When Fascism Almost Came to Australia
In Australia, as elsewhere, the 1930s saw the emergence of an armed, proto-fascist right who were united by their hatred of working-class politics.
The apprehension of Francis de Groot, a member of the right-wing New Guard of Australia, in March 1932. (Sydney Living Museums)
In 1931, dozens of meetings convened in packed town halls across the Mallee country, a region spanning Victoria’s Northwest and New South Wales’ Southwest. Most meeting attendees had never met a communist. Nevertheless, to euphoric applause, they passed motions demanding that “ALL COMMUNIST ACTIVITY MUST CEASE.”
In the dust of such a night, a group of “concerned citizens” captured an unemployed supporter of leftist NSW Labor premier Jack Lang. They held him down and burned “RED” into his forehead with acid.
While exceptional in brutality, this was a result of a broader movement. Across the country, secret right-wing paramilitary armies had been recruiting large numbers, waiting for the moment they could make good on their oaths, to “shoot the bloody red bastards on sight from the capital.”
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