Different White People: Communists, Unionists and Aboriginal Rights 1946-1972 Deborah Wilson BA (Hons), University of Tasmania Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania November 2013 This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any information that infringes copyright. ……………………………….. Deborah Wilson Date: The research associated with this thesis abides by the international and Australian codes on human and animal experimentation, the guidelines by the Australian Government's Office of the Gene Technology Regulator and the rulings of the Safety, Ethics and Institutional Biosafety Committees of the University. ……………………………….. Deborah Wilson Date: This thesis is not to be made available for loan or copying for two years following the date this statement was signed; after that time limited copying and communication is permitted in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. ………………………………. Deborah Wilson Date: Abstract This thesis is an examination of left-wing activist contributions to the Aboriginal rights movement in Australia, with focus upon three important campaigns: Pilbara pastoral walk-offs in Western Australia 1946 – 1949 Protests about weapons testing programs in Central Australia 1946 – late 1950s Aboriginal walk-offs in the Northern Territory 1966 – early 1970s Information gathered from a broad range of sources (including archival materials, government records, newspapers and participants in this activism) is presented in three mini-narratives. An eclectic assortment of characters features as campaigns progress from sheep stations, through deserts, to cattle stations. The issues in focus also shift, as conflicts over worker and human rights are overwhelmed by modern battleground disputes about lands and compensation. The study highlights left-wing collaboration, within a much broader pressure group of activists and organisations throughout Australia, working to advance the rights of Aboriginal people. Union support for Aboriginal rights variously ebbed and flowed during the period under investigation, but communists maintained vigorous solidarity throughout. Left-wing activism during the campaigns manifested in many forms, including provision of industrial advocacy and financial support, coordination of protest meetings and marches, hands-on assistance for Aboriginal activist communities, and comprehensive publicity of the stories in left-wing newspapers and journals. Artistic representation of disputes also featured in left-wing poetry, drama, film, music, caricature and literature. Inclusion of this activism in art adds colour to a narrative based so centrally around the dark subject at the heart of the investigation: the intolerable treatment of Aboriginal peoples that these activists were determined to change. iii The activism occurred during an exceptional period of Australian political history, when union power was at its height, and passionate communist endeavours endured amidst relentless pressures of the Cold War. The Aboriginal rights movement, buoyed by white activist support, grew steadily until the late 1960s when the Black Power model of Aboriginal-driven rights activism evolved, then prevailed. This study about three campaigns, in different regions of Australia across a time-span of nearly forty years, presents a compelling longitudinal examination of left-wing activism for Aboriginal rights. Activists established vital networks and mechanisms of support and exposure for Aboriginal people so adversely affected by the actions of pastoralists, governments and officials. Evidence presented in the thesis indicates that motivation for such ardent support emanated, in large part, from basic humanitarian desire to better others’ lives. iv Acknowledgements I express sincere appreciation to my supervisor, Henry Reynolds. Without his support and encouragement through difficult times, this project may not have been completed. I thank Henry for being my teacher and friend. I am also most grateful to my co- supervisor, Tom Dunning. His wise guidance, especially towards the end of this project, was invaluable. I am grateful to have been awarded the Alma Stackhouse Scholarship. Other support by the University of Tasmania is also acknowledged. I thank staff members in archives, libraries, organisations and institutions, for their diligent assistance with any queries, requests or visits. Many people have contributed their time, input and thoughts to this thesis. I am particularly grateful to Brian Manning, Jan Richardson, Phillip Nitschke, John and Gwen Bucknall, Lenore Bassan, Mark Aarons, and Max Bound (who died last year). When I began this project in 2009, the most enthusiastic supporter was my father. Whilst on his annual visit from Coffs Harbour to Tasmania to visit me and my kids in 2010, he became gravely ill. Emergency surgery in Launceston revealed advanced bowel cancer. Six weeks later, I took a frail but doggedly determined man home to New South Wales. He died four months later, aged eighty-one. I hope I have done him proud. Vale Bob Wilson. My daughter Sarah and son Brandon accompanied me on this challenging PhD journey. The past four years or so have been incredibly hard in a lot of ways. I thank them for trying to understand just how tough it has been. I kept telling my children that one day I would be Doctor Mommy. I hope that they are proud of me. v Contents Abbreviations vii Introduction 1 Chapter One 20 Pilbara Walk-offs: Chapter Two 42 Chapter Three 65 Central Australian Weapons Testing Programs: Chapter Four 97 Chapter Five 120 Chapter Six 152 Wave Hill Walk-Off: Chapter Seven 174 Chapter Eight 207 Chapter Nine 232 Chapter Ten 268 Conclusion 291 Appendix One 304 Bibliography 307 Abbreviations ABSCHOL Aboriginal Scholarship Society ACTU Australian Council of Trade Unions AEU Amalgamated Engineering Union AMIEU Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union ASIO Australian Security Intelligence Organisation AWU Australian Workers’ Union CAR Council for Aboriginal Rights CDNR Committee for the Defence of Native Rights CIS Commonwealth Investigation Service CPA Communist Party of Australia FCAATSI Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders FMWU Federated Miscellaneous Workers’ Union ILO International Labour Organization NAWU North Australian Workers’ Union NTCAR Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights T&LC Trades and Labour Council UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights WRE Weapons Research Establishment WWF Waterside Workers’ Federation vii Introduction This thesis is a study of aspects of Australian politics, ranging from the end of World War Two to the early 1970s. During this period, two emergent and distinct movements coincided, as white activists fought important campaigns for Aboriginal rights. Attention is focussed upon that activism, and the rationale for this focus is discussed shortly. The radical involvement is examined in a trilogy of case-studies about significant campaigns in the Pilbara, Central Australia and Northern Territory. Much of the existing scholarship interpreting these events positions left-wing activists more peripherally. In this study, however, the activism of communists and unionists is central to a compelling investigation of their support for Aboriginal rights. The value of this thesis is twofold. Firstly, it augments, in significant ways, the existing historiography of Aboriginal rights. This historiography cannot be fully understood without a full appreciation of the contribution of the „different white people‟ studied here. Secondly, it provides important evidence for the story of racial collaboration, which was powerfully evident in the period from 1945 to the 1970s. This, therefore, is a distinctive period, in that collaboration was more prevalent than during the 1930s and the period that followed. This thesis provides detailed case studies of the effective campaigns of left radicals, communists and non-communists alike. In this case, we are dealing with a quite distinctive era. By the end of the period under investigation, the radical left had fragmented by internal conflict, loss of faith in the Soviet Union, and the rise of identity politics. My thesis is that these themes are all intrinsically important aspects of the political and social history of Australia in the middle years of the twentieth century. It must be emphasised that the period under investigation was quite exceptional, in terms of Aboriginal rights advancement and radical left-wing popularity. Communist Party membership was at its highest in Australia during the 1940s, and the (often communist-controlled) union movement was extremely powerful. These aspects are discussed in Chapter One. Communists and unionists rallied to support Aboriginal 1 people living in remote Australian regions. Stirred passions and interests inspired these „different white people‟ (often from eastern seaboard cities) to action. Left-wing activists became significant contributors to the Aboriginal rights movement, supporting tribal or semi-tribal peoples with lifestyles far removed from the experience of their predominantly urban-dwelling memberships. It is important