Remembering Ol' 55: The Victorian Fabian Society and the road to intervention

Abstract

In 1970, as rival groups wrestled for control of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) after federal intervention, a commentary on the reasons for the dissolution of 'a progressive branch of the party' appeared in 'Inside Labor'. This publication was the 'Organ of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Labor Party Committee': in essence, a roughly presented newsletter in which supporters of the sacked Victorian Central Executive (VCE) expressed their hostility to the federal executive and its Victorian allies. One of those supporters was Lew Gibson, a union organiser and Croydon ALP branch secretary.