Articles & Essays

Some of the theoretical basis for Sydney Libertarianism can be seen in these articles. Some of these essays are also available on the Collective Action Notes Home Page along with articles on Max Nomad and other libertarian works on theory and practice.

• Anarchism by George Molnar
  From "The Libertarian" # 1, Sept. 1957, Sydney, Libertarian Society of Sydney University

• Ideologies by A.J. Baker
  From "The Libertarian" # 2, September 1958, Sydney, Libertarian Society of Sydney University

• Sydney Libertarianism by A.J. Baker
  Based on a paper given to the London Anarchist Group in March 1960

• LEFT, LEFT- Moralism and the CPA - the 1962 Peace March by Miss J.A.
  appeared in the Libertarian journal Broadsheet in 1962

• Pluralism and Anarchism by Kenneth Maddock
  (From "Red And Black" # 2, Winter 1966, Sydney

Personalities

Wendy Bacon

During the late 1960s she was involved with the Kensington Libertarians (University of N.S.W.), which also included Ric Mohr and John Murphy. Wendy Bacon came to prominence challenging censorship laws in NSW as an editor of the University of NSW student newspaper, Tharunka, which evolved into publishing the underground paper, Thor, and a newspaper version of The Little Red School Book which was handed out free to students outside of various schools.

She is now an investigative journalist and Associate Proffessor in charge of the Department of Social Communication & Journalism at the University of Technology Sydney.

In 2013 Wendy Bacon gave a talk at Jura Books on the topic of anarcha-feminism and women’s liberation. Listen to an audio recording.

What did anarcho-feminism mean to 1970s feminists? Does it still have relevance for today’s feminists?. The key themes covered in the talk included:

• Wendy’s own political development and influences including references to Emma Goldman.
• The development of the anarchist movement and wider left in the late 1960s/ early 70s in Sydney.
• The contribution of feminism and women’s liberation to anarchism both past and present.
• The relevance of anarcha-feminism today particularly around struggles against censorship and abortion rights.

• Sex and Censorship....Wendy Bacon, in Lot's Wife

• Intercourse Without Orgasm....W.B. in Tharunka, 1970
  A report of a Vietnam Moratorium march in Sydney.
• The Question is not 'Organisation or no organisation?' but 'what sort of organisation?'. And the same goes for structure
  Paper delivered at the Anarcho Feminist Conference, Canberra, October 1975.

Ian Bedford

• The IWW in Australia by Ian Beford published in The Libertarian (1958)

John Flaus

Radio, stage and screen actor, film critic, academic and journalist and....philosophical anarchist. John Flaus was closely involved at one stage with the Sydney Libertarians. But his great love has been films, and he has made a career as an actor, film critic, academic and journalist. So who is John Flaus? and what is his connection to anarchism? More Info...

Jack Grancharoff - 'Jack the Anarchist'

Jack has been a prominent character in the anarchist movement in Australia since the 1950s, shortly after fleeing Stalinist repression in Bulgaria via refugee camps in Turkey. He arrived in Australia in 1952 and set about contacting local anarchists. He was a regular speaker at the Domain in Sydney, a motivator of various incarnations of the Sydney Anarchist Group, and participated in activities of the Sydney Libertarian Push, and is often seen at anarchist conferences and gatherings.

• An interview with Jack
• What the Secret Police have to say...
• Red and Black - an anarchist journal
• Revisiting Turkey How Jack became an anarchist.

Germaine Greer

Germaine Greer arrived in Sydney in 1959 and became active in Push activities. In the late 1960's Greer travelled to England for further academic studies. She became an active contributor as 'Dr G' to London Oz magazine, editored by fellow Australian Richard Neville. The publication of her classic 1970 book The Female Eunuch, has made her a household name associated with radical feminism. Although the book never articulates anarchism per se, it is a ground breaking liberatory text which draws upon anarchist ideas.

Since at least the late 1950's Germaine Greer has identified herself as an anarchist, and continues to do so. Her regular public comments on social issues are portrayed in the media as controversy, yet they successfully raise for discussion topics previously given little commentary or debate. More Info...

Harry Hooton (1908-1961)

Poet of the 21st Century, anarchist, philosopher. Hooton was part of the Libertarian Push in Sydney during the post WW II years, with connections to Angela "Annie" Westbrook of the IWW and many of the poets and writers active in Australian Literature of the time. This is an updated biography by Sasha Soldatow based on the book, Poet of the 21st Century - Collected Poems - Harry Hooton, which he edited. The anarchist philosophy Hooton developed was anarcho-technocracy and The Politics of Things, which are prescient pieces of writing on anarchism, technics and society, still relevant today.

Darcy Waters (1928-1997)

Darcy Waters was one of the central characters of the libertarian Push from its beginnings to its long decline. Darcy lived a bohemian life, which few others could emulate. Although he was central to the politics and culture of the Push, he left very few written articles. His contribution needs to be judged by what other people choose to write on his life and activities. More info... includes:

• Darcy Waters and the secret police. from Darcy Waters ASIO file
• Sasha Soldatow meets Darcy Waters in 1968. From Jump Cuts by Soldatow & Tsiolkas, 1996
• The Horse on political corruption. from Horse talk, 1983
• Ending his love affair with life.... - Obituary

Further Information

• Sex And Anarchy: The Life And Death Of The Sydney Push by Anne Coombs, 1996, Viking.
  A good start to understanding the politics, personal relationships and lifestyles of the many people involved in the Libertarian Push. Darcy Waters became suspicious of the focus and withdrew co-operation in the later stages of researching the book. A good place to start to understand the impact the Push has had on Australian culture and politics through the many people that have been involved.

• Corrupting the Youth: Australian Philosophers and Their Students by James Franklin.
  This forthcoming history of philosophy book examines the Push and its cultural importance in some depth. Well worth a read. See chapter5 : The Push and Critical Drinkers.
  http://www.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/push.html

• Night Train to Granada. From Sydney's Bohemia to Franco's Spain - An Offbeat Memoir by GB Harrison. 2002, Pluto Press Australia.
  An engaging series of anecdotes and insights, told with humour, about the formation of the 'Paddington Push' (late 1940s) interleaved with Grahame Harrisons down to earth commentary on Spanish society in the 1950s under the heel of Francoist fascism. Harrison read accounts of the anarchists in Spain while at school in Newcastle, which lead to a lifelong connection to anarchism and Spain:

  The values that I have never abandoned, no matter how far I have fallen short of the standards they call for, are an amalgam of what was given to me by my upbringing; by the Spanish anarchists; by William Blake; by John Anderson; and by the Sydney libertarians.