After enduring the past three decades encompassing two world wars and economic depression, Australians sought peace and security in the post-war era. Although this new era had brought both economic and political stability, Australians continued to live feeling vulnerable and fearful.1 From 1949-1966, Robert Menzies lead Australia through the post-war era as his second term as Prime Minister and became the longest-serving Prime Minister in Australian history2 as the leader of the conservative Liberal Party.

During Menzies' second term he held strong priority on eliminating the communist influence in the union movement and believed that this goal could only be achieved by abolishing the Communist Party. In October of 1950, he kept true to his election pledge and The Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950 (Cth) was passed into law by Parliament, making the Communist Party and affiliated bodies illegal.2 In the words of the Bill, a communist was 'a person who supports or advocates the objectives, policies, teachings, principles or practices of communism, as expounded by Marx and Lenin’.3 Anyone who carried on the work of the party after it was declared illegal was to be