A whole new world: Global revolution and Australian social movements in the long Sixties Jon Piccini BA Honours (1st Class) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2013 School of History, Philosophy, Religion & Classics Abstract This thesis explores Australian social movements during the long Sixties through a transnational prism, identifying how the flow of people and ideas across borders was central to the growth and development of diverse campaigns for political change. By making use of a variety of sources—from archives and government reports to newspapers, interviews and memoirs—it identifies a broadening of the radical imagination within movements seeking rights for Indigenous Australians, the lifting of censorship, women’s liberation, the ending of the war in Vietnam and many others. It locates early global influences, such as the Chinese Revolution and increasing consciousness of anti-racist struggles in South Africa and the American South, and the ways in which ideas from these and other overseas sources became central to the practice of Australian social movements. This was a process aided by activists’ travel. Accordingly, this study analyses the diverse motives and experiences of Australian activists who visited revolutionary hotspots from China and Vietnam to Czechoslovakia, Algeria, France and the United States: to protest, to experience or to bring back lessons. While these overseas exploits, breathlessly recounted in articles, interviews and books, were transformative for some, they also exposed the limits of what a transnational politics could achieve in a local setting. Australia also became a destination for the period’s radical activists, provoking equally divisive responses. A fearful government controversially barred many international activists, from Marxist economists to Black Power radicals, while those who successfully crossed the border, in particular international student-activists, mobilised Australians to fight repressive governments in their homelands. Through navigating these underexplored areas of the recent past this thesis unearths how and why the idea of global revolution affected a range of activists, and the practice of radical politics, locating Australia as a peripheral yet engaged participant in what historians now call the global Sixties. 2 Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the General Award Rules of The University of Queensland, immediately made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. 3 Publications during candidature Peer-reviewed articles “‘Light from the East’: Travel to China and the transformation of Australian activism in the long Sixties,” The Sixties: A journal of history, politics and culture 6, No. 1 (Forthcoming, June 2013). “A Dangerous Disease to Catch: Overseas Student Activism in Australia during the 1970s.” Australian Policy and History. February 2013. Available at http://aph.org.au/a-dangerous-disease-to-catch-overseas-student-activism-in-australia- during-the-1970s “Travel, Politics and the limits of ‘liminality’ during ‘Australia’s Sixties,’” PORTAL: Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies 10, No. 1 (January 2013): 1-20. “‘There is no solidarity, peace of friendship with dictatorship’: Australians at the World Festival of Youth and Students, 1957-1968,” History Australia 9, No. 3 (December 2012): 175-194. “Bacchanalian Carnival or Political Event? Remembering the Sixties in Australia,” Melbourne Historical Journal 40, No. 1 (2012): 149-167. “Up the new channels: Student Activism in Brisbane during ‘Australia’s Sixties,’” Crossroads 5, No. 2 (2011): 75-86. “‘Australia’s most evil and repugnant nightspot’ Foco Club and transnational politics in Brisbane’s ’68,’” invited paper for Dialogues E-Journal Vol. 8 No. 1, (2010): 1-17. Publications included in this thesis No publications included Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None 4 Acknowledgements Much like the Sixties itself, this thesis has been a collective endeavour, and I have accrued a great many debts. Firstly, I need to thank my primary supervisor, Chris Dixon, who guided this thesis from initial idea to finished product while also providing plentiful and encouraging feedback, helping me acclimatise to tertiary teaching as well as buying the occasional pizza. Geoff Ginn, as my secondary supervisor, also provided fantastic insights and observations. Also, Peter Spearritt volunteered time out of his busy schedule to discuss the project and read chapters, and Melissa Bellanta worked alongside me in tutoring and writing lectures drawn from the thesis. I have travelled widely to undertake research for this thesis, which has been assisted by numerous funding bodies. On top of generous funding from UQ, I won a Norman McCann Summer Scholarship to work at the National Library of Australia in 2012, and I’d like to thank Robyn Holmes and the many librarians who facilitated my stay and put up with my trawling through the depths of their archives. The Australian Policy and History Network and Australian Historical Association/History Australia also provided me with additional travel funds and fantastic mentoring. I’d particularly like to thank Richard White and Penny Russell, for providing me with the latter scholarship and facilitating a very useful writing workshop at the Adelaide AHA conference, as well as Nicholas Brown, my mentor for the APH research internship, who closely read and provided very helpful comments on my drafts. Personally, I am indebted to my fellow PhD students, particularly Kate Walton, Ana Stevenson, Alana Piper, Gemmia Burden and Hollie Thomas with who I have shared many beers, whinges and the occasional fruitful discussion. Kate in particular provided fantastic comments on multiple drafts of this thesis. I’d also like to thank my friends and family who, despite being significantly less interested than myself in the complexities of Sixties history, were charitable and understanding in the extreme. Lastly, and most importantly, I’d like to thank Teena for her love, support and ideas throughout the years. Without her, this project would not have been possible. 5 Keywords Australian history, transnational history, history of the Sixties, indigenous history, history of travel, decolonisation. Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 210303, Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History), 80% ANZSRC code: 210301, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History, 10% ANZSRC code: 210302, Asian History, 10% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 2103, Historical Studies (100%) 6 Table of Contents Preliminary Pages 2 List of Figures 8 List of Abbreviations 9 Introduction 10 Part One: Origins Chapter One 31 Light from the East: Australian Communists, China and the seeds of a global imagination Chapter Two 47 From helpless natives to revolutionary heroes: An evolving ethic of solidarity Chapter Three 67 Turning over Marx and Mao and intently lengthening their hair: Writing, debating and living the global Part Two: Comings and Goings Chapter Four 104 Revolutionary tourists: Australian activists, travel and the 1968 phenomenon Chapter Five 135 Our unpolluted shores: Radical arrivals and the politics of the border Part Three: Possibilities and Disillusionment Chapter Six 171 Wider horizons: Indigenous Australians abroad and the limits of global activism Chapter Seven 203 A dangerous disease to catch: Overseas students, transnational policing and the passing of an idea Conclusion 237 Bibliography 245 7 List of Figures Figure 1 Which way treason? pamphlet 60 Figure 2 Sun cartoon on Aid the NLF Campaign 63 Figure 3 The Third World Bookshop 76 Figure 4 Semper Floreat, July 22 1965 90 Figure 5 Semper Floreat, July 28 1966 90 Figure 6 1971 China tour group 118 Figure 7 Mandel cartoon 151 Figure 8 Bobbi Sykes Observer cover 174 Figure 9 Overseas student protest, 1974 218 8 List of Abbreviations AAPA Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association ACS Australia-China Society ALP Australian Labor Party ALR Australian Left Review ASIO Australian