Frank Browne and the Neo-Nazis

The journalist Frank Browne was a pivotal character in Australia's far-right scene after World War II. This article evaluates Browne's part in starting Australia's first post-war neo-Nazi group. It concludes that the initial success of his Australian Party convinced activists such as Arthur Smith that a far-right group was politically viable and this led to the formation of the first neo-Nazi group in Sydney in 1959. The article also looks at the careers of other prominent neo-Nazi activists around Australia during the early 1960s. It argues that Browne provided an organisational model rather than an ideology. In support of this contention, the article examines the development of similar groups in the United States and United Kingdom and their interactions with Australian groups.