A. N. Field
Encyclopedia
A. N. Field, full name Arthur Nelson Field, (1882–1963) of New Zealand
- accused of being a white supremacist, anti-Semite and neofascist.
Born in Nelson
he was the first son of four children born to Tom Field and Jessica Black. Tom Field
was managing director of Wilkins and Field Hardware in his native city, which his father had founded, and went on to serve as a Nelson City Councillor and Reform Party Member of Parliament
for the local electorate from 1914 to 1919.
Arthur took up journalism and worked as a reporter for The Evening Post, Taranaki Herald
, Poverty Bay Herald and Melbourne Argus (1901–1907), before returning to Nelson in 1907. He served as a Wellington Dominion
columnist for the next 21 years (1907–1928). There was a break during this period when he served as a Royal Navy
sub-lieutenant and adjutant at Portsmouth, and on board RNV Spenser in the North Sea
. He returned to New Zealand when discharged in 1914.
Field won later "acclaim" from kindred anti-Socialists such as the League of Empire Loyalists
and the late Eric Butler
of the Australian League of Rights.
Marcus van Rooij wrote a paper on A.N. Field's influence on Australian neofascism, suggesting his conspiracy theory
discourse impacted on other such Australian organisations during the Depression era. In particular, The Truth About the Slump (1931, 1932) enjoyed widespread circulation and stimulated the interest of organisations such as the Guild of Watchmen of Australia, the Australian Catholic Truth Society, the League of Truth, the British Australian Racial Body, and Evangelical Publishing Company of New South Wales. Australian anti-Semite Patricia Lewin cited Truth About the Slump in her tract, The Key (1933), as did numerous other Australian Social Credit
and Douglas Credit Party
figures that based their work on the monetary theories of C.H. Douglas. Rooij designated him the "Kiwi theoretician of the Australian Radical Right."
Despite the recognition of his work in Australia and the United States, and the circulation of his books within those countries, Field preferred to work from his isolated Nelson homestead.
In his later years, Field wrote a series of self-published tracts on his interpretations of economics, anti-socialist articles about the New Zealand Labour Party and trade union movement, and related matters. Some were republished in the United States in the early 1960s. Field died aged 81 in a private hospital in Nelson.
His collected tracts and monographs were later deposited in the Alexander Turnbull Library of the National Library of New Zealand in 1968.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
- accused of being a white supremacist, anti-Semite and neofascist.
Born in Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
he was the first son of four children born to Tom Field and Jessica Black. Tom Field
Thomas Field (politician)
Thomas Andrew Hemming Field was a New Zealand politician of the Reform Party. He married Jessica Black, and they had four children. His eldest son Arthur Nelson Field was a journalist and right-wing author.- Wilkins and Field :...
was managing director of Wilkins and Field Hardware in his native city, which his father had founded, and went on to serve as a Nelson City Councillor and Reform Party Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the local electorate from 1914 to 1919.
Arthur took up journalism and worked as a reporter for The Evening Post, Taranaki Herald
Taranaki Herald
The Taranaki Herald was an afternoon daily newspaper, published in New Plymouth, New Zealand. It began publishing as a four-page tabloid on August 4, 1852 and until it ceased publication in 1989 was the oldest daily newspaper in the country....
, Poverty Bay Herald and Melbourne Argus (1901–1907), before returning to Nelson in 1907. He served as a Wellington Dominion
The Dominion Post (Wellington)
The Dominion Post is a metropolitan broadsheet newspaper published in Wellington, New Zealand, owned by the Australian Fairfax group, owners of The Age, Melbourne, and The Sydney Morning Herald.- Foundation :...
columnist for the next 21 years (1907–1928). There was a break during this period when he served as a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
sub-lieutenant and adjutant at Portsmouth, and on board RNV Spenser in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. He returned to New Zealand when discharged in 1914.
Career and Associations
While working as a journalist and serving in the navy, Field became involved in right wing politics. In 1909 he published The Citizen, an early far right publication which upheld motherhood, eugenics and monetary reform, and opposed "Maori Obstructionism" for seven years, 1912-1919. After that period, he also became involved with "The Britons", a group that specialised in publishing New Zealand editions of The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, (of questionable authorship, but of contextual significance) and himself published a New Zealand edition. During the Second World War, he was kept under surveillance by the Security Intelligence Bureau of New Zealand's Department of External Affairs.Field won later "acclaim" from kindred anti-Socialists such as the League of Empire Loyalists
League of Empire Loyalists
The League of Empire Loyalists was a British pressure group , established in 1954, which campaigned against the dissolution of the British Empire. The League was a small group of current or former members of the Conservative Party led by Arthur K...
and the late Eric Butler
Eric Butler
Eric Dudley Butler , Australian political activist and journalist, was the founder of the Australian League of Rights.Butler was born in the Victorian country town of Benalla, although he lived most of his life near Melbourne. In the 1930s he became a follower of the British economist C. H. Douglas...
of the Australian League of Rights.
Marcus van Rooij wrote a paper on A.N. Field's influence on Australian neofascism, suggesting his conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
discourse impacted on other such Australian organisations during the Depression era. In particular, The Truth About the Slump (1931, 1932) enjoyed widespread circulation and stimulated the interest of organisations such as the Guild of Watchmen of Australia, the Australian Catholic Truth Society, the League of Truth, the British Australian Racial Body, and Evangelical Publishing Company of New South Wales. Australian anti-Semite Patricia Lewin cited Truth About the Slump in her tract, The Key (1933), as did numerous other Australian Social Credit
Social Credit
Social Credit is an economic philosophy developed by C. H. Douglas , a British engineer, who wrote a book by that name in 1924. Social Credit is described by Douglas as "the policy of a philosophy"; he called his philosophy "practical Christianity"...
and Douglas Credit Party
Douglas Credit Party
The Douglas Credit Party was an Australian political party based around the social credit theory of monetary reform, first set out by C. H. Douglas. It gained its strongest result in Queensland in 1935, when it gained 7.02% of first preferences. The party's strongest federal result was at the 1934...
figures that based their work on the monetary theories of C.H. Douglas. Rooij designated him the "Kiwi theoretician of the Australian Radical Right."
Despite the recognition of his work in Australia and the United States, and the circulation of his books within those countries, Field preferred to work from his isolated Nelson homestead.
In his later years, Field wrote a series of self-published tracts on his interpretations of economics, anti-socialist articles about the New Zealand Labour Party and trade union movement, and related matters. Some were republished in the United States in the early 1960s. Field died aged 81 in a private hospital in Nelson.
His collected tracts and monographs were later deposited in the Alexander Turnbull Library of the National Library of New Zealand in 1968.
Biography
- A.N. Field: Wanted: Accurate Data about Human Heredity: Timaru: Timaru Post Publishing: 1911.
- A.N. Field: Medical Marriage Certificates: London: Eugenic Education Society: 1912.
- A.N. Field: The Defence Department's Failure: Wellington: Wellington Publishing Company: 1915.
- A.N. Field: The Truth about the Slump: Nelson: A.N. Field: 1931, 1932.
- A.N. Field: The Stabilisation of Money: Nelson: A.N. Field: 1934.
- A.N. Field: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion: Nelson: A.N. Field: 1934.
- A.N. Field: The Untaught History of Money: Nelson: A.N. Field: 1938.
- A.N. Field: All These Things, Volume 1: Nelson: A.N. Field: 1936.
- A.N. Field: Socialism Unmasked: Nelson: A.N. Field: 1938.
- A.N. Field: Why Colleges Breed Communists: Hawthorne, California: Omni Publishing: 1941.
- A.N. Field: The Bretton Woods Plot: Nelson: A.N. Field: 1957.
- A.N. Field: All These Things: Hawthorne, California: Omni Publishing: 1963.
- A.N. Field: The Truth About New Zealand: Bullsbrook: Veritas: 1987: ISBN 0-947117-40-7.
- Marcus La Rooij: "Arthur Nelson Field: Kiwi Theoretician of the Australian Radical Right?" Labour History 89 (November 2005): 37-54.
- New Zealand Department of External Affairs Archives: Report on Arthur Nelson Field by Security Intelligence Bureau: 15 December 1943: EA1, 84/10/1, Part 1, National Archives.
- Paul Spoonley: The Politics of Nostalgia: The Extreme Right in New Zealand: Dunmore Press: Palmerston North: 1987.