Evelyn Douglas Darby MP (24 September 1910 – 22 August 1985) was an Australian politician, elected as a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

. His efforts in denouncing

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

, attacking the labour movement, breaking strikes, organising anti-Soviet Eastern European

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followi ...

s, supporting Australia's military commitment to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, and championing non-communist

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, established Darby's reputation as a powerful right-wing ideologue.Drew Cottle and Angela Keys
"Douglas Evelyn Darby, MP: Anti-Communist Internationalist in the Antipodes"
''

Labor History Labor history or labour history is a sub-discipline of social history which specialises on the history of the working classes and the labor movement. Labor historians may concern themselves with issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and other fac ...

'', Number 89, November 2005, pp. 87-100. Retrieved 20 October 2021.John Peel, "Author analyses success of dumped member", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 15 November 1968, p. 6.

Early life

Darby was born in

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and remained proud to be British throughout his life. His parents were Percy Charles Darby, estate agent, and his wife Jessie, née Ainslie, a branch secretary of Shop Assistants Union. He trained at Portsmouth Teachers College before taking a job as steward and

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

hand on a P&O liner and in that role visited

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1926. He migrated to Australia in 1928 and trained as a teacher at Sydney Teachers' College, after which he taught in country and city primary schools in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in the years 1930-45. When Europe went to

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

in 1939, Darby attempted to enlist in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

but was rejected because of

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. Instead, having studied at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and having graduated with a

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; the ...

in 1938, he was seconded from primary teaching to the Youth Section of the Federal Department of Labour and Industry, to work as a vocational officer. Darby went on to found the British Orphans' Adoption Society (BOAS) which "sought to bring British war orphans to Australia for legal adoption." From June 1940 to January 1941, the Society sent 2,000 pounds in weight of warm clothing to England. Dame

Enid Lyons Dame Enid Muriel Lyons (née Burnell; 9 July 1897 – 2 September 1981) was an Australian politician who was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives and the first woman to serve in federal cabinet. Prior to her own political ca ...

, the widow of former

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...

, Professor F.A. Bland, Darby's economics professor, and Sir Arthur Rickard, owner of Sydney's largest real estate company, became BOAS patrons.

Political career

In 1945 BOAS became a member of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Association (UNRRA), and a chance meeting with Richard Thompson, a

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

Member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

(MLC), led to Thompson supporting Darby's nomination as the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate for Manly in that year's New South Wales State election. Representing Prime Minister

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

' "forgotten people" in post-war Manly, Darby proved a strong advocate for his middle-class seaside constituency, and his advocacy of conservative moral values and individual liberty and his opposition to communism became the hallmarks of his career. A year after winning Manly for the Liberal Party, Darby attempted to break a 24-hour tram and bus strike in his electorate, seeing the Tramways Union as part of Labor's "servile state". Although denounced by strikers as a "strike breaker", most commentators supported Darby's efforts. A further bus and tram strike in January 1947 brought Darby's Manly Emergency Services Committee into operation and there were physical conflicts with communists from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, seven public transport strikes occurred in Sydney, but each strike was weakened by the many individuals who responded to Darby's appeal for motorists to offer lifts to stranded commuters. Breaking strikes won Darby approval in his electorate and among his parliamentary colleagues, acts that he increasingly saw as fighting the enemy of communism within. Darby's preoccupation with the communist menace, and success of his "interventions", encouraged him to mount 'Operation Potato' in March 1947, after 6,000 Sydney waterside workers "refused to convert to a 53-hour week again", and he used volunteers to unload food ships under police protection. That helped Darby to return with an increased majority in that year's state election. As the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

conflict intensified, Darby began to make his mark as an anti-communist, believing that the "Free World" was threatened "by Soviet Communist tyranny and its agents worldwide". His contacts with European

s escaping communist regimes in the postwar period led to him becoming the founding president of the

Captive Nations "Captive Nations" is a term that arose in the United States to describe nations under undemocratic regimes. During the Cold War, when the phrase appeared, it referred to nations under Communism, Communist administration, primarily Soviet Union, Sov ...

Council of New South Wales in 1959. From the late 1960s until the late 1970s Darby attended of conferences of the

World Anti-Communist League The World League for Freedom and Democracy (WLFD) is an international non-governmental organization of anti-communist politicians and groups. It was founded in 1952 as the World Anti-Communist League (WACL) under the initiative of Chiang Kai-sh ...

(WACL) in

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in 1969,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in 1970,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in 1971 and

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in 1975. In 1982 he attended the

Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations (ABN) was an international ultra-nationalist organization founded as a coordinating center for anti-communist and nationalist émigré political organizations from Soviet and other socialist countries. The ABN formati ...

conference in London and a Captive Nations Committee meeting in Washington DC in 1983. After losing pre-selection for Manly in 1961, he resigned from the Liberal Party. He successfully contested the seat in the 1962 and 1965 State election elections as an Independent, and was readmitted to the Liberal Party in August 1966. Darby also campaigned against juvenile hooliganism,

poker machines A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine ( Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively ...

, and the

fluoridation Water fluoridation is the controlled adjustment of fluoride to a public water supply solely to reduce tooth decay. Fluoridated water contains fluoride at a level that is effective for preventing cavities; this can occur naturally or by addin ...

of Sydney's water supply. He campaigned for the introduction of

daylight saving Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time or simply daylight time (United States, Canada, and Australia), and summer time (United Kingdom, European Union, and others), is the practice of advancing clocks (typicall ...

, and the development of Bathurst as the new capital of New South Wales. From 1960, support for

became another of Darby's causes, along with support for the Australian role in the Vietnam War. By 1973 he helped found an unofficial organisation known as the Australia-Free China Society, subsidised by both the Taiwanese Travel Service and the Taiwanese government. The Society established an office in 1974 to provide services for Australians visiting Taiwan. Darby was the editor and principal contributor to the Society's fortnightly newsletter, ''Australia-Free China News''. The promotion of "Free China", along with his parliamentary duties, took up much of Darby's time during the

Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

years. He retired from State parliament in 1978, after 33 years as a parliamentarian.

Personal life

Darby married fellow teacher Esme Jean McKenzie in 1941 and moved to the Sydney beachside suburb of Manly in 1951, before purchasing "Whitehall", at nearby 37 White Street,

Balgowlah Balgowlah is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balgowlah (or Bulgowlah) said to be an Aboriginal name for "North Harbour". The area now known as Balgowlah was known to the Aboriginals as Jilling. Balgo ...

in 1953 where he spent the rest of his life. Douglas and Esme had two sons (James and

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

), four daughters (Alison, Jennifer, Norma and Rosemary) and an adopted Chinese daughter (Mala). He died on 22 August 1985 after undergoing heart surgery at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital at

Wahroonga, New South Wales Wahroonga is a suburb in the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Ku-ring-gai Council and Hornsby Shire. Nor ...

. His wife, Esme (1908–97), was educated at Fort Street Girls High School, Sydney Teachers College and the University of Sydney (graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1934). She worked as a teacher in the years 1928-41 and 1943-44. While living in the Manly area she supported The NSW Society for Crippled Children. After a failed bid in 1961 to gain pre-selection for the seat of Mackellar, she supported the Australian Housewives Association on the Captive Nations Week committee, accompanied her husband to several anti-communist conferences overseas and to

, and was a committee member of the Australia-Free China Society. In 1975 she was awarded an

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

for her promotion of youth welfare.

Bibliography

The following books and pamphlets were written by Douglas Darby: * ''Orphans of the War'', Sydney: British Orphans Adoption Society, 1944 * ''A Brief Assessment of the Wyndham Report'', Sydney, N.S.W.: s.n., 1959. Joint author: New South Wales. Committee Appointed to Survey Secondary Education in New South Wales. Report 1957. * ''Lenin, Master or Monster'', Belmore, N.S.W.: News Digest-International, 1970. "The text of an address given at the Wallace Theatre, Sydney University, April 17th 1970, on the occasion of the centenary of Lenin's birthday".
Lenin, Master or Monster
', nla.gov.au. Retrieved 20 October 2021. * ''The New Rat Track'', Sydney: D. Darby, 1971 * ''The Natural Anti-Pollutionist'', St. Ives, N.S.W.: South Pacific Federation of Natural Therapeutists, 1972 * ''Out of the Night'', Taipei: Australia-Free China Society, 1975 * ''Oil for Lamps of Freedom'', Taipei and Sydney: Australia-Free China Society, 1972; 2nd edition, Australia-Free China Society, 1977 * ''The Radiance of a Star'', Sydney: Wentworth Books, 1972 * ''Why Croatia?'', ictoria D. Darby, c. 1975 * ''Slovakia's Quest for Freedom'', Sydney: Australian Slovak's Association, 1978 * ''Australia's Debt to the Republic of China'', Sydney: Australia-Free China Society, 1978 * ''Trust the Two Per Cent: A Comparative Study of Free China and Communist China'', Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Centre for International Studies, 1982 * ''Christmas Means Giving'', Balgowlah, N.S.W.: D. Darby, 1982 * ''The Forgotten Factor: The Twenty-Seventh Christmas Poem'', Balgowlah, N.S.W.: D. Darby, 1983

References

External links

Evelyn Douglas Darby interviewed by Hazel de Berg in the Hazel de Berg collection
at

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

Darby Family Papers, 1902-1986
at

State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...

Darby family - papers, 1902-1986, with Cusack family papers, ca. 1914-1950
at Trove Australia {{DEFAULTSORT:Darby, Douglas Evelyn Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales 1910 births 1985 deaths People from Lowestoft People from Manly, New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Australian anti-communists