Obituaries Australia

Vic Elliott, n.d.

ANU Archives, NBAC N409-119-76

Last Thursday, November 29, over 1500 members of the Seamens Union of Australia (SUA), and many other workers and trade union officials, joined with Delia Elliot and her family to farewell E. V. Elliot.

In his time, he was one of Australia's most prominent trade union leaders and communists. The following obituary was made available to Tribune by Pat Sweetensen, assistant federal secretary, SUA.

The international working class movement has lost one of its finest sons with the death in Sydney of Eliot V. Elliot, ex-federal secretary of the Seamens Union of Australia (SUA). He died at the Hornsby Hospital on Monday morning, November 26.

Elliot was born in the North Island of New Zealand 82 years ago and commenced his seagoing career at the age of 17. He arrived in Sydney at the age of 20 and shipped out of that port until 1937 when he was elected Queensland branch secretary of the SUA.

He became federal secretary of the union in 1941 and was re-elected at every election until he retired at the end of 1978.

In his early overseas voyaging, Elliot was able to observe at first hand the trials and tribulations of workers the whole world over. Although the lot in those days of New Zealand and Australian was not the best in the world, it was by no means the worst.

Very early in his working life, Elliot turned towards the teachings of Marx and Lenin in his quest for a better way of life and a more equitable share of the world's wealth for those who produce that wealth — the working class.

When he became an official of the SUA, comrade Elliot was already a dedicated communist, a political philosophy that he never wavered from for the rest of his life. Together with other dedicated communists of the '30s and '40s, Elliot fought valiantly to strengthen the trade union movement in Australia, and to make the workers of this country more politically aware and more politically active.

Under Elliot's leadership, the SUA was a foundation member of the World Federation of Trade Unions, and Elliot was, in fact, the first president of the Transport Unions international.

It was under Elliot's leadership that the SUA played an important role in the struggle against Australia's involvement in wars that were created for the prime motive of propping up and protecting capitalism.

The SUA played an active role in opposing the Korean war and the union's contribution in support of the Vietnamese people, both during that sickening episode in our history and since the wonderful victory of the Vietnamese people, has won international praise and respect for the union led by E V Elliot.

The SUA itself, together with the relatively good conditions that all Australian seafarers enjoy, is mute testimony to the ability and dedication of this great man in his fight to improve the way of life of all workers but, in particular, seamen; and to politically educate those workers whom he represented.

Beneath his grim exterior, Elliot was a man of great compassion as those closely associated with him were privileged to know. Elliot's gone, but his memory will remain with us forever.

The greatest tribute to his life, and to his work, will be the perseverance of the SUA in the international working class struggle. On behalf of all those who were touched by his life, we say "Vale, good Comrade, Rest in peace".