THE NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is the centrepiece of the nuclear non-proliferation regime of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The NPT came into force in 1970 and Australia ratified the treaty in 1973.
The Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) is responsible for the performance of Australia’s safeguards and non-proliferation obligations and for facilitating IAEA safeguards activities in Australia.
The only states not to have joined the NPT are India, Israel and Pakistan.
France conducted more than 200 nuclear tests, forty of them atmospheric, at Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls in the Pacific Ocean over a thirty-year period ending in 1996.
In August 2006, an official report by the French government confirmed the link between an increase in the cases of thyroid cancer in the test area since 1966 and France’s atmospheric nuclear tests.
In 1985, the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior was bombed and sunk in Auckland, New Zealand, by the French Secret Service, as it prepared for another protest against the French nuclear testing in the Pacific. One crew member, Fernando Pereira of Portugal, a photographer, drowned on the sinking ship while attempting to recover his photographic equipment. Two members of the French Secret Service were captured by the New Zealand police and gaoled, but eventually repatriated to France.
THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF AUSTRALIA
The Australian Communist Party was formed in 1920 and by the 1950s was estimated to have about 12,000 members.
The most up-to-date account of the post-World War II Communist Party is Mark Aarons’ book The Family File, Black Inc, Melbourne, 2010, which is based on ASIO files and its surveillance of his family members, many of whom were important members of the Party. The book also draws on his family experiences and records.
By 1970 there were three factions within the Party – first, the Laurence Aarons-led reformists, a national party no longer taking direction from Moscow; second, the old-style Stalinists who were pro-Moscow; and third, the Maoists who wished to affiliate with the Chinese Communist Party.
In 1972, the CPA split into two parties – the Socialist Party of Australia, which was pro-Moscow, and the Communist Party of Australia, led by Aarons, which sought to be a nationally independent party.
By 1980, the remaining 3000 communists were in eight defined factional groups.
The CPA, with fewer than 1000 members, officially dissolved in March 1991. The name was resurrected by the Socialist Party of Australia in 1996.
THE NAME OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY
In 1944, to give the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) a stronger orientation to national conditions, the Central Committee changed its name to the Australian Communist Party (ACP).
In 1951, after disquiet that the name ‘Australian Communist Party’ could be interpreted as an incorrect trend away from internationalism, the name was changed back to CPA at the 16th Congress.
THE COMMUNIST PARTY AND ESPIONAGE
Much of the Party’s involvement in espionage has been confirmed in the 2009 authorised history of MI5 The Defence of the Realm by Christopher Andrew, Allen Lane, London, and in Mark Aarons’ book The Family File, which draws on a secretly recorded interview with Wallace Clayton, the Communist Party official in charge of Australian espionage for the Soviet Union. The taping was done by Aarons’ father, Laurence Aarons, a leading Communist Party official. Earlier material can also be found in Australia’s Spies and their Secrets by David McKnight, Allen & Unwin, 1994; and D. Ball, D. M. Horner, Breaking the Codes, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1998.
The spying seems to have involved about twelve Communist Party members, five of whom were in the Department of External Affairs in various positions.
THE 20TH CONGRESS
Khrushchev’s secret speech was not published in full in the USSR until Mikhail Gorbachev became president of the USSR in 1988.
THE ART OF LIVING IN AUSTRALIA
Philip Edward Muskett (1857–1909), in his book The Art of Living in Australia (London, 1893), advocated radical changes in the diet of Australians. Muskett criticised their love of meat, tobacco and tea and their lack of interest in vegetables and fruit.
He argued that coffee was preferable to tea, that Australian wine was the ideal beverage with meals, and that more fish and oysters should be substituted for meat. He advocated fresh air and regular exercise, and advised the use of floss silk as well as powder for cleaning the teeth.
Muskett’s last major project, The Illustrated Australian Medical Guide, William Brooks, Sydney (1903 and 1909), with drawings by D. H. Souter, was a straightforward and clear discussion of female diseases and anatomy and made him a pioneer sex-educator.
He was one of the first writers in Australia to realise and to cultivate the demand for scientific but easily comprehensible information on childcare, diet and health, especially related to local climatic conditions (see Stephen Garton and Beverley Kingston’s entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography).
THE LAMPSHADE SHOP CASE DISHONOUR ROLL
L. E. Clarke, of Adelaide, was the magistrate in the Lampshade Shop persecution. Detective N. R. Lenton arrested those at the shop. Acting Police Prosecutor Inspector J. F. Finn prosecuted the men.
THE TRINITY
The Trinity described the sexual relationship of Denys Dawnay – a writer, painter and minor member of the Bloomsbury group – with the novelist Violet Trefusis and British author Vita Sackville-West, wife of Harold Nicolson.
A CITY LIKE NO OTHER – THE PLANNING OF CANBERRA
Canberra planning was a vexed matter from the start, beginning with the search for a site, which was not to be in an existing city and which was to be located in its own self-governed territory.
The Americans Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin won the international competition for the design of the capital city. The foundation column and stones were laid in 1913 and the Griffins arrived in the same year.
Over these years, there were many significant shifts and controversies in the planning of the city – both administrative and political – involving agencies that came and went, including the current National Capital Authority and the earlier National Capital Development Commission, the National Capital Planning Committee, and the National Capital Planning and Development Commission, as well as a number of inquiries and select committees of parliament.
For a detailed examination of the formation of Canberra from the Griffin Plan through to 2002, I recommend Paul Reid’s Canberra Following Griffin – a design history of Australia’s national capital, National Archives of Australia, Canberra, 2002.
WHO IS WHO IN THE BOOK
* denotes actual person
Allan, British diplomat, later attached to MI6, long-time friend of Ambrose’s. Upon retirement went to live with Ambrose in Ambrose’s orchard in Wiltshire.
Andrade*, William Charles (1863–1939), professional conjurer, well-known Australian Rationalist and anarchist.
Arndt*, Heinz (1915–2002), German-born, fled Germany in the 1930s, educated at Oxford. Became Foundation Professor of Economics at the Australian National University in 1951. Active in politics and community affairs in Canberra. Moved from membership of the Communist Party in his twenties to the right of politics in the 1970s.
Arndt*, Ruth (1915–2001), German-born, fled Germany in the 1930s, graduated in social studies from London School of Economics. Married Heinz Arndt in 1941 and moved with him to Canberra in 1951. Active in community affairs in Canberra. Remained on the left of politics.
Atyeo,* Sam (1910–1990), painter, promoter of modernist art, lived in France before World War II. Appointed to the War Supply Procurement office in Washington during the war and then appointed by close friend H. V. Evatt to staff of the Australian embassy in Paris. Delegate to Greece under Menzies in 1950, retired to France and returned to painting.
Bailey, Caroline, South African, clerk in précis-writing, and author, loose
ly based on Alice Ritchie, who wrote The Peacemakers, Hogarth Press (1928) – the most interesting English-language novel to have come out of the League period.
Beale*, Sir Oliver Howard (1898–1983), minister in Menzies government, ambassador to the United States.
Berry, Edith Alison Campbell, Australian, graduated BSc from the University of Sydney. Member of Section, League of Nations Secretariat, attached to Under Secretary-General Bartou. Officer for the UNRRA in Vienna after World War II. Numerous assistant and advisory positions in the Menzies and subsequent Liberal Party governments, mainly in the area of uranium. Appointed an Eminent Person – special envoy – by the Whitlam government in 1973 to represent Australia in a number of missions concerning the use of uranium. Died Lebanon.
Berry, Frederick, brother of Edith, an organiser for the Communist Party of Australia. Worked on the army newspaper Salt during World War II, expelled from the Party in 1957, took evening courses at the University of Sydney in economics and political science, and became a bookseller and pamphleteer.
Blake*, Jack, one of the leading communist intellectuals and writers. Joined the Party in 1926 while working as a coalminer. Moved to Sydney in 1949 and made editor of the Party’s theoretical journal Communist Review. He was a leading member of the Party until 1956 when he resigned from the Central Committee, but remained a rank-and-file member. Worked as an office cleaner until 1967. Died October 2000.
Brissenden*, Robert Francis (1928–1991), Australian, poet and scholar in English studies, active in Australian literary life.
Browder*, Earl Russell (1891–1973), American communist and General Secretary of the Communist Party USA, 1934–1946. He was expelled from the Party. The 1995 release of Soviet Union ‘Venona’ documents confirmed that Browder was involved in espionage for the Soviet Union, including recruiting espionage agents for Soviet intelligence.
Bruce*, Stanley Melbourne (1883–1967), former Australian Prime Minister, then High Commissioner in London. He was a supporter of the League and chaired the last committee on reform of the League in 1939, which produced what was known as the Bruce Report. Many of its proposals were taken up by the newly formed United Nations. After the war, he became the first Chancellor of the Australian National University and took a seat in the House of Lords. His ashes were scattered over Lake Burley Griffin.
Burton, Celia*, wife of John Burton. Ran a coffee shop and bookshop in Canberra during the 1950s.
Burton*, John Wear (1915–2010), head of the Department of External Affairs 1947–1950. Retired to become a farmer and later became a scholar in international relations.
Carla, Ambrose’s name when en femme.
Chifley*, Joseph Benedict (1885–1951), born Bathurst, NSW, eldest of three sons of Patrick Chifley, a native-born blacksmith, and his wife, Mary Anne, née Corrigan, from Ireland. Labor Prime Minister 1947–1949.
Clark*, Charles Manning Hope (1915–1991), Australian historian and author of the best-known general history of Australia, A History of Australia, published in six volumes, 1962–1987. In 1949, Clark moved to Canberra to take up the post of Professor of History at the Canberra University College, later to become School of General Studies of the ANU. His wife, Dymphna, was well known for her work in the Canberra community.
Curry, Jerome, US, horn player with Eddie South’s Alabamians.
Devanny*, Jane (Jean) (1894–1962), communist activist, writer. Tom O’Lincoln wrote in Socialist Alternative: ‘Her relationship with the Communist Party was always difficult, but became traumatic after an incident at Emuford, near Cairns, in the 1940s. Accounts vary, but it’s clear she was assaulted, perhaps raped, by male Party members, who then spread slanders about her sexual behaviour to cover their crime. The Party expelled her for “moral indiscretion”, and that injustice took two years to reverse. She helped to found the Writers League.’
Dobson*, Ruth Violet Lissant (1918–1989), first Australian woman diplomat. Dobson applied for a cadetship with the Department of External Affairs in 1943. Although her application was unsuccessful, she was employed as a temporary research assistant. Within the department, she faced the institutionalised discrimination that hampered many women of her generation in the public service. Regarded as too old (over twenty-five) for appointment as a graduate, and eager for an overseas posting, she resigned from the department in 1946 and went to London. She joined the Australian High Commission as a locally engaged temporary employee in the External Affairs office. Dobson’s status as temporary and locally engaged dogged her until 1953, when the rules were relaxed and she was appointed as a clerk, third division, in Canberra. This change was not intended to encourage aspirations to a position in the diplomatic service. Another attempt to gain a cadetship in 1953 was unsuccessful, but she was officially appointed to the diplomatic staff in 1957 at the age of sixty-one.
Dole, Robert, British, journalist (not to be confused with Robert Dell*), doyen of the international press corps in Geneva before World War II, representative of Manchester Guardian, Edith’s first husband.
Drummond*, Sir Eric (1876–1951), British, member of a prominent Catholic family, educated at Eton, entered the Foreign Office and became Secretary-General of the League of Nations, 1919–1932. After retiring from the League, became British ambassador to Italy.
Eden*, Sir Anthony (1867–1977), British, served in World War I, Minister for the League of Nations and Foreign Secretary up to World War II. Champion of collective security and the League of Nations. Prime Minister 1955–1956. Generally ranked among the least successful British prime ministers of the twentieth century.
Eklund*, Dr Sigvard Arne (1911–2000), director of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s security council, 1961–1981.
Emily, resident of Canberra and domestic servant.
Evatt*, Herbert Vere (1894–1965), remarkably brilliant student at Sydney University. Became an outstanding lawyer and Labor politician in New South Wales. At thirty-six, he became the youngest judge appointed to the High Court. In 1940, he resigned from the High Court to return to politics and became Attorney-General in the federal Labor Government. After the death of Ben Chifley, he became Leader of the Opposition. He played a part in the formation of the United Nations and sat on the Security Council. Also elected as the third president of the UN General Assembly (1948). He was an early supporter of atomic energy. After leaving politics, he served as Chief Justice in New South Wales. He suffered a decline in mental health and became increasingly erratic.
Field*, Noel (1904–1970), an American citizen and employee of the United States Department of State in the 1930s. Joined the Disarmament Section of the League in 1937. Worked for the Unitarian Relief organisation in Europe during World War II. Spied for the Soviet Union during the 1930s and 1940s. Defected to Czechoslovakia in 1946. His wife, adopted daughter and he were separately gaoled by the Czech communist government for five years for being American spies. After their release, Field and his wife continued to live in Prague.
Follett, Bernard, Swiss, patron of the arts and owner–manager of the Molly Club, Geneva. Friend of Ambrose and Edith. Part of an organisation that smuggled Jews from Germany during World War II. Supplied intelligence to the Dutch until Holland fell to the Germans. Anonymous delegate for the International Red Cross.
Friedan*, Betty (1921–2006), author of The Feminine Mystique (1963), a non-fiction book widely credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States.
Galbraith*, John Kenneth (1908–2006), Canadian-born economist. A Keynesian and a proponent of twentieth-century political liberalism.
Gerty (no surname), Dutch, Edith’s personal assistant when she was at the League.
Gibson*, Trevor (1910–1988), first appointed town planner of Canberra, 1949–1975.
Gollan*, Bob (1917–2007), joined the Communist Party at Sydney University as a student and was prominent in the Teachers Federation. Took a research post in history at the new Australian National University and left the Communist Pa
rty in 1957.
Griffin*, Marion Mahony (1871–1961), one of the first licensed female architects in the world. Considered an original member of the Prairie School of Architecture. Married to Griffin*, Walter Burley.
Griffin*, Walter Burley (1876–1937), American. Together with his wife, Marion Mahony Griffin*, won the 1912 international competition for the planning of Canberra. The Griffins and their winning design generated prolonged and bitter controversies in Australia. In 1920, Griffin formed the Greater Sydney Development Association Ltd to build residential estates on three picturesque headlands on Sydney’s Middle Harbour. The first estate, Castlecrag, designed to retain the character of the natural landscape, was begun in 1921 with several of Griffin’s distinctive houses of rock and concrete, intended to demonstrate the style of house lot-purchasers would be required to build. They were also commissioned to create plans for the towns of Leeton and Griffith.
Gypsy Rose Lee* (1911–1970), American burlesque entertainer, famous for her striptease act. Also an actress, author and playwright, whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy.
Hall*, Richard Victor (1937–2003), son of a single working-class mother. Became a young Labor Party activist and journalist, then personal private secretary to Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, and then to other ministers in the Labor Government. He was a historian and author in the areas of espionage and politics, and also a bon vivant.
Hardy*, Frank (1917–1994), member of the Communist Party of Australia, short story writer and novelist.
Harrison*, Peter (1918–1990), architect, advocate of adherence to Griffin’s design for Canberra. National Capital Development Commission Director and Secretary of the Federal Congress on Regional and Town Planning held in Canberra in 1951.
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