New Guard
New Guard | |
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Anti-socialism[1] | |
Political position | Far-right |
Size | c. 50,000 (1931) |
Opponents | |
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Part of a series on |
Far-right politics in Australia |
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The New Guard was an Australian fascist
The New Guard, known for its violent agitation against
The organisation attracted great publicity when member Captain Francis de Groot, on horseback and at Campbell's direction, upstaged Lang in cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in protest at the latter's anti-monarchist ideology.
After
History
Old Guard
In response to the election of
Old-New Guard schism
Among the Old Guard's members was
Over time, Campbell grew discontented with the Old Guard. The organisation was sworn to absolute secrecy of membership, and was divided into cells as to conceal the identity of its leadership. Campbell disagreed with this arrangement, asserting that the uncommunicative nature of its leadership to its members, mostly returned servicemen, was ill-fitting to their nature as soldiers. He believed that without clear authority and direction, the Old Guard would be unable to retain members. Unable to convince the committee to change its administrative strategy, he and John Scott left the Old Guard. A week after Campbell's resignation, he and others from the Old Guard agreed, in mid-February, to form a separate body which would be diametrically opposed to the Old Guard’s secrecy and what they considered its inaction.[5]: 140
The New Guard was officially formed on 16 March 1931, built on a common ideological system of
Anti-leftist action (1931-32)
The New Guard was a paramilitary group,[3][7][8] its military capability was extremely limited and vastly overstated by its leadership.[5]: 148–150 It was amateurish, ineffectual and likened to the Keystone Cops.[5]: 147 During the initial growth of the movement, Campbell was able to attract many ex-soldiers and ex-commanders to the movement,[9] with ex-military making up the majority of the group's membership,[10] including the likes of early aviator Charles Kingsford Smith[6][5]: 145 and North Sydney Mayor Hubert Primrose.[11] As general commanding officer, Campbell organised it on military lines. He claimed that, in an 'emergency', it could maintain essential services including Bunnerong power house and the police attested to the Guard's efficiency. With a peak membership of over 50,000,[12] the Guard rallied in public, broke up 'Communist' meetings, drilled,[5]: 161 vilified the Labor Party and demanded the deportation of Communists.[7] Campbell and his New Guard proceeded to secure connections and weapons[5]: 161 so that, in the event of a statewide communist revolt in which the police had become ineffective, he could seize control of essential services and keep them operational. An attempt to clothe its members in uniforms failed, however, when the Guard could not go through with its order for lack of funds.[5]: 153 Campbell's naïve offer to step in to break a seamen's strike in October 1931 was rebuffed by shipowners.[5]: 150
Violent clashes
Assisted by motorcar, the New Guard developed a strategy of regularly disrupting left-wing workers' meetings, spending much of the 1932 summer doing so.[13]: 55–72 During December 1931, Captain Francis de Groot organised around 1,000 New Guardsmen to attack leftist meetings. On 11 December 1931, three policemen were injured in a fight between New Guardsmen and communists in Darlinghurst. On 13 February 1932, 700 New Guardsmen practised military drills in Belmore and a number of journalists who attempted to document the drills were assaulted. A few days later, 13 members of the New Guard were arrested after violently disrupting a political meeting in Coffs Harbour. Violent attacks on leftist meetings continued for weeks as part of a 'general mobilisation'.[13]: 55–72
De Groot had stated that he 'felt that, the best reply to force, was greater force' and by May 1932 Campbell had started inciting street brawls, and came close to staging a coup d'etat against the Lang government.
Though the New Guard sought to work as a supplement to the police in the event of a socialist revolution,
Opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
On 19 March 1932, the New Guard interrupted the much-anticipated opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The New Guard had wanted to have Sir Philip Game open the bridge on behalf of King George V, but Lang refused, stating that "I will open it myself, it'll be cheaper". The New Guard declared that Lang would not perform the ceremony, with Campbell calling Lang a 'tyrant and scoundrel' and declaring that Lang would never open the Harbour Bridge. Rumours began to circulate of a plot to kidnap Lang.[4][3][17]
During the opening ceremony, army officer and zone commander Francis de Groot upstaged Jack Lang by slashing the ceremonial ribbon with his sword. De Groot was supplied with a horse by fellow New Guardsmen Albert Reichard and he rode to the ceremony in his World War I 15th Hussars uniform, managing to slash the ribbon before Lang. De Groot was pulled from his horse and detained, later being fined £9 (equivalent to $859.99 in 2017). The Mayor of North Sydney, Hubert Primrose, an official participant at the opening ceremony, was also a member of the New Guard.[18][4]
Assault on Jock Garden
On 6 May 1932, Trades and Labour Council secretary John (Jock) Garden, an influential member of Lang's inner circle, was assaulted by members a New Guard faction known as the Fascist Legion.[3][19] Garden was assaulted at his home by eight hooded men in Ku Klux Klan-like gowns.[19][20] The incident caused massive resignations from the New Guard.[5]: 134–5
Decline
1932 constitutional crisis
On 13 May 1932, Lang was dismissed from his premiership. Along with an inner faction of the New Guard’s involvement in orchestrating the bashing of Communist Party of Australia founder Jock Garden, the New Guard began to lose popularity as the organisation’s purpose was perceived as having been fulfilled. The activities of militant splinter groups emerging from the New Guard, such as the Fascist Legion, also contributed to a rush of resignations which began even before Lang's dismissal.[5]
By mid-1932, the New Guard was largely a spent force. With their main objective complete – the removal of Lang from office – the New Guard continued to lose members as it drifted into the mid-1930s. Even de Groot left the organisation in November 1932, pursuing collaboration with the Melbourne-based League of National Security by which the White Army was also known.[14]: 46 It was during this time that Campbell began to outline more fully his political beliefs, producing a series of broadcasts in which he developed a "complete credo for a fascist State", most notably incorporating a "non-elective cabinet or commission, a corporative assembly, vocational franchise and a charter of liberty". He also stated his intentions to contest the next state election, a date for which had not yet been set.[21]: 95
1933: Exploration into fascism
Campbell’s memoirs state that due to the New Guard’s opposition to party politics and unwillingness to align themselves with either side, they were often dubbed "fascists". Though the New Guard bore resemblance to the militant
With Mosley’s recommendations he later progressed to
1935 state election
One idea expressed in Campbell’s manifesto was that the emergence of a "centre party" in Australia was inevitable. While initially satisfied by the prospects of a United Australia Party-led purging of communism and other socialistic and anti-communist dogmas from the continent, Campbell had realised that the central tenets of the New Guard could not be fulfilled due to those politicians' ineffectiveness in bringing them about. Becoming fully dissatisfied with the politics that had, in his words, "degenerated into a number of sordid business undertakings",[22] the New Guard entered into party politics.
The Centre Party was officially established in December 1933 at a meeting of over 1,000 people, with The Sydney Morning Herald reporting that 100 branches of the party would be established.[23] The majority of the shrinking organisation endorsed its move into electoral politics, which was, according to Campbell, "necessitated by the failure of the UAP governments, at both federal and state levels, to accede to the New Guard's demands".[21]: 98 Due to a lack of time needed to organise the campaign, the party did not contest the September 1934 federal election. An August 1934 meeting of the New Guard reaffirmed Campbell as leader, and resolved to "make itself felt in the next State elections".[24]
At the May 1935 New South Wales state election, the Centre Party contested five out of the 90 Legislative Assembly districts, all in suburban Sydney, and polled 0.60 percent of the total vote.[25] In two seats, Hornsby, contested by Fergus Munro, and Lane Cove, contested by Campbell, only the Centre Party and the United Australia Party fielded candidates, with the former polling over 15 percent of the vote in both seats.[26][27] In the other seats it contested, the Centre Party candidates failed to poll more than 5 percent of the vote.[28][29][30] The party's relatively high vote in Hornsby and Lane Cove is thought to have represented "merely the level of protest against [UAP Premier] Stevens" in the absence of other candidates.[citation needed]
In
With the exception of occasional speaking engagements, Campbell largely withdrew from public life following the election,[4] and spent most of the rest of his life in country New South Wales, where he was president of the Burrangong Shire Council in 1949 and 1950 (now part of Young Shire).[35] Campbell's 1965 autobiographical account of his involvement in the New Guard, The Rallying Point, considered "confused", "highly unreliable" and a work of "historical fiction" by Moore in any event,[5]: 139–140 does not mention the Centre Party at all.[36] Later writers have suggested that the party's lack of success at the 1935 election represented "an electoral brick-wall", with the party overall a "failure" and Campbell's movement having "lost most of its drive".[citation needed]
Organisation
At its inception, the administrative structure of the New Guard consisted of an Organising Committee led by a Chairman with powers to add more committee members by way of a unanimous vote. This committee would be tasked with the recruitment of members and their separation by localities across the Sydney and regional New South Wales areas. Following the meeting at Cahill’s, the structure of the organisation was revised in an attempt to exercise "practical democracy". The power allotted to each position in the New Guard changed as the organisation was built.
The area of Greater Sydney would be broken down into four independent Zones: A Zone, consisting of the land north of Sydney Harbour; B Zone, covering the Eastern Suburbs as well as from the coastline down to Maroubra; C Zone, incorporating the Southern Suburbs down to and including the Sutherland Shire; and D Zone, including the Western Suburbs to the west of Parramatta. These Zones would be divided into Divisions and then subdivided into Localities. As part of Campbell’s practical democratic solution, each Locality would operate as independent units where a few hundred New Guardsmen would select for themselves a Locality Commanders and Administrator to handle affairs, and each Locality would frequently meet at Locality Conventions to discuss and vote on matters. The Locality Commanders of each Division would select Divisional Commanders, and said Divisional Commanders would meet to pick the Zone Commander for their respective Zone. Divisional and Zone Commanders would only assume active command positions when more than one of their respective subdivisions were active in a particular objective, therefore making Localities especially independent in the operation of the New Guard.[16]
The executive branch of the New Guard was the General Council, consisting of the leading Chief Commander and four Zone Commanders with equal voting power. The General Council was only to make decisions regarding major executive matters, and questions regarding routine and defensive emergencies would be directed to the Chief Commander, or Deputy Chief Commander if the former was absent. During the period of structural preparation the Chief Commander was to not interfere in the movement’s formation, and only assume complete executive involvement once the Locality system was completely established. To put checks on the General Council’s power, Campbell formed the Council of Action, consisting of the Chief Commander and Divisional Commanders; the Chief Commander would be deprived of a vote.
Intelligence on the New Guard’s political rivals would be collected by the individual Localities and submitted to the Chief of the Intelligence Branch for collation. While being essential to the New Guard’s functionality, it was sometimes inaccurate in its intelligence gathering; flawed analysis of the political demographics of Sydney claimed that there were 252,473 Communists in ten Sydney electorates alone.[5]: 147
As Campbell allowed considerable independence for the Localities and permitted members to associate freely with any political party so long that the New Guard’s central values were upheld, splinter groups such as the Fascist Legion (also known as the Pack of Cards) formed. Legion members wore Ku Klux Klan-style gowns and hoods at their own internal meetings in order to guarantee anonymity, adopting pseudonyms based on particular playing cards in a standard 52-card deck (excluding queens). Keeping with the theme of playing cards, the Fascist Legion's leader was led by "the Joker". Its membership was estimated at 49. Besides investigating disloyalty and laxity within the New Guard, they purportedly engaged in targeted operations such as the aforementioned attack on Jock Garden. They were reported to be planning kidnappings and police arm store raids. The activity of splinter groups such as the Fascist Legion contributed to the bleeding of members in the lead-up to Lang’s dismissal by Sir Philip Game.
Membership
Standards for New Guard membership had prospective members picked irrespective of class, financial situation or party affiliations, so long as they were of good character. For maximal utility, the membership system was split into three groups:
- A class - Members who were physically able,[5]: 145 and could be employed for operations both within Localities and outside its boundaries if needed
- B class - Members with technical qualifications, regardless of age, who could assist in the maintenance of essential services such as water, electricity and transport services, among others, in the event of a socialist revolution
- C class - Members that due to their age or personality could only be trusted to handle operations within their own Locality
New Guardsmen of their own Locality were encouraged to participate during Locality Conventions to decide matters specific to their area. A member was not kept within the organisation against their will, as they could leave at any time for any reason. This was to ensure that the New Guard could preserve its democratic, voluntary elements established at its founding.
Estimates of the New Guard’s membership count are contradictory. A report conducted by the NSW Police in September 1931 found 87,000 had sought membership and by December of the same year there were 39,000 card-carrying members[14]: 38 – with 3,000 residing in the country centres of regional NSW.[5]: 147 For practical reasons, Campbell’s internal estimations of membership count focused on those that the New Guard could rely on in the event of a socialist revolution. In that he estimated the figure at 20,000. For propaganda reasons, the New Guard's membership was often publicly exaggerated, as when Campbell foreshadowed a procession of 100,000 men along Macquarie Street to present a petition to Sir Game.
Notable members
- Hubert Primrose, former Mayor of North Sydney[11]
- Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm, early Australian aviators[6][37]
- Francis de Groot, interloper at opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge[38]
- Herbert Lloyd, Major General of the Australian Army[40]
- Julian Howard Ashton, prominent journalist and writer[41]
See also
- Australian nationalism
- Australia First Movement
- Far-right politics in Australia
- Loyalism
- Opposition to trade unions
References
- ^ a b c d e Campbell, Eric (1934). The New Road. Briton Publishing Limited.
- ^ JSTOR 27516075. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
Though largely confined to one city, Eric Campbell had succeeded in building the most significant fascist organisation in Australia
- ^ a b c d e f g Campbell, Nerida (11 October 2018). "Unfurling Sydney's radical past". Justice & Police Museum. NSW State Government. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ ISBN 0868402834.
- ^ ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ a b Sparrow, Jeff (22 July 2015). "If you oppose Reclaim Australia, remember fascism wasn't always a freakshow". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ISBN 978-1576079409.
- ^ "1932 Starvation Debenture". The NSW Migration Heritage Centre at the Powerhouse Museum. New South Wales Government. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "1918 – 1939 PLAGUES, PANDEMICS AND BRIDGES". The NSW Migration Heritage Centre at the Powerhouse Museum. NSW State Government. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ a b Moore, Andrew (1988). "Primrose, Hubert Leslie (1880–1942)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ "New Guard Movement, 1931–35". National Archives of Australia. Federal Australian Government. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ JSTOR 27516075.
- ^ ISBN 014011629X.
- ^ ISBN 978-0869140772.
- ^ a b "The New Guard". National Archives of Australia. Federal Australian Government. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "A Year to Remember 1932: Harbour Bridge opening controversy". National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Australian Federal Govenmnet. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ Nicastri, Danielle. "Sydney Harbour Bridge and New Guard play starring role in history of heritage-listed Pymble home Lanosa". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ a b "FASCIST LEGION". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 437. New South Wales, Australia. 10 May 1932. p. 9. Retrieved 24 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-522-84092-6.
- ^ Campbell, Eric (1934). The New Road. Sydney: Briton Publications. p. 39.
- ^ (5 December 1933). "NEW PARTY: ADJUNCT OF NEW GUARD" – The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ^ (2 August 1934). "NEW GUARD: Colonel Campbell Re-elected Leader" – The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1935 Election Totals: Overall Election Results". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ Green, Antony. "Hornsby - 1935 (Roll: 21,380)". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ Green, Antony. "Lane Cove - 1935 (Roll: 19,409)". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ a b Green, Antony. "Arncliffe - 1935 (Roll: 19,229)". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ Green, Antony. "Concord - 1935 (Roll: 18,676)". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ Green, Antony. "George's River - 1935 (Roll: 22,136)". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ 24 March 1944). "D.P. CANDIDATES CHOSEN" – The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from Google News, 12 June 2014.
- ^ Green, Antony. "Index to Candidates: Jacobs to Kassim". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ Past and Current Elected Mayors Archived 21 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine – Blue Mountains City Council. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ MURPHY, Aubrey Frederick Carlile – It's An Honour. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ "The Young Municipal Council and Burrangong Shire amalgamated in 1980…" Ray Christison (2008). Thematic History of Young Shire Archived 21 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine, p. 75. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ISBN 9781862876231.
- ^ Campbell, Eric (1965), The Rallying Point: My Story of the New Guard, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, p. 100
- ^ Moore, Andrew (2005). "De Groot, Francis Edward (Frank) (1888–1969)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-522-84728-4
- ^ Perry, Warren (2000). "Lloyd, Herbert William (1883–1957)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ Harper, Katherine (1979). "Ashton, Julian Howard (1877–1964)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
Further reading
- Amos, Keith (1976). The New Guard Movement 1931-1935. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 978-0-522-84092-6.
- Clune, David (2009). The Governors of New South Wales 1788-2010. Annandale, NSW: Federation Press. ISBN 978-1-86287-743-6.
- Hagan, Jim (1991). A History of the Labor Party in New South Wales, 1891-1991. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire. ISBN 978-0-582-86969-1.
- Moore, Andrew (1989). The Secret Army and the Premier: Conservative Paramilitary Organisations in New South Wales 1930-32. Kensington, NSW: New South Wales University Press. ISBN 0868402834.
- Nairn, Bede (1986). The "Big Fella": Jack Lang and the Australian Labor Party 1891-1949. Carlton, VIC: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 978-0-522-84406-1.