The Australian Anarchist Centenary Celebrations were held from 1 to 4 May 1986 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

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 ...

. Preparations to celebrate the centenary of the formation of the first known

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

organisation in

commenced in August 1984 by the Libertarian Workers for a Self Managed Society (L.W.S.S.) The

Melbourne Anarchist Club John William 'Chummy' Fleming (1863 – 25 January 1950) was a pioneer unionist, agitator for the unemployed, and anarchist in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. "Chummy" Fleming was instrumental in starting May Day celebrations and marches in Mel ...

was formed on 1 May 1886 and included David Andrade,

John Arthur Andrews John Arthur "Jack" or "J.A." Andrews (27 October 1865 – 26 July 1903), was an Australian anarchist theoretician, agitator and journalist. He was also a poet and inventor and author of fiction. He was born in Bendigo, Victoria to John Andrew ...

Monty Miller Montague David "Monty" Miller, born 7 July 1839 in Van Diemen's Land (present day Tasmania), was an Australian trade unionist, secularist, and revolutionary anarchist-socialist chiefly active in the states of Victoria and, in his most productive p ...

and

Chummy Fleming John William 'Chummy' Fleming (1863 – 25 January 1950) was a pioneer unionist, agitator for the unemployed, and anarchist in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. "Chummy" Fleming was instrumental in starting May Day celebrations and marches in Mel ...

Celebrating 100 years of Anarchism 888 monument

The Centenary Celebrations were used by some anarchists to rebuff the negative connotations placed on the word "

anarchy Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted ...

". The Centenary celebrations included a May Day march on 1 May 1986 of about 400 people, including several large puppets and many banners, and several visiting anarchists from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Over the weekend several events occurred including banner, poster and historical displays, a two-day conference held at

RMIT RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scienc ...

and Melbourne University, and a picnic in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. In conjunction with the conference, a two-day anarchist film festival was held featuring films such as ''All our lives'', a history of

Mujeres Libres Mujeres Libres ( en, Free Women, italic=yes) was an anarchist women's organisation that existed in Spain from 1936 to 1939. Founded by Lucía Sánchez Saornil, Mercedes Comaposada, and Amparo Poch y Gascón as a small women's group in Madrid, it ...

told by the women themselves; ''We Aim to Please'', a short Australian film on gender politics; ''Liberty My Love'', an Italian anarchist film; '' Harry Hooton'' about an Australian poet; and ''Elsie: a study of a collective'' about a Sydney women's refuge; and many more. After the Anarchist Centenary Celebrations, the Anarchist Media Institute was established by Dr Toscano and other Melbourne anarchists to increase the media profile of anarchists and

Anarchism in Australia Anarchism in Australia arrived within a few years of anarchism developing as a distinct tendency in the wake of the 1871 Paris Commune. Although a minor school of thought and politics, composed primarily of campaigners and intellectuals, Aus ...

and correct bias and misconceptions about anarchism in the media.Australian Press Council
Adjudication No. 1239 (April 2004)

Bibliography

*''Anarchy is Order Government is Chaos. Australian Anarchist Centenary Celebrations'' (Ed) Joseph Toscano & others (1988) Melbourne, No ISBN *''The International Anarchist Film Festival. Melbourne 2–4 May 1986'' Hilary May and Patrick Watson (Eds), Melbourne (1986)

References

{{Anarchism 1986 in Australia History of anarchism Anarchism in Australia Australian historical anniversaries 1980s in Melbourne May 1968 events in Australia