8/4)
1980; Papers concerning Leichhardt Municipal Council election, 29 Sep. 1980 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/8/5)
1984; Papers concerning Leichhardt Municipal Council election campaign (14 Apr. 1984) (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/8/6)
1987; Papers concerning Open Council Team campaign, Leichhardt Council election, 26 Sep. 1987 (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/8/7)
194--ca. 1990; Election campaigns material, being mainly how to vote leaflets/cards (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/8/8)

C. Fourth International, 1948-1984

1948-1962; Documents, including bulletins, minutes, correspondence and printed material (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/9)
1963-1966, 1981; Documents etc. (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/10)
1958-1962, 1966; Information Bulletin (Fourth International. International Secretariat) (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/10)
1955-1963; Documents and bulletins of Fourth International. British Section (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/10)
1948-1964; Documents and bulletin of Fourth International. American Committee, and bulletins of Socialist Workers Party (U.S.) (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/10)
1953-1968; Papers concerning Fourth International. Australian Section and Fourth International. International Committee. Australian Section, including documents and bulletins, issues of Socialist Perspective, 1966-1968, and issue of Living Marxism, No. 9 [1957?], being organ of the Sydney section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/11)
1962-1984; Papers concerning Fourth International. Revolutionary Marxist Tendency, including Australian Section, being mainly documents and publications (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/12)

D. 'Vietnam: Campaigns', 1950-1973

1950-1973; Bulletins, leaflets, newsletters, newscuttings and pamplets mainly concerning protest against conscription and Australian and American involement in the Vietnam War (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/13)

E. Social and Political Issues, 1950-1991

1950-1991; Printed material mainly concerning Anti-Conscription, Aborigines, Apartheid, Disarmament, Peace, Racism, Student and Youth, and the Vietnam War (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/14)

F. Australian Left and Socialism, 1928-1991

1928-1991; Papers, being mainly printed material, concerning, among other things, Communist Party of Australia, Socialist Scholars Conference, Sydney University, 21-24 May 1970; Radical Ecology Conference, Sydney, 1974; Socialist Labour League (Australia); Socialist League of Australia, 194-; Socialist Workers League (Australia); Socialist Workers Party (Australia); Socialist Left (N.S.W.); Spartacist League of Australia and New Zealand; Federation of Australian Anarchists; Radical Left Students Newspaper Collectives (Australia); Workers' Party of Australia (Left Opposition); Labor Socialist Group; and Catholic Action. Include Socialist publications and issues of About Labor's Problems, No. 1 29 Oct. 1952-No. 17 12 Oct. 1955; (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/15-16)

G. 'Miscellaneous, left wing, political, t. u. [trade union] leaflets', 1907-1991

1907-1991; Papers, being mainly printed material concerning, among other things, anti-Communist propaganda in Australia; Federated Ship Painters and Dockers' Union of Australia. New South Wales Branch; Victorian Fabian Society; trade union elections; miscellaneous political ephemera on a range of topics. Include Labor Council of New South Wales Authorised Report, 17 Sep. 1942-31 May 1945, compiled by Edgar Ross; and undated lists of names, some being membership lists of unidentified bodies (Call No.: MLMSS 6614/17-18)

Author/Artist entries:
Australian Labor Party. New South Wales Branch
Australian Labor Party. New South Wales Branch. Women's Central Organising Committee
Australian Labor Party. Victorian Branch
Bradley, Alf
Communist Party of Australia
Dickenson, Mary, 1939-
Federated Ship Painters & Dockers' Union of Australia. New South Wales Branch
Federation of Australian Anarchists
Food Preservers' Union of Australia. New South Wales Branch
Fourth International
Fourth International. American Committee
Fourth International. Australian Section
Fourth International. British Section
Fourth International. International Committee. Australian Section
Fourth International. International Secretariat
Fourth International. Revolutionary Marxist Tendency
Gee, Ken
Labor Council of New South Wales
Labor Socialist Group
Petersen, George, 1921-
Radical Left Students Newspaper Collectives (Australia)
Revolutionary Marxist Tendency
Revolutionary Marxist Tendency. Australian Section
Ross, Edgar
Santamaria, B. A. (Bartholomew Augustine), 1915-1998
Short, Laurie, 1915-
Socialist Labour League (Australia)
Socialist League of Australia
Socialist Left (N.S.W.)
Socialist Workers League (Australia)
Socialist Workers Party (Australia)
Spartacist League of Australia and New Zealand
Trades and Industrial Hall and Literary Institute Association of Sydney Limited
Victorian Fabian Society
Workers' Party of Australia (Left Opposition)
Wyner, Issy