ABSTRACT When Gough Whitlam’s Labor government won re-election in 1974, Nora Opferkuch, a Coonabarabran farmer, wrote to the Attorney-General Lionel Murphy. After congratulating him on the party’s success, she warned him of the parlous state of political life in the Central New South Wales town. “No one dares speak Politics in Coonabarabran now,” she wrote. The town was in the grip of a fascist conspiracy that had resulted in a terrible crime. Opferkuch’s letter opens up an under-examined area of Australian political culture—the activities of the far right. Using interviews and newspaper reports, as well as Opferkuch’s letter, this article explores the veracity of her allegations. It reveals the impact on a rural town of social change led by a resurgent political party with a vision for Australia at odds with that of the ruling elite. It also extends understandings of Australian political culture, including the role of politics in the everyday life of a rural town, and explores the impact of the political past on contemporary events.

中文翻译：

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1970 年代新南威尔士州农村的偏执狂和极右翼

摘要 当 Gough Whitlam 的工党政府于 1974 年赢得连任时，Coonabarabran 农民 Nora Opferkuch 写信给司法部长 Lionel Murphy。在祝贺他党的成功后，她警告他新南威尔士州中部城镇的政治生活危险。“现在没有人敢在库纳巴拉布兰谈论政治，”她写道。该镇处于法西斯阴谋的控制之下，该阴谋导致了可怕的罪行。Opferkuch 的信开辟了澳大利亚政治文化的一个未被充分研究的领域——极右翼的活动。本文通过采访和报纸报道，以及奥普弗库奇的信件，探讨了她指控的真实性。它揭示了一个复兴的政党领导的社会变革对农村城镇的影响，该政党对澳大利亚的愿景与统治精英的愿景不一致。