TRUCULENT HISTORY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 437, 7 November 1947, Page 16

TRUCULENT HISTORY

THE AUSTRALIAN PEOPLE, 1788-1945. 44 Brian Fitzpatrick, Melbourne University ress. HIS is a tight packed, valu- | able, and rather truculent book. Mr. Fitzpatrick’s main thesis, well known from his previous work, is a comprehensive economic interpretation of Australian history. In 1792, he tells us, the infant colony took a wrong turning when Governor Phillip sailed for home and the successful villainy of the garrison recreated the old world plan of economic privilege defended by State power. ‘This was quickly followed by Macarthur’s discovery of the possibility of sheep and by British capitalism’s discovery of Macarthur, with the general result that the new country was Captured for the rich, and British capital won the key positions which it still holds. The false turning of 1792 thus led straight to the present day mono-polist-ridden plutocracy, in which behind a facade of democratic pretence the forces of freedom have been *consistently and progressively more soundly defeated, That, in outline, is Mr. Fitzpatrick’s story, presented with a wealth of somewhat undigested statistics, and told with conviction rather than with eloquence. Its value. will be denied by no serious student of Australian affairs. It sets out details not otherwise readily available, and stresses facts which are often conveniently forgotten. Parts of the book read with dramatic intensity and passionate belief. At the same time, it may be doubted whether Mr, Fitzpatrick’s analysis is yet complete. | For example, his financial machine, which holds- Australia in its grip, has a rather hazy shape; for the relations between local magnates’ and British financiers, businessmen and investors, are scarcely investigated. Again, it is bluntly stated (p. 43) that the trade union movement "is the continuing expression of the struggle of non-owning Australians," in contrast to political Labour, whose basic policy is castigated as being scarcely distinguishable from that of its opponents. There may be some to question both halves of this thesis; and those who accept them both must, nevertheless, ask Mr. Fitzpatrick to account for the apparent failure of Labour governments to do their duty. On his showing the Australian masses have been deeply conscious of their wrongs since 1792, and haye had manhood suffrage for periods ranging from half a century to 90 years. In these circumstances, the ‘strength of Mr. Fitzpatrick’s oligarchy might well account for the defeat of the people’s attack; but scarcely for the fact that no serious attack was made at all. a * * NDEED), in spite of the wide range of material here presented, one is driven to ask whether there is not something left out of the calculation. Can modern Australia be so clearly divided between rich and poor? Are purely economic factors the only ones of ch the historians need take account? The answer is partly provided by the second half of the book, which includes a great deal of valuable social and political history. There is shown here a vitality and a variety of achievement which can hardly

be accounted for on the principles at first stressed. I find it impossible to think of Australians merely as the frustrated and resentful victims of force and fraud; nor could such victims have in fact achieved the record which the author chronicles. A few minor criticisms may be added. The work is divided into three books between which the logical division is insecure; with the result that important facts are likely to appear three times. Arrangement and style are rugged, at times’ to the point of obscurity. This may account for-an odd statement on p. 97 on the discovery of New Zealand, though not for still odder statements on p. 133 about the establishment of British rule in that country. I persof* ally doubt that by adopting compulc9/ military training in 1911 Australia thereby committed herself to help Britain in all wars (p. 249), or that the rejection of licensing by watersiders and others in the 1930’s had any direct connection with the burning of diggers’ licences at the time of the Eureka Stockade (p. 171). Such criticisms should not be pushed too far. Mr. Fitzpatrick has written a solid book offering a ready explanation of the ills suffered by Australia, and (by implication) those of other countries, too; and he points the way to a remedy. His general view is widely, though inarticulately, held by thousands who have had neither the time nor the training to accumulate supporting facts. Mr. Fitzpatrick has had both; and his exposition should be considered even more carefully by those who feel he is wrong-headed than by those who agree with him before they begin. The book is well produced, but the so-called reading list is plainly

unworthy.

F. L. W.

Wood