Jock Garden (Red Oceania)

John Smith "Jock" Garden (born 13 August 1882) was the a communist revolutionary, founder of the Communist Party of Australia, and first Chairman of the Australian People's Union (later Oceanic People's Union).

Pre-Revolution
Jock Garden was born in Moray, Scotland on August 13th, 1882. In 1904, he and his family moved to Sydney, Australia. He became a Baptist minister in Victoria in 1906, and married Jeannie May Ritchie a year later. He joined the Labor Party in 1909, and by 1917 had become a local Labor candidate and member of the Labor Council of NSW. He reacted to the Gallipoli Campaign in World War One by supporting anti-war and pro-independence politicians. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, he became infatuated with the works of Marx and Lenin, causing him to form the Communist Party of Australia in 1920, attending the Communist International in Moscow in 1922.

The Revolution
In April, 1923, Garden and the CPA sparked the Australian Revolution, storming the Australian Parliament and British embassy. After the capture of Sydney and Canberra, Garden declared the formation of the Australian People's Union, with himself as Chairmen. Garden spent the rest of the Revolution leading the nation and party through the rest of the revolution, cooperating with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Communist Party of New Zealand. With the signing of the Treaty of Singapore, Garden's role as Chairmen of the Australian People's Union was transformed into the Chairmen of the Oceanic People's Union.

Post-Revolution
After the revolution, Garden focused on rebuilding the Union and making diplomatic efforts towards the Soviet Union. In 1933, Garden stepped down as Chairman of the OPU, as he received criticism for his religious past and corruption scandals. Since then, he has lived in quiet in his home in North Aotearoa.