Frederick Woolnough Paterson (1897-1977) was an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n politician. He was the only member of a
CommunistCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
party ever to be elected to a parliament anywhere in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
Paterson was born and raised in
Gladstone, QueenslandGladstone is an Australian city located some 550 kilometres by road north of Brisbane and 100 kilometres south-east of Rockhampton. The city is situated between the Calliope River to the north and the Boyne River some 14 kilometres to the south. Between the two river mouths lies the deep water...
. He studied classics at the
University of QueenslandThe University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest university in Queensland and the fifth in the nation. The main campus is located in St Lucia, southwest of the Brisbane CBD...
, before joining the military when the
First World WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
broke out. He subsequently saw action on the battlefields of France. While in France, he was involved in two food-related strikes, which were both successful
In January, 1920, Paterson moved to
Merton College, OxfordMerton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
to study theology, after becoming a
Rhodes ScholarThe Rhodes Scholarship named after Cecil Rhodes is an international award for study at the University of Oxford and was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships...
.
Frederick Woolnough Paterson (1897-1977) was an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n politician. He was the only member of a
CommunistCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
party ever to be elected to a parliament anywhere in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
Early history
Paterson was born and raised in
Gladstone, QueenslandGladstone is an Australian city located some 550 kilometres by road north of Brisbane and 100 kilometres south-east of Rockhampton. The city is situated between the Calliope River to the north and the Boyne River some 14 kilometres to the south. Between the two river mouths lies the deep water...
. He studied classics at the
University of QueenslandThe University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest university in Queensland and the fifth in the nation. The main campus is located in St Lucia, southwest of the Brisbane CBD...
, before joining the military when the
First World WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
broke out. He subsequently saw action on the battlefields of France. While in France, he was involved in two food-related strikes, which were both successful
In January, 1920, Paterson moved to
Merton College, OxfordMerton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
to study theology, after becoming a
Rhodes ScholarThe Rhodes Scholarship named after Cecil Rhodes is an international award for study at the University of Oxford and was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships...
. However, by the time he sat for his honours degree in 1922, his belief in
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
had changed. He had witnessed extreme poverty in Ireland and parts of London, and this concerned him. Not long after returning to
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Paterson joined the
Communist Party of AustraliaThe Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991. It achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted banning in 1951...
.
Paterson began studying law in 1923. By 1924, he was giving lectures on
MarxismMarxism is the political philosophy and economic worldview based upon a materialist interpretation of history, a Marxist analysis of capitalism, a theory of social change, and an atheist view of human liberation derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; three primary aspects of...
. Then, in 1925, he began working for the Workers' Education Association. This saw him addressing unions, giving lectures on the history of the working-class, and trying to increase the association's membership.
Politics and the Communist Party
In 1931, Paterson was finally admitted to the Bar. He based himself in
BrisbaneBrisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in Australia....
, but later that year went to
TownsvilleTownsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2006 census...
to defend two
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
workers, who were charged with assaulting the Italian consul. As the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
set in, Paterson became involved in fighting racist employment policies in the sugar industry. At the time, the unions and employer associations had a policy of refusing employment to Italian workers in order to combat unemployment in the industry. Paterson led a campaign by both the Communist Party and the Italian community and was successful in ending the practice. In 1933, Paterson left Brisbane completely, and set up in Townsville. He spent his time juggling both a part-time legal career and his burgeoning role as a traveling activist for the Communist Party. By this time, he had gained a reputation as a fine public speaker.
During the late 1930s, the Communist Party continued to grow rapidly in North Queensland, with Paterson at the forefront. He played a significant role in the union movement in the sugar industry during a key strike over workplace conditions, and became involved in the anti-fascist movement.
In 1939, Paterson stood successfully as an alderman for the Townsville City Council, becoming the first member of the Communist Party to win such an office in Australia. He was then re-elected in 1943. The same year, he stood for the
federal seat of HerbertThe Division of Herbert is anAustralian Electoral Division in Queensland.Eligible voters within the Division elect a single representative, known as the member for Herbert, to the Australian House of Representatives. The division was created in 1901, and was first contested at the 1901 election...
, but was narrowly defeated.
The next year, he again made history, when at his third attempt, he won the state seat of
BowenBowen was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland from 1873 to 1950 and at various times until 1992....
at the 1944 election. While Paterson had polled slightly behind his rival in Bowen itself, he was far in front in the mining and sugar-farming areas, which resulted in a significant victory.
Demonstrations
After being elected to Parliament, Paterson largely gave up the law, in order to concentrate on his political career. He continued being actively involved in public issues, particularly through the union movement, and was a vocal critic of the government of the time. He would often make speeches at the Domain in central Brisbane. Paterson was rewarded, retaining his seat at the 1947 state election. During the 1948 railway strike, he would regularly join the picket line in the mornings before going to sit in Parliament. He also gave the picketers legal advice. Paterson knew that the police had the power to order the picketers to move, but that they did not have the power to order them where exactly to move. He then devised a strategy where, as they were moved on by the police, the picketers would simply move around the block.
On March 17, 1948, near
Central stationCentral railway station is, as the name suggests, the central railway station for the QR Citytrain network in the Brisbane central business district, the state capital of Queensland, Australia...
in
BrisbaneBrisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in Australia....
, Paterson intervened to stop a police officer who was assaulting a demonstrator. He was then struck from behind by another officer, and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, unconscious. Paterson was unable to do any political activity for some months afterwards. An inquiry into the incident found that no wrongdoing had occurred and no police officer was ever arrested or charged with the assault.
End of political career
At the state election of 1950, Paterson's electorate was disbanded, and split amongst several others. At the time,
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful political office in Australia...
Robert MenziesSir Robert Gordon Menzies, KT, AK, CH, FRS, QC , Australian politician, was the twelfth Prime Minister of Australia. His second term saw him become Australia's longest serving Prime Minister. He had a rapid rise to power as Prime Minister at the 1940 election which his party narrowly won...
was launching his anti-Communist campaign, and was introducing legislation which would have prevented Communists from holding public office. Paterson lost his seat at this election, which can perhaps be attributed to the political climate of the time.
His defeat at the 1950 election largely ended Paterson's political career. However, he was involved in the successful campaign against Menzies' anti-Communist measures, and he continued to be involved in the union movement and Communist Party right up until his death in 1977.
Patterson and fellow communist Gilbert Burns were constantly the subject of surveillance by the federal security service more correctly known as the Commonwealth Security Service (CSS). The Brisbane office of the CSS was run by Bob Wake. Bob Wake's role in maintaining a watch on the CPA in Queensland, especially during the state wide railway strike of 1948 is documented in his son's book No Ribbons or Medals,the story of 'Hereward' an Australian counter espionage officer.
Biography
- Ross Fitzgerald: The Peoples Champion: Fred Paterson- Australia's Only Communist Party Member of Parliament: St Lucia, Queensland: 1997: ISBN 0-7022-2959-8
External links
- Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
- Biographical article from the 1960s
- Article on Fred's successful election campaign