BY MARGARITA WINDISCH
MELBOURNE — More than 300 people packed the Brunswick Town Hall for Vic Little's memorial service on May 20.
Born in Mildura in 1914, the son of a poor mining family, Vic knew from an early age on what "struggling" meant. He left for Melbourne in 1928 in search for more stable work as an apprentice printer.
Concerned and disturbed by the political developments taking place, he became a socialist and joined the Communist Party of Australia in 1940 and remained an active member until his expulsion in 1963.
As a soldier in World War II, Vic was stationed in Indonesia. He established close ties with the Indonesian independence movement and actively participated in the campaign against Dutch colonialism. He was an outspoken opponent of the 1965 military coup in Indonesia, which heralded the beginning of the brutal Suharto dictatorship, and stayed a dedicated solidarity activist until the end of his life.
After his expulsion from the Communist Party, Vic became a founding member of the Marxist Workers Party and was the president of the Melbourne May Day Committee for years. Vic was a dedicated trade union activist with the printers union all his life and was instrumental in getting Frank Hardy's eye-opening novel, Power Without Glory, printed — in secrecy and under the tightest security.
Vic was not only an active communist but also community activist in his local Brunswick area. He is survived by Vida Little, his companion of 55 years.
From Green Left Weekly, May 28, 2003.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.