Afterthis, McQueen'sinterestinthe visualartsdevelopedrapidly, andhisnextmajorsphere ofintellectualactivityturnedhiminto one ofAustralia'simportantarthistorians — inmyview, upthere evenwithBernardSmith. McQueen'smostsignificantworkofarthistoryisa breathtakingandcomprehensive overview, withanimplicitMarxisteye, ofthe evolutionofAustralianart, The BlackSwanofTrespass. He haddifficultyfindinga publisherforthisbook, anditwaseventuallypublishedbyApcol, a smallsocialistco-operative publisher. Apcol, however, didn'thave muchofa distributionnetwork, anditsresourcesdidn'trunto colourprintingofthe richworksofAustralianartthatpepperthisimportantbook. BlackSwanofTrespassisanextremelyimportantpiece ofAustralianintellectualhistory, anditnevergoteitherthe distributionorthe presentationitdeserves. Itisanexcellentcandidate forsome publisherwithhalfa braingivinga decentadvance to McQueento produce a new, more elegant, editionwithimprovedproductionandcolourplates.
InthisintellectualterritoryMcQueenpublisheda majorworkonthe 19thcenturypainter, TomRoberts, andwithothers, a majorpiece ofworkonthe painterMargaretPreston. McQueenalso produceda majorworkonthe SydneyreligiousartistKeithLoobyinthisperiod. ThisratherelegantbookwaspublishedbyPenguin. Loobyisa friendofMcQueen (anda friendofthe reactionaryop-edjournalist, P.P. McGuiness, so hisnetworkofacquaintancescrossesmanyboundariesina rathertypicalSydneyway).
Overthe past 15 years, McQueenhasproduceda numberofbooksaboutAustralia thatcrossthe boundariesbetweensocialhistory, historyandcurrentaffairs. They're witty, usefulanderudite, buttheyhave a slightlymore ephemeralqualitythansome ofhisearlierwork. He hasalso writtena spiriteddefence ofhisoldteacher, the historianManningClark, againstthe right-wingliteraryandhistoricalvultureswho have attackedClark'sreputation. Thisisa veryeffective little book. In 1991 McQueenspenta yearinJapan, andwrote a bookaboutthat, whichisa usefulinsightinto Japanese life, andperhapshada little ofthe flavourofa kindofintellectualcorrective to the crude anti-Japanese sentimentthatusedto prevailinthe MaoistcirclesinwhichMcQueenmainlybeganhisintellectualactivity.
McQueen'slatestbookisthatmostunlikelyleftistartifact, a MarxisthistoryofCoca-Cola. Thisisa veryusefulworkindeed, anddemonstratesina low-keybuteffective waythe greatutilityofclassicalMarxisminthe socialsciences. He also recentlymade a veryseriouscontributionto the workers' controlconference, organisedbyJura Booksonthe lastmajorupsurge ofindustrialmilitancyinAustralia between 1965 and 1975. Aninsightfulandusefulcontributionto thatgathering, ofconsiderable importance intryingto comprehendhowa newindustrialupsurge mightbegin.
Humphreyisstillwhathe hasbeenallhislife, bothanactivist, anda seriousMarxistintellectual. A yearorso ago he joinedthe DSP-ledSocialistAlliance, which, ideologicallyspeaking, wasmore ofa case ofthe DSPleadershipjoininghim, inthe sense thatthe DSPnowholdsanevenmore extreme versionofthe ultraleft, sectarianattitude towardthe mainstreamlabourmovementthatHumphreyonce didinhisyouth. It'snotentirelyclearto whatextenthe stillholdsthose views. McQueenhascertainlyabandonedthe incorrect, ultraleftmethodologicalsubstructure ofthe firsteditionofA NewBritannia. It'salso interestingandmovingto hearMcQueenspeak, asI've heardhimseveraltimesinrecentyears, talkingaboutthe attachment, particularlyofhisfather, to the ALP, andthe aspirationsto radicalsocialchange embodiedinthatattachment. It'llbe interestingto see howMcQueenexpresseshimselfonthe tacticalquestionsthatare emerginginthe run-upto the nextfederalelection.
Inmyviewthe mainweaknessofMcQueen'scontributionto AustralianMarxisttheoryisthat, despite the fact, thatinexpoundingthe generalideasofMarxism, he hasfewpeersinAustralia, neverthelessthese dayshe tendsto avoidmakingcurrenttacticalpropositions. Upto a point, thisisunderstandable, consideringhisearlypoliticalexcesses, alongwiththose ofothersinthe Maoistmovementofthattime. However, thisfailure to expresshimselfveryclearlyoncurrenttacticalquestionsseverelylimitshiscontributionto currentdebates.
McQueenisanimpressive, colourfulandinterestingpublicspeaker. Givenanyaudience, he cantalkto themunderwater, so to speak. He prepareshismaterialcarefully, andpresentseloquently, withlotsofflourishes, andhisimpressive meetingmagisteriumissharpenedbyhisgreatheight (a bitlike GoughWhitlam). Inthe cut-and-thrustofdebate, he takesno prisoners. He isa prettyusefulbloke to have onyourside, anda difficultmanto argue withifyoudisagree withhim. He playsa crowdelegantlyandwithgreatverve.
McQueenhasallsortsofstringsto hisbow. He is, forinstance, anopera buff, andhe managesto earna fewdollars, fromtime to time, writingopera andculturalreviewsforThe Bulletin, where hisandmyoldmate andsparringpartner, HallGreenland, isone ofthe sub-editors. Allinall, HumphreyMcQueenhasmade a majorintellectualcontributionto the preservationofa MarxistintellectualcurrentinAustralianlife, andthatisparticularlyimportantinthe currentdifficult, defensive frameworkinwhichsocialistsfindthemselvesatthe moment.
Atthe momentHumphreyMcQueenisengagedina newventure, beingone ofthe majoreditorsofa Marxistmagazine forthe SocialistAlliance, to be calledSeeingRed. McQueenandthe othereditorshave assembledsome goodarticles, andone not-so-goodarticle, forthe firstissue, butthe stumblingblockseemsto be, asitalwaysisinsocialistpublishing, scrapingtogetherthe moneyto produce the kindofelegantsocialistmagazine thatMcQueenfavours. Inthisera ofthe net, producing, financinganddistributinghard-copysocialistmagazinesisevenharderthanthe past, because a lotofthe potentialaudience anddemandseemsto be satisfiedbythe internet.
I have beenacquaintedwithHumphreyMcQueenfora verylarge partofmypoliticallife. To be frank, I tookthe initiative inputtingupseveralofhissignificantarticlesonOzleftaspartofthe ongoingpoliticalargumentbetweenmyself, him, andotherssuchasthe DSPleadership, onlabourmovementhistoryandtactics. Inthe course ofdoingthis, however, itbeganto forciblystrike me thatHumphreyMcQueenisa prettyunusualpoliticalsurvivor. Some ofthe politicalcontemporarieswho we share, who have made pastcontributionsto socialistagitationandMarxistintellectualactivity, have shiftedoverto the politicalright. These include some ofMcQueen'searlyassociatesinthe Maoistmovement (AlbertLanger, etc) andsuchpeople asKeithWindschuttle andBobCatley. Others, suchasStuartMcIntyre, Humphrey'sassociate inthe critique ofthe OldLefthistorians, have shiftedoverto the SocialDemocraticcentre. Inthiscontext, itistherefore prettyimportantthatMcQueenhascontinued, inhisownindependentway, the projectofdevelopingMarxisttheoryinAustralia innewconditions, andhiscontinuingintellectualenergyandactivityisprettyimpressive ina manof 60 orthereabouts.
He haspublishedmore booksnon-fictionbooksonlabourandsocialhistory, sociologyandarthistorythananyotherAustralianMarxistintellectual, andhe'sstillhardatit, andthat'sanimportantachievementinitself.
A NewBritannia: AnArgumentConcerningthe SocialOriginsofAustralianNationalismandSocialism, PelicanBooks, Melbourne, 1970
Aborigines, Race andRacism, PenguinBooks, Melbourne, 1974
SocialSketchesofAustralia, 1888-1975, HarmondsworthPenguin, 1978
The BlackSwanofTrespass: The Emergence ofModernistPaintinginAustralia to 1944, Alternative PublishingCo-operative, Sydney, 1979
The ArtofMargaretPreston, ArtGalleryBoardofSouthAustralia, Adelaide, 1980 (withIanNorthandIsobelSeivl)
Australia'sMedia Monopolies, Visa, Melbourne, 1981
Gone Tomorrow: Australia inthe 1980s, AngusandRobertson, Sydney, 1982
Gallipoli to Petrov: ArguingWithAustralianHistory, AllenandUnwin, Sydney, 1984
Suburbsofthe Sacred: TransformingAustralianBeliefsandValues, Penguin, Melbourne, 1988
Japanto the Rescue: AustralianSecurityAroundthe IndonesianArchipelago duringthe AmericanCentury, Heinemann, PortMelbourne, 1991
Tokyo World: AnAustralianDiary, WilliamHeinemann, Melbourne, 1991
TomRoberts, Macmillan, Sydney, 1996
SuspectHistory: ManningClarkandthe Future ofAustralia'sPast, WakefieldPress, Adelaide, 1997
TemperDemocratic: HowExceptionalisAustralia?WakefieldPress, Adelaide, 1998
The Essence ofCapitalism: The OriginsofOurFuture, Sceptre/HodderHeadline