Edgar Argent Ross (20 November 1904 – 16 November 2001) was an Australian journalist, trade unionist and communist organiser. Ross was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Bob (surname) * Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II * Bob t ...

and Ethel Ross, who were based in

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

. Bob Ross, a newspaper editor, was also a foundation member of the Socialist League and the Social Democratic Vanguard, which influenced young Edgar's political development. The family later moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and, briefly,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, but Edgar attended University High School in Melbourne before becoming a cadet journalist in 1922, joining the

Australian Journalists' Association The Australian Journalists Association (AJA) was an Australian trade union for journalists from 1910–1992. In 1913 the Australian Journalists' Association merged with the Australian Writers' and Artists' Union. This union had been formed in 19 ...

. He was a sporting editor for the

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

-based ''Industrial Advocate'' and wrote book reviews for the ''Socialist'', both of which were edited by his father. By 1925 he was a subeditor with the ''Barrier Daily Truth'', the newspaper of the Workers Industrial Union of Australia. Around this time he joined the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

and developed a close, sometimes prickly rapport with Ernest Wetherell, editor of the ''Truth''. In the late 1920s he supported Wetherell and union leader Dick Quintrell against an attempted coup by racial exclusionist Richard Gully. Ross was soon president of the local Militant Minority Movement, and he joined the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian communist party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been ...

(CPA) in 1933, which brought with it active membership in the Movement Against War and Fascism. Around this time he married Patricia Josephine McLauchlan. In 1935 Ross became editor of the Miners' Federation journal, the ''Common Cause'', in which role he would continue until 1966. He vigorously supported the successful campaign for the forty-hour week and was a mining group representative on the New South Wales Labor Council Executive from 1936 to 1966. From 1939 to 1940 he was the lead writer in the ''

Labor Daily The ''Labor Daily'' was a Sydney-based journal/newspaper of the early to mid 20th century. An organ of the Australian Labor Party, it was published in Sydney by Stanley Roy Wasson after the ailing ''Daily Mail'' was absorbed by Labor Papers Ltd, w ...

''/''Daily News'', and while the Communist Party was banned in the early 1940s he was a member of the State Labor Party. The SLP amalgamated with the Communist Party in 1944 and Ross was confirmed as a member of the CPA's central committee. In September 1948 Ross participated in a public debate with Fr P. J. Ryan of the Catholic Social Studies Movement on the nature of communism, attracting an audience of 30,000. He supported the 1949 coalminers' strike, and in 1951 headed the New South Wales Senate ticket for the party. He visited the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and China in 1955 and was the Australian delegate to the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1961. A Soviet loyalist, he rejected the CPA leadership's reforms in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was expelled from the party, joining the new Socialist Party of Australia. He was the Moscow correspondent for the party's newspaper, the ''Socialist''. Ross also published several works of labour history, including ''The Russian Revolution: Its Impact on Australia'' (1967), ''A History of the Miners' Federation of Australia'' (1970), ''Of Storm and Struggle'' (1982), and ''These Things Shall Be! Bob Ross, Socialist Pioneer: His Life and Times'' (1988).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Edgar 1904 births 2001 deaths Australian communists Communist Party of Australia members