Victorian Socialist Party
Victorian Socialist Party | |
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Founded | 1906 |
Dissolved | 1932 |
Newspaper | Left-wing |
Part of a series on |
Socialism in Australia |
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The Victorian Socialist Party (VSP), also known as the Socialist Party of Victoria, was a
Most VSP members were also members of the
Beliefs
Despite the party labelling itself Marxist, "the Party's socialism in reality involved a loosely integrated body of ideas, largely British in origin or form".[2]
The Victorian Socialist Party in 1905 was "unique among Australian political organisations for its explicit opposition to racism".
The VSP did not primarily contest parliamentary elections, seeing itself mainly as a force for socialist education in the wider Labor movement. The Victorian Socialist Party established a variety of cultural activities and institutions to form a community of socialists.[3] These included more mainstream activities such as "regular lectures on political topics, speakers classes, the writing and distribution of radical literature, and public protest" to more eccentric such as "dances, camps, bicycle riding clubs, choirs, a Sunday School for youth".[3] Despite the Victorian Socialist Party's rejection of independently running in elections, the party did contest the 1908 Victorian state election.[4]
History
The party was founded in 1906 in Melbourne as a merger of a number of older socialist groupings. A leading influence in the VSP's formation was the British trade unionist Tom Mann, who lived in Australia from 1903 to 1910. Its leading figure was Robert Samuel Ross, a talented organiser and journalist. In 1907 it had about 2,000 members.[5]
In 1907, the VSP, plus similar groups in the other Australian states, came together in a loose federal organisation calling itself the Socialist Federation of Australia, but this never became a functioning national party. Like other socialist parties, the VSP supported the "One Big Union" campaign advocating a united national labour movement, a campaign which led to the establishment of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
The
The VSP faded away in the following years, finding that there was little political space between the Australian Labor Party and the Communist Party of Australia. Cameron remained its secretary until 1932, by which time the party was moribund.
See also
- Socialism in Australia
- The Socialist (1906–1923), newspaper of the party
References
- ^ Bongiorno, Frank (2004). "Katz, Frederick Carl (1877–1960)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Vol. 2. Melbourne University Press.
- ^ .
- ^ "Parliament of Victoria, Legislative Assembly election results for 29 December 1908". elections.uwa.edu.au. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- ^ "Solidarity Forever, by Bertha Walker - Chapter 2, Tom Mann". www.solidarityforeverbook.com. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ Stephen Holt (1996), A Veritable Dynamo. Lloyd Ross and Australian Labour 1901–1987, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia (Queensland)