People Australia

Albert Leslie (Alby) Graham (1905-1996) wharf labourer, trade union official, Communist and amateur actor

Birth: 12 June 1905 at Ravenswood, North Queensland, son of James Graham (1869-1943), carpenter and waterside worker born at Dundee, Angus, Scotland, and native-born Rosina Mary (Peggy), née Thorne (1876-1959). Marriage: 14 April 1926 at Bundaberg, Queensland, to native-born Alice Ellen Camplin (1908-1972). They had one daughter and three sons. Death: 29 May 1996 in hospital at Brisbane. 

• Joined Waterside Workers’ Federation (WWF) at Bundaberg in 1936. Secretary of Bundaberg branch from 1939 to 1942.
• Moved to Brisbane in 1942 and became assistant secretary of the Brisbane branch of the WWF from 1944 to 1945, playing leading role in meat workers strike in 1946 and railway strike in 1948. From 1942 to 1951 was a federal councillor.
• Joined Communist Party of Australia in 1941. Contested parliamentary and city council elections as a Communist candidate, including for seat of Fortitude Valley in 1953.
• Represented federation in New Zealand in 1946. Full-time vigilance officer, WWF, from 1964 to 1970.
• Talented amateur actor. Played in Bundaberg and WWF brass bands.
• After retirement, in 1970 became assistant president WWF Retired Members’ Association. Occasional contributor to Tribune.
• Cause of death: cerebrovascular accident.

Sources
John Playford Doctrinal and strategic problems of the Communist Party of Australia, 1945-1962, PhD thesis, ANU, 1962; Maritime Worker, 2 August 1968, 20 July 1970, August 1985; Tribune, 8 October 1969.