This printing machine was designed and built by an engineer when the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) was under threat of prohibition by Commonwealth legislation in 1950-1951. Had this ensued the press would have been used to produce CPA protest material.

Its existence was only known to the upper echelon of the CPA for over forty years (only being revealed some years after the official dissolution of the party in 1991). These events reveal to the level of secrecy and the value laid on the printing press' existence. Its design and construction by one man also presents an extrodinary one-off engineering feat.

Designed and built by Pat O'Reilly an engineer with the North Shore Times at a time when the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) was under threat of prohibition by Commonwealth legislation in 1950-1951. Its design and construction by one man present an extraordinary engineering feat.

The machine comes with correspondence between the donor and Pat O'Reilly including working drawings and a list of parts.

This printing machine was designed and built at a time when the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) was under threat of prohibition by Commonwealth legislation in 1950-1951. Had this ensued the press would have been used to produce CPA protest material. Its existence was only known to the upper echelon of the CPA for over forty years (being revealed some years after the official dissolution of the party in 1991).

The Communist Party of Australia was formed in the early 1920s. In 1950 the Menzies Liberal-Country party coalition government proposed legislation to ban the party with justifications loosely based on the circumstances and nature of the post WW2 world and the economic problems then confronting Australia. This legislation was declared invalid by the High Court. A referendum was then held in Australia on September 22, 1951 where the people of Australia were asked to vote on the following question: "Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled Constitution Alteration (Powers to deal with communists and communism) 1951?" - this proposal was defeated. While these events were ensuing the upper echelon of the Communist party decided to go underground. It was this climate that led to the decision to secretly design and build a printing machine.

Following the High Court and referendum decisions the machine was never used and was stored on a property at Bargo NSW where Its existence remained a secret.

The donor Eric Aarons joined the Young Communist League in 1935 and was appointed to its secretariat in 1963. He led the move of the CPA to a Euro-Communist position in 1967 and retired from the position of Joint National Secretary in 1982. He supported the formal dissolution of the party in 1991. He states that he did not know of this printing machine until two years ago when the property on which it was stored was sold.

Printing machine, metal / rubber, designed and made by P. O'Reilly for the Communist Party of Australia, place unknown,1950

Table top printing machine (presently disassembled in parts) which has four printing drums and paper bursting apparatus. Comes with extensive notes from the maker.

Made: 1950

2004/152/1

1950