‘Shocked and angry’: Workers club targeted with Nazi symbols
A beachside venue run by the Port Adelaide United Workers Club has been targeted with illegal symbols during a late-night break-in. It sparked a call to condemn “increasingly brazen tactics by the far right”.
The Semaphore Workers Club established on the Esplanade in the early 1900s has been broken into and tagged with Nazi swastikas during an overnight break-in this week.
It is one of two venues operated by the Port Adelaide United Workers Club and its operators describes it as the “bastion of progressive politics on the Peninsula” that actively supports community and trade union campaigns to improve conditions in the workplace and the community.
Two vintage pool tables were spray painted with green Nazi symbolism while nearby heritage glass windows were smashed during the break-in.
Club president Sally Mitchell said she was “shocked and angry” when she first saw the damage on Tuesday morning.
“The fact that they’ve done this is just outrageous. It’s a very targeted, deliberate attack,” Mitchell said.
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“They’ve decorated the venue with swastikas that our fathers fought against.
“We don’t hide the fact that these attacks happen. We think people should know that these people are active in the community and need to be opposed, and they need to be outed.”
It comes as the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion established following the Bondi terrorist attack in December last year continues to hold sessions.
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SA Unions Secretary Dale Beasley called on all political parties to condemn the “increasingly brazen tactics of the far right”.
“The club has a proud association with the trade union movement,” he said.
“Some politicians and public figures are increasingly giving licence to the sort of views which motivated this attack. Rhetoric which fans the flames of hate and division will always lead to violence.
“It’s time for every political leader to stand up and make it clear that this sort of hate, division, and anger has no place in our community.”
The site was formerly the headquarters of the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron and is now decorated with communist flags and photos of prominent communist leaders, with Mitchell saying the vandalism was likely a politically motivated act.
“Unlike normal community clubs, our club has a political part of it, and always has for as long as it’s been a workers’ club,” she said.
The club president estimated the damages to the two pool tables and broken heritage windows would cost “thousands” to repair.
SA Police confirmed it would be investigating the incident that occurred between 4.30pm on Monday August 10 and 3pm on Tuesday August 11.
Mitchell said it was not the first time Nazi symbols had been left on the property, with stickers often plastered on the front fence.
She would not let the vandalism deter them from continuing operations and that the club would still open this weekend.
“The club will keep going. It’ll keep doing what it does, which is deliver fantastic music to its audience,” she said.
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