Summary

The Sydney Push was an influential social movement in Australia which began in 1949. According to Anne Coombs (1996, Sydney Papers, p 134) the Push was a loose collection of "students, artists, poets, deadbeats and disaffected professionals" but it also included people who worked in more 'ordinary' jobs (one of its key figures, Jack Grancharoff, was a tram conductor). The Libertarian society, led by philosophers from the University of Sydney, was its intellectual core. (Coombs, ibid) Heavily influenced by the ideas of 'pessimistic anarchism' and 'permanent protest', the Push met regularly for a variety of intellectual, social, and increasing political, activities. The Push dissolved in 1974. In one of its last campaigns, it worked with the NSW branch of the Builders Labourers' Federation (BLF) against the property developer Frank Theeman, to save historic houses from demolition, many of them occupied by working people, in Victoria St in inner Sydney. The influence of the Push on Australian political and social life was profound and from it emerged a number of important Australian thinkers and political activists, including A.J. (Jim) Baker, George Molnar, Germaine Greer, Eva Cox, Jack Grancharoff, Harry Hooton, Frank Moorhouse, Darcy Waters and Wendy Bacon.

Details

The Libertarian society practised a distinct form of anarchism, influenced by Max Nomad's account of 'permanent protest'. (Baker, 1991) Their view stood in contrast to the revolutionary socialist anarchism of Bakunin, and that adopted by both Chummy Fleming of the Melbourne Anarchist Club in the 1890s and the revolutionary syndicalism practised by Australian anarchists in the Industrial Workers of the World in the 1910s. As Baker observed, The Libertarian society argued for a form of "unutopian" or "pessimistic" anarchism or "anarchism without ends". They emphasised the idea of "permanently struggling for freedom within existing society, of carrying on free and unauthoritarian activities here and now and in spite, of authoritarian forces." (Baker, 1991). Thus, their orientation might be called 'lifestylist' rather than 'politically interventionist'. As Franklin (2003) observed:

"Descended from Anderson's promotion of 'permanent criticism' was the Libertarians' lack of 'activism' in the sense of the later Sixties. While they were against the State, they had no intention of provoking it, or working towards its downfall. Much less did they expect it to change. Demonstrating in the streets or organising for political action was regarded as succumbing to illusions. Their opposition to 'morality' expressed itself in their own lifestyles rather than in proselytising."

In keeping with this line, and drawing on the writings of Sigmund Freud and Wilhelm Reich, the Libertarian Society promoted sexual freedom. This was done not only for its own sake but because of what they believed it would lead to. As Coombs (1996, Sydney Papers) observed, the slogan was "sexual freedom will lead to social and political freedom".

Apart from Nomad, this philosophy drew heavily on the work of Pareto (who theorised on ruling ideologies) and Michels (who emphasised the power of interconnecting elite authorities in modern societies, Baker, 1991). However, as time went on, tensions developed between those in the Push who focused more on 'lifestylist' issues and others who engaged more in direct political activism. Indeed, these tensions were evident from the very inceptions of the Push.

Beginnings of the Push and its activities

The Push emerged from a succession of groups dating back to the 1940s. According to James Franklin (2003):

"One must distinguish four entities: the Freethought Society, the Anti-Conscription Committee, the Libertarian Society, and the Push. Each grew out of the preceding one, and the first three were largely run by philosophers; the Push was a wider movement of which the Libertarian Society was a core and source of ideology."

The 'Push' title derived (as Baker, 1975, observed) from the hard group of larrikins known as 'The Rocks Push' from Sydney in the 1890s. The genesis of the Push as a movement can be dated to 1949, when Anderson "supported [Australian Labor Prime Minister Ben] Chifley's use of troops to break the coal strike in 1949" and later in 1950 when he opposed the Anti-Conscription Committee of the Free Thought Society, formed after the Korean War broke out. When Anderson exercised his right to veto the committee's proposals, the Free Thought Society disbanded, with the left-wing of the opposition constituting itself as the Libertarian Society, led by another philosophy lecturer, Jim Baker. The Libertarian Society drew its membership from "staff and students" at the University of Sydney and "from downtown intellectuals and dissidents" (Franklin, 2003).

The Libertarian Society produced various publications over many years which set out their position on moral and political issues. These began in the late 1950s, including the journal the Libertarian in 1957. A more informal newsletter called The Broadsheet which began shortly afterwards, was also produced regularly but, in keeping with the 'anti-political' thinking of the Push it was only distributed to those who asked for it. Push identities also started a newspaper called the Nation. (Coombs, Sex and Anarchy, p. 132) The journal Red and Black, edited by the anarchist Jack Grancharoff, which focussed more on the political issues of the day, such as opposition to the Viet Nam war, and less on the 'lifestylist', and ethical issues canvassed in other publications, was published from 1965 until at least 2001. At its height, the Libertarians met several times every week, with seminars, meetings, parties and various other get-togethers. In 1956, they secured the use of a room in George Street in the city, which was called the Haymarket club but, to Libertarians, became known as Liberty Hall. The program described below gives an indication of the intensity of social and intellectual interaction which took place:

"During 1959 the Libertarians held two meetings a week: the Thursday lunchtime meeting at the university (during term) as well as Monday evening at Liberty Hall. The Thursday meeting usually dissolved into informal discussions that was continued at Manning House or over drinks at the Richmond Hotel, near the university. The afternoon would be whiled away in this fashion until it was time to head downtown for the evening session. After the pub shut at 10 pm they would adjourn to Liberty Hall and the party would continue. Thursday was the Libertarians' big day, socially and intellectually. By Friday the talk had turned to horses, in preparation for the weekend races." (Coombs, 1996, Sex and Anarchy, p 104)

Key Tensions

The challenge to the rigidity and conservative morality of 1950s Australia by this particular blend of anti-authoritarian politics and lifestyle attitudes led to huge interest in the Push. According to Coombs (1996, Sydney Papers, p 126) it attracted scores of "adventurous and rebellious young people", hundreds of which "gravitated to the Push pubs" over many years. The free environment of the Push was especially attractive to women who were "more eager [than men] in some respects because they had been more restricted. A woman going into the Push in the 1950s … believed … that she would be treated equally." However, writing in retrospect, Coombs noted that the Libertarians' sexual freedom doctrine was:

"… also a self-serving fiction on the men's part. The insistence on equality was perhaps the biggest contradiction of all. In reality, Push men controlled both the social life and the intellectual debate." (Coombs, 1996, Sydney Papers, p. 127)

So, whilst the Libertarians' philosophy challenged the authoritarianism of the time, it also contained its own contradictions in this regard.

Over time, increasingly the purist and somewhat secluded 'lifestylist' ideas of 'pessimistic anarchism' were put to the test as Push members became involved in direct action and other political activity. This trend was clearly influenced by the political environment in which they found themselves at this point in history. The 'New Social Movements' which emerged in Australia, such as Women's liberation, civil rights and opposition to the Vietnam war, drew more and more members of the Push into political action. But the trend also reflected differences in thinking amongst Push members. Jack Grancharoff was a political refugee from Bulgaria who was part of a group that was known within the Push as 'the Bulgarian anarchists'. Grancharoff (cited in Coombs book p 103) saw the benefits of Libertarian theory but argued that

"… their radical critique did not go far enough. … They said they were not proselytising but it was still the kind of critique that was very important. … They hint at hierarchy, at oligarchy, but then they accept it, nothing you can do about it … But to me, the liberty that is limited is not liberty. They don't attack the hierarchy sufficiently".

According to Coombs (1996, Sex and Anarchy, p 103) "Jack Grancharoff was one of those who felt impatient with the unspoken hopelessness of the Libertarian position. They felt powerless to make change so thought it not worth trying. … Someone dubbed them 'futilitarian' and the term stuck." There were clear differences of opinions on how to respond to the authoritarianism of mid-century Australian society. It is therefore not surprising that, notwithstanding the 'pessimistic anarchist' position of key thinkers in the Libertarian society, many within the Push became increasingly involved in highly organised campaigns of direct action. To be sure, the differences between the 'pessimistic anarchism' of the libertarians and other forms of anarchism is not as clear-cut as they would first appear. As Wendy Bacon (2024) observed:

"Our ideas were influenced by theories of organisation derived from social anarchism. Some of us were Sydney Libertarians of the Sydney Push who believed in direct action and were sometimes called 'pessimistic anarchists'."

Here, the implication is that pessimistic anarchism does not preclude a belief in the efficacy of direct action, nor that all forms of 'political' action are futile. This suggests that whilst anarchists and libertarians were not interested in conventional forms of political intervention, such as supporting the election of socialist candidates, they nevertheless sought to resist power in the real world through more direct forms of action which by-passed hierarchical forms of political practice. Such a view is pessimistic in the sense of lacking faith in conventional politics and in the revolutionary programs of the Marxist-Leninist, Maoist and Trotskyist political parties. However, it retains a certain 'optimism' that those who seek freedom and equality can exercise power and resist domination through organised political, economic and social action, rather than confining themselves solely to 'lifestylist' concerns such as sexual freedom and individually questioning conventional morality. As Bacon (2024) somewhat paradoxically noted, it was precisely the 'pessimistic anarchist' beliefs which informed the direct action undertaken in one of the Push's most famous and final campaigns in the early 1970s - the Victoria Street dispute.

The End of the Push

The Push finally dissipated under the various pressures of the emergent political and social milieu of the 1960s and 1970s. Baker (1975) identified several relevant factors:

"By the mid-1960s, the connection between University Libertarianism and down town had become much attenuated - but in my view this connection is absolutely vital (and which is what marked off the Libertarian from the Freethought Society). Some younger University Libertarians had become more narrowly academic in their interests than formerly, while downtown dissidents and lumpen proletarians for their part were now more and more lacking the previous infusion of lumpen intellectualism. Then with the protests against the Vietnam War, plus the growth of the (non-drinking) drug scene, and the spread of greater permissiveness in society at large including sexual permissiveness, there was less interest in either Libertarian views or old-style Push social life."

Coombs (1996, Sex and Anarchy) argued that two historical trends led to the demise of the Push. The first was the rise of the New Social Movements, which called for substantial political action, and led to splits in the Push. The second was the growing dominance of building developers in urban planning in Sydney.

In what was to become one of their final campaigns, in the early 1970s, the Push joined with the Builders Labourers' Federation (BLF) New South Wales Branch to save historic buildings in the inner city of Sydney for the sake of both posterity and the greater social good, as many of them housed poor and working-class people. Coombs (1996, Sex and Anarchy) analysed the campaign. Victoria Street, Kings Cross, was lined with terrace houses, many of them occupied by waterside workers from the nearby port of Sydney. Here, activists within the Push intervened to save the houses from being demolished by property developer Frank Theeman, who planned to replace them with multi-storey apartment blocks. They asked the BLF to impose a 'Green Ban' which would prevent building workers from working at the site. The activists, together with some residents and others squatted in the buildings and organised patrols to prevent vigilantes from both setting fire to the houses and using violence to intimidate and/or remove tenants. The campaign ended in both defeat and victory. In January 1974, the NSW police in a joint operation with 'heavies' hired by Theeman, evicted the squatters. But by that stage, standards of urban planning had changed, and in 1975, with the support of the newly elected Federal Minister for Urban Development Tom Uren, in the reformist Whitlam Labor Government, a modified development proposal was adopted, with many of the houses protected, although they were to be marketed to middle-class homeowners. Despite this part-victory, this campaign marked the dissolution of the movement. (Coombs, Sex and Anarchy, p 297-302) George Molnar remarked that here the Push had reached its delta: "the point at which it spread so wide that people began heading off down their own paths". (cited in Coombs, ibid, p 302) The rise of new left politics was important, but "of even more immediate impact on the Push was that pubs started to be demolished. Changing the face of Sydney meant the disappearance of many of the old inner-city watering holes that had been haunts of the Push." (Coombs, Sydney Papers, p. 128)

Legacy

The political, intellectual and cultural legacy of the Push was long-lasting and not insubstantial. George Molnar was teaching in the philosophy department at the University of Sydney in 1973. The following year the department was split into two, prompting him to leave and become a public servant, but he continued in his philosophical writing. (Coombs, Sex and Anarchy, p 302). Jim Baker taught at Macquarie University and continued to write for decades, including in the Broadsheet and Heraclitus. Many Push identities took advantage of the opportunities which opened up with the election of the Whitlam government, and moved into law, journalism, film, the arts and community advisory services. Germaine Greer became a global public figure in second-wave feminism. Other former Push members continued their activism in their own distinctive ways. Darcy Waters remained as a leading light in the anarchist scene in Sydney. (Coombs, Sex and Anarchy, p. 305) Eva Cox became in influential commentator on public policy. Jack Grancharoff continued his anarchist writing, publishing and activism for many decades, as demonstrated by his presentation of a paper on the limitations of Marxism as a revolutionary philosophy at the Australian National Anarchist Conference in Melbourne in 1996. He died in 2016 and by the 2020s had become an inspiration for anarchists around Australia who sought to learn from his writing and emulate his style of activism. He featured in the writings of Melbourne anti-fascist and anarchist Andy Fleming and the anarchist-communist blog Red and Black notes, as well as in other anarchist websites.

The Push publications exhibited similar longevity. The Broadsheet, changed its name to Heraclitus in 1981 and later to the Sydney Realist which was still being published in January 2024. (Australian National Library Catalogue, 2024, Personal communication with Paul Crittenden, 2011). Jack Grancharoff published the journal "Red and Black" until at least 2001. Furthermore, Push luminary, lawyer and journalist Wendy Bacon, continued her political activism and writing, as well as teaching journalism for many years at the University of Technology, Sydney. In January 2024, her website featured a retrospective, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Victoria St and Kings Cross Green Bans.

…

The Sydney Push was an important social movement in Australia from 1949 to the early 1970s. Though not devoid of its own contradictions, it represented a form of politics which challenged all forms of authoritarianism, including that of the Communist International. In that sense, it presented an Australian radical social movement that was an alternative to the politics of the Australian socialist parties, which were aligned either with China or the Soviet Union. Its legacy continued to inform radical politics in Australia into the 2020s.

Details of the key references used above in this note can be found under 'resources' below.

Resources

Reviews

• 'Heraclitus', Published by some Sydney Libertarians, Pluralists, Realists and Critical Drinkers., no. 29, [This scan courtesy of Viola Wilkins], Sydney, December, p. 14. images PDF Details
• 'Heraclitus', Incomplete. Published by some Sydney Libertarians, Pluralists, Realists and Critical Drinkers., no. 58, [This scan courtesy of Viola Wilkins], Sydney, May, p. 7. images PDF Details
• 'Heraclitus', Published by some Sydney Libertarians, Pluralists, Realists and Critical Drinkers., no. 87, [This scan courtesy of Viola Wilkins], Sydney, April, p. 16. images PDF Details
• 'Heraclitus', Published by some Sydney Libertarians, Pluralists, Realists and Critical Drinkers., no. 90, [This scan courtesy of Viola Wilkins], Sydney, Sept 2001, p. 16. images PDF Details

Online Resources

• Bacon, Wendy, 'Wendy Bacon, Jounalist, Activist: The Battle for Victoria Street, Kings Cross - Fifty Years ago this Week', Wendy Bacon, Sydney, 2024, https://wendybacon.com/2024/the-battle-for-victoria-street-kings-cross-fifty-years-ago-this-week. Details
• Baker, A.J., Sydney Libertarianism and the Push, Broadsheet, Abridged version of Baker's article, which was originally published in Broadsheet. This version appeared (undated) on Neale Morrison's memorial website and was accessed on 14 February 2024., LIbertarian Society at Sydney University, Sydney, 1975, https://www.nealemorison.com/wlmorison/sydlib.html. PDF Details
• Baker, A.J. (Jim), 'Remarks on Australian Anarchism and Sydney Libertarianism', Radical Tradition: An Australian History page: Sydney Libertarians and the Push, Transcript of article which originally appeared in the journal named Heraclitus, No. 21, May 1991., Takver, Melbourne, 2007, http://www.takver.com/history/sydney/Remarks_on_Australian_Anarchism.htm. Details
• Coombs, Anne, Sex and Anarchy: the Life and Death of the Sydney Push, Catalogue entry only, Viking, Ringwood, 1996, 340 pp, https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/21898126/version/45921997. Details
• Coombs, Anne, The Life and Death of the Sydney Push, The Sydney Papers, vol. 8, Winter, 122-129 pp, https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/ielapa.970605548. Details
• Easson, Michael, '(2017) Jim Baker, Leader of Bohemian Circle 'Sydney Push' Argued Philosophy Over an Ale', 11 September, https://michaeleasson.com/articles-and-pieces-on-philosophical-topics/2017-jim-baker-leader-of-bohemian-circle-sydney-push-argued-philosophy-over-an-ale/. Details
• Easson, Michael, Obituaries: Jim Baker, leader of Bohemian circle 'Sydney Push' argued philosophy over an ale, 17 March, https://www.smh.com.au/national/jim-baker-leader-of--bohemian-circle-sydney-push-argued-philosophy-over-an-ale-20170317-gv0cvb.html. Details
• Fleming, Andy, 'Jack 'The Anarchist' Grancharoff (1925-2016)', 21 May, https://slackbastard.anarchobase.com/?p=39907. PDF Details
• Franklin, James, The Push and Critical Drinkers, Transcript of chapter five from the book Corrupting the Youth: A history of Australian Philosophy by James Franklin, published in 2003 by Macleay Press, University of New South Wales School of Mathematics and Statistics, 2023, https://web.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/push.html. Details
• James, Bob, 'Bulgarian Anarchists in Sydney', Notes from interview with George H. By Bob James. Notes dated as 1985, and published on the web by Takver in 1998., 2 February, http://www.takver.com/history/aia/aia00028.htm. PDF Details