CSS Public Lecture: Local Legacies of Radicalism

“No. I am no dog to be registered; neither am I a slave to be trained to fight to uphold kings, aristocrats, and rich men in luxury while the workers never have sufficient of the world’s goods to enable them to live a comfortable life.”
– Harry Cooke, on refusing Compulsory Military Training, 1911.

For our July 2019 event we are pleased to once again be welcoming Martin Crick to speak on the legacy of Christchurch’s radical left.

Christchurch before the First World War was regarded as the stronghold of New Zealand radicalism. The eventual political success of the Labour Party has obscured this early history, or consigned it to ‘the enormous condescension of posterity.’ (Thompson). Martin will examine the development of the socialist movement in Christchurch, and in particular the Socialist Church and the New Zealand Socialist Party, drawing parallels with the socialist movement in Great Britain, to suggest that these groups and their members were neither irrelevant nor mere stepping stones in the ‘forward march of labour’.

Martin is a historian, league coach, and member of the Canterbury Socialist Society living in voluntary exile from the farce of Brexit.

As usual, all are welcome to attend this event.

If you are interested in learning more about the Canterbury Socialist Society, or would like to join, visit www.canterburysocialists.org.nz