Morris John Rodwell Hughes (1910–1998) was an Australian trade unionist and

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. Hughes was born in

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 ...

and joined the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

's Rockdale branch in 1927. He was elected to the State Conference in 1931 and the Central Socialisation Committee in 1932. In 1933 he became Assistant New South Wales Branch Secretary of the

Federated Clerks' Union The Federated Clerks Union of Australia (FCU) was an Australian trade union representing clerical workers, in existence from 1911 to 1993, when it amalgamated with the Australian Services Union. History Between 1900 and 1907, attempts were made to ...

, becoming State Secretary and National Vice-President in 1942; he was President of the New South Wales Labor Council from 1937 to 1941. In 1940 he and other members of the Labor Party's left-wing formed the

State Labor Party The State Labor Party, also known as State Labor Party (Hughes-Evans), was an Australian political party which operated exclusively in the state of New South Wales (NSW) in the early 1940s. The party was initially a far-left faction of the Austr ...

, also known as the Hughes-Evans Labor Party, in opposition to the right wing associated with Jack Lang. The State Labor Party merged with the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been i ...

in 1944; Hughes remained active in the communist movement and spent some time as editor of the ''Communist Review''. In 1959 as Chairman of the Communist Party's Central Disputes Committee he represented the Australian party at the 6th National Congress of the

Partai Komunis Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965. ...

; he also travelled to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

twice, in 1957 and 1984.

References

1910 births Year of death missing Australian trade unionists Australian communists People from Sydney Communist Party of Australia members {{Australia-politician-stub