The Reds: The Communist Party of Australia from Origins to Illegality

History of the Communist Party of Australia #1

by Stuart Macintyre

In 1920, 26 men and women met in a dingy hall in Sydney to create a new political party. They expected the overthrow of capitalism and the emancipation of humanity - here, and all around the world. Two decades later, when Australia joined the Second World War, the Commonwealth government suppressed the Communist Party of Australia. The handful of idealists and dissidents had become a political force powerful enough, in the view of the authorities, to pose a threat to national security. The Communist Party was a major part of Australia's political landscape for more than half a century. It came to control many of the country's largest trade unions. Through its supporters, the Party influenced social movements and much of Australia's cultural life. It became the target of sustained surveillance and penetration by state police and federal security agencies. It retains the attention of many despite the revelations of the post-Cold War era. Full of fascinating characters and incidents, Stuart Macintyre's history is the first comprehensive account of Australian communism.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Australia, Politics, Research

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Stuart Macintyre was Emeritus Laureate Professor of the University of Melbourne and a Professorial Fellow of the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies. He was president of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia from 2007 to 2009 and a life member of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. With Alison Bashford, he edited the Cambridge History of Australia (2013). His last book, published posthumously, is The Party: The Communist Party of Australia from heyday to reckoning (2022), the second volume in his history of the Communist Party of Australia.

Reviews

[Luke McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Macintyre is a terrific researcher but not a particularly involving storyteller. There is an at-times suffocating level of detail here, with certain (seemingly minor) moments in the CPA’s history getting pages upon pages of coverage whilst other moments (which feel much more important) are almost glossed over. Regardless of these issues, this is absolutely riveting in its own way. Macintyre provides a broad, clear-minded view of Australian labour history, and the depth and detail here is astounding. It is long, dense and undeniably dry, but I think for these exact reasons, I enjoyed the feeling of total immersion which it provided.

[Jett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Macintyre wrote a well-documented and level obituary to Australia's most radical party. Despite being filled with hardworking and principled comrades in search of a new world, Macintyre makes it clear, the men of the Communist Party were sexist. More than that, the campaigns the Party devised were forlorn and utopian; distant from the labour movement, foreign to the Australian public. The cherry on top of the Party's inutility and sexism is its slavish obedience to the Comintern line. These insights profit from hindsight and make earlier attempts seem entirely anachronistic. A standard for some time to come.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting account of a major force in Australian political history which has not been much written about in the past. Amazing to think how such a small group had so much impact in Australia - it inspired many and scared even more.

Very well written and balanced. The author was a member of the Communist Party of Australia but is very fair in his treatment.

The book covers the period from 1920 to 1939. The author has recently written a sequel which takes the history up to 1970 called The Party which I will be reading soon. Although the party wasn't formally disbanded until 1991 it was a farce by then.

[Kieran Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.