This week in history: Sydney 12 jailed for treason

On September 23, 1916, 12 members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) — who became known as the Sydney 12 — were sentenced to hard labour for periods of between five and 15 years. They were found guilty of treason and sedition, but since the men were all labour activists well known for their opposition to conscription and the First World War, it was widely believed that PM Bill Hughes' Labor government had framed them. Hughes managed to get the Unlawful Associations Act through parliament in the space of a week, and then used it to outlaw the IWW. Hughes said of the IWW: "This organisation holds a dagger at the heart of our society, and we should be recreant to the social order if we do not accept the challenge it holds out to us. As it seeks to destroy us, we must in self defence destroy it." A Defence and Release Committee was formed to campaign for the release of the 12, and they were eventually freed in 1920.

From Green Left Weekly, September 21, 2005.

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From GLW issue 643