TOWARDS A REASSESSMENT OF DR. EVATT'S ROLE IN THE 1954-5 A.L.P. SPLIT.

The article assesses the role Doctor Herbert Evatt, the leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party in the Federal Parliament, played in the split of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in 1954-1955. The formation of secretly organized cells established by the National Secretariat for Catholic Action in Australia to counter the rise of Communist activity in Australian labor unions is recounted. How Evatt managed to galvanize opposition against these anti-communist groups, which eventually led to Federal Executive intervention in ALP state branches, is examined.