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Title: Anarchism in New Zealand
Author: Asher Goldman
Date: 2009
Language: en
Topics: New Zealand, history
Source: Goldman, Asher. “Anarchism, New Zealand.” In The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest: 1500 to the Present, edited by Immanuel Ness, 139–140. Vol. 1. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

Asher Goldman

Anarchism in New Zealand

As in much of the world, anarchists and sympathizers played a large role

in the formation of syndicalist-leaning unions in New Zealand in the

early 1900s. World War I, the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the formation

of the Labor Party combined to almost completely decimate the movement

until the late 1950s, when it reformed as part of the New Left. Later,

the influence of punk and then the anti-globalization movement would

help grow anarchism’s popularity, although it has still not begun to

approach the level of influence it held in the early twentieth century.

Perhaps the first to call themselves anarchists in New Zealand were

several activists in the New Zealand Socialist Party, formed in 1901.

Within the party, Wellington became the center for a group of

anti-parliamentary socialists. In 1908 a 3,000 member Socialist Party

held a conference at which parliamentary action was condemned by a two

to one majority. In 1913 anarchists in Wellington formed the Freedom

Group, which was New Zealand’s first recorded explicitly anarchist

grouping. First formed in Chicago, USA, in 1905, the Industrial Workers

of the World (IWW) had branches in several centers across New Zealand,

starting with Wellington in 1908. Membership included many anarchists.

This revolutionary union had significant impact on the 1912 strike in

the gold mining town of Waihi.

Anarchism would not rear its head again in New Zealand until the late

1950s, when anarchists became involved in protest movements and

socialist discussion groups. By the late 1960s the new left Progressive

Youth Movement had branches in many centers. The Wellington and

Christchurch branches especially had a high number of anarchists

involved. The early 1970s saw Resistance bookshops formed in the three

main cities as centers for activism, the longest of which lasted only

seven years. Punk anarchists began to get active in the early 1980s, and

in one of New Zealand’s few political bombings, a punk blew himself up

(possibly purposefully) while attempting to attack the Wanganui Police

computer.

In 1987 Auckland anarchists founded State Adversary magazine, which

covered anarchist news and views from around the country until 2000. The

year 1995 saw the opening of the Freedom Shop, a Wellington anarchist

infoshop, the longest running in New Zealand history (it remains open in

2008). In the wake of anti-globalization protests in Seattle, Prague,

and other cities, anarchism in New Zealand welcomed an influx of new

adherents, and regular protest activity increased for a period in the

main centers. In October 2007 anarchists were among 16 arrested in the

first nationwide anti-terrorism raids, although terror charges were

ultimately not laid, with the 16 facing firearms charges instead.

SEE ALSO: Anarchism ; Anarchism, Australia ; Communist Party NZ and the

New Zealand Revolutionary Left ; Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

References And Suggested Readings

Boraman, T. (2002) The New Left in New Zealand. In P. Moloney & K.

Taylor (Eds.), On the Left: Essays on Socialism in New Zealand. Dunedin:

Otago University Press.

Boraman, T. (2007) Rabble Rousers and Merry Pranksters: A History of

Anarchism in Aotearoa/New Zealand from the Mid-1950s to the Early 1980s.

Christchurch: Katipo Books and Irrecuperable Press.

Buchanan, S. (1999) Anarchy: The Transmogrification of Everyday Life.

Wellington: Committee for the Establishment of Civilization.

Prebble, F. (1995) Trouble Makers: Anarchism and Syndicalism, the Early

Years of the Libertarian Movement in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Christchurch:

Libertarian Press.

Steiner, P. (2007) The History of the IWW in New Zealand. In P. Steiner

& F. Hanlon, Industrial Unionism. Wellington: Rebel Press.