All for Australia League | |
|---|---|
 Emblem used on AFAL badges | |
| President | Alexander James Gibson |
| Founded | 28 January 1931 |
| Dissolved | early 1932 |
| Merged into | United Australia Party |
| Headquarters | Sydney,New South Wales |
| Membership(June 1931) | 130,000[1] |
| Ideology | Anti-establishment |
| Political position | Right-wing[2] |
| Brighton City Council | 1 / 12 (1931–1932) |
TheAll for Australia League (AFAL) was an Australian political movement during theGreat Depression. It was founded in early 1931 and claimed to have amassed 130,000 members by June 1931. Right-wing and anti-establishment in nature, the league had the backing of a number of prominent businessmen and industrialists. It was critical both of theLabor Party and the right-wingNationalist Party. It primarily operated in Sydney, but also had branches in country New South Wales and absorbed a similar organisation in Victoria. The league eventually chose to co-operate with the existing Nationalist organisation at the1931 federal election, helpingpreselect candidates for the newUnited Australia Party (UAP). After the election victory the league was absorbed by the UAP's state organisation.[3]
Five objectives were announced at the official launch of the league, held atKillara on 12 February 1931:[1]
According to labour historian Geoffrey Robinson, the league "posed a major challenge to the established conservative parties",[4] but ultimately "failed because Australian conservatives regrouped and moved back towards the centre".[5]
The league undertook an extensive recruiting campaign, mostly in Sydney but also in some country areas. It claimed to have gained 30,000 members within three weeks after its launch, rising to 40,000 a week later. Up to 3,500 badges were being issued each day, bearing the distinctive emblem of a six-pointed star. By the end of March 1931, the league claimed 99 branches, including fifteen outside Sydney. The membership stood at 116,000 on 14 April and 130,000 by the end of June.[1]
Most of the league's leadership had not previously been involved in politics. The executive was "strongly representative of managerial and professional men".[1] Former engineering professorAlexander James Gibson was elected president. Other members of the league's provisional executive included:[6]
Later members of the executive included:[6]
Braddon, Craig, Heath, and Oberg resigned from the executive over the league's attacks on the stateNationalist Party.[7]
The league had a councillor on theCity of Brighton in Victoria – A.R. Horton, who joined in April 1931.[9] The party also had local branch secretary H.P. Armitage as a candidate in the1931 Victorian local elections, receiving 33.66% of the vote in theCity of Oakleigh's South Ward.[10]
