Herbert Moxon, a Victim of the 'Bolshevisation' of the Communist Party

Abstract

Much has been written about the factional dispute within the Communist Party of Australia [CPA] during 1928-1929 which culminated in the removal of Jack Kavanagh and his supporters from positions of authority, and the installation of a new leadership under Herbert Moxon, Lance Sharkey and later J.B. Miles.1 However, much less has been written about the crucial first two years of Moxon and Sharkey's control of the CPA even though these years represented a turning point for the party. These two years were a period of intense machinations by the new leadership, first against Kavanagh and his supporters, and later against Moxon himself. But more importantly, in these two years the CPA underwent two major changes which would dramatically alter its character for decades to come. The first was the abandonment by the leadership of an independent assessment of the Australian political and economic situation. Instead the party implemented directives from the Communist International [Comintern] which bore little relevance to Australian conditions. The second was the