The Long March 1974

The Long March to North West Cape 1974

In May 1974, Darce Cassidy was one of the organisers of this convoy of several buses on a 7,000k (return) trip across Australia. The buses left from Sydney and Melbourne and travelled to North West Cape in Western Australia. The group protested at many stops throughout the journey against the newly installed remotely located US controlled military base, the Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt. This base is still in operation today.

The protesters wanted to symbolically reclaim the base for the Australian people and raise awareness about the consequences of nuclear war for the Australian homeland. They met with violent clashes with police as they protested in towns along the way, this came to a head at the entrance to the base.

Click here to view The Long March Documentary Narrated by Darce, 14 minutes. Contact web administrator if you want to see the full 24 minute version.

The Long March
Director and Editor: Garry Lane
Camera: Roger Hudson, Phil Bull and Peter Murphy
Narrator: Jon “Darce” Cassidy
Production Manager: Lyall Kennedy
Sound mix: Alasdair McFarlane (Palm Studios, Sydney)
Sponsor: The Campaign Against Foreign Military Bases
Campaign Coordinators: Peter Galvin (national), Lyall Kennedy (Sydney), Peter Bell (Melbourne), Mike Williss (Adelaide)
Producers: Garry Lane and Crowsfoot Films, Sydney, 1975

Many thanks to Murray Horton from New Zealand for help with this page. Murray is the organiser for the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa and the Anti-Bases Campaign. In 1975, Darce was one of the Aussies who took part in the South Island Resistance Ride in New Zealand, he stayed with Murray. Darce first met Murray on the Australian 1974 Long March (Murray was part of a Kiwi contingent who travelled by bus from Sydney to NW Cape via Melbourne and directly back to Sydney).