page_title: New Guard
hierarchical_section_title: New Guard
context_page_description: The New Guard was a short-lived Australian monarchist, anti-communist, and later fascist-inspired organisation which emerged from the Sydney-based Old Guard on 16 February 1931, during the Great Depression. The New Guard is known for its agitation against Premier of New South Wales Jack Lang. It was founded and led by Eric Campbell, a World War I veteran and former Old Guard member. At its peak, membership was estimated to be around 50,000.
  The organisation attracted great publicity when member Captain Francis de Groot, on horseback and at Campbell's direction, upstaged Lang in cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in protest at the latter's anti-monarchist ideology.
  After Lang’s dismissal in May 1932 the New Guard’s membership declined rapidly. During this time Campbell had met with fascists and National Socialists such as Sir Oswald Mosley and Joachim von Ribbentrop, and in 1934 published his manifesto The New Road, signalling the New Guard’s ideological transition as Campbell argued his case for an Australian application of Italian corporate statism.
context_section_description: The New Guard was a short-lived Australian monarchist, anti-communist, and later fascist-inspired organisation which emerged from the Sydney-based Old Guard on 16 February 1931, during the Great Depression. The New Guard is known for its agitation against Premier of New South Wales Jack Lang. It was founded and led by Eric Campbell, a World War I veteran and former Old Guard member. At its peak, membership was estimated to be around 50,000.
  The organisation attracted great publicity when member Captain Francis de Groot, on horseback and at Campbell's direction, upstaged Lang in cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in protest at the latter's anti-monarchist ideology.
  After Lang’s dismissal in May 1932 the New Guard’s membership declined rapidly. During this time Campbell had met with fascists and National Socialists such as Sir Oswald Mosley and Joachim von Ribbentrop, and in 1934 published his manifesto The New Road, signalling the New Guard’s ideological transition as Campbell argued his case for an Australian application of Italian corporate statism. As the Centre Party, it unsuccessfully contested five seats at the 1935 New South Wales state election. The party failed to win a single seat, polling 0.60 percent of the total vote. Following the election, Campbell withdrew from public life, and both the party and the New Guard disbanded shortly afterwards.
caption: The emblem of the New Guard