24 Facts About Fred Paterson

Frederick Woolnough Paterson was an Australian politician, activist, unionist and lawyer.

Fred Paterson is the only representative of the Communist Party of Australia to be elected to an Australian parliament.

Fred Paterson subsequently saw action on the battlefields of France.

In January 1920, Fred Paterson moved to Merton College, Oxford to study theology, after becoming a Rhodes Scholar.

Fred Paterson had witnessed extreme poverty in Ireland and parts of London, and this concerned him.

Not long after returning to Queensland, Fred Paterson joined the Communist Party of Australia.

In 1931, Fred Paterson was admitted to the New South Wales Bar.

Fred Paterson based himself in Brisbane, but later that year went to Townsville to defend two Italian workers, who had been charged with assaulting the Italian consul.

Fred Paterson led a campaign by both the Communist Party and the Italian community and was successful in ending the practice.

In 1933, Fred Paterson left Brisbane completely, and set up in Townsville.

Fred Paterson spent his time juggling both a part-time legal career and his burgeoning role as a travelling activist for the Communist Party.

Fred Paterson played a significant role in the union movement in the sugar industry during a key strike over workplace conditions, and became involved in the anti-fascist movement.

In 1939, Fred Paterson stood successfully as an alderman for the Townsville City Council, becoming the first member of the Communist Party to win such an office in Australia.

Fred Paterson advocated for free publicly owned and managed housing, child care, nurseries, playgrounds, pharmaceuticals and hospitals, and the introduction of free education from kindergarten to "the highest level at university".

Fred Paterson advocated for the nationalisation of most key industries in Australia.

Fred Paterson continued being actively involved in public issues, particularly through the union movement, and was a vocal critic of the government of the time.

Fred Paterson often made speeches at the Domain in central Brisbane.

Fred Paterson was rewarded, retaining his seat at the 1947 state election.

Fred Paterson knew that the police had the power to order the picketers to move, but that they did not have the power to order them where exactly to move.

Fred Paterson then devised a strategy where, as they were moved on by the police, the picketers simply moved around the block.

Fred Paterson was himself then struck from behind by another officer, and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, unconscious.

Fred Paterson was unable to do any political activity for some months afterwards.

Fred Paterson contested the election in Whitsunday, but lost to Country Party candidate Lloyd Roberts.

Fred Paterson was involved in the successful campaign against Menzies' anti-Communist measures together with Max Julius, and he continued to be involved in the union movement and Communist Party right up until his death in 1977.