Ted Bull, 1914-1997
Ted Bull, 1914-1997
Veteran communist and trade union activist Ted Bull died on December 11, aged 83.
More than 500 people packed into the auditorium of Trades Hall on December 22 to honour Ted's memory and to celebrate his history of struggle and commitment.
The memorial meeting was addressed by Joan Coxsedge from the Australia-Cuba Friendship Society; John Cummins, president of the CFMEU (building workers' division); the federal organiser of the Maritime Union of Australia; Aboriginal activist Gary Foley; and Ted's son, Frank Bull.
Ted was born into a waterfront family, and as a youth in the 1930s was part of the large army of long-term unemployed. These experiences helped shape his political outlook, and he became involved in the campaign to stop the Menzies Liberal government from selling pig iron to Japan in the late 1930s. He joined the army during the second world war, after the Soviet Union was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1941.
After the war, Ted was an activist in the Victorian Waterside Workers' Federation, and was for a long time its secretary. He was also a leading member of the Communist Party, and became a founding member of the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) during the period of the Sino-Soviet split.
Ted was also heavily involved in international solidarity work, including being a long-time member of the Australia-Cuba Friendship Society. He was active in the campaign against the deregistration of the Builders Labourers Federation in the mid-1980s and remained politically active until the end of his life.
No funeral was held for Ted. Instead, at his request, his body was donated to the University of Melbourne School of Medicine.
John Nebauer