Kerry Bolton - Biography

Biography

Bolton has published and edited several newsletters such as The Nexus, Western Destiny, and Restoration.

Bolton founded the Order of the Left Hand Path (OLHP) in 1992, following a quarrel with other members of the Temple of Set. The Order of the Left Hand Path was a study group based around the ideas of Nietzsche, Jung and Spengler, with some symbolic trappings. Two years later it was renamed the Ordo Sinistra Vivendi ("Order of the Left Way"), and then the Order of Deorc Fyre under the direction of Thorsten Moar, and in the same year created the Black Order. It claimed to have a network of national lodges in six European countries plus Australia and the U.S. It was intended to be an activist front promoting an "occult-fascist axis" by mobilising political groups and youth culture elements such as industrial music. Bolton created and edited the Black Order newsletter, The Flaming Sword, and its successor, The Nexus, a journal that focused largely on the politically heretical with special attention given to figures from neo-völkisch movements like Savitri Devi, Julius Evola, and Ezra Pound, and which especially catered to the 'Black heavy-metal' movement. It later changed its name to Western Destiny.

Bolton was a co-founder of the Nationalist Workers' Party, and was briefly secretary for the New Zealand Fascist Union in 1997, in which he promoted the 'patriotic socialism' of 1930s Labour hero John A. Lee. In 2004 he was the secretary of the New Zealand National Front and spokesman for the New Right group. He was also involved for several years with the New Zealand National Front during the late 1970s and in 2004. However, Bolton soon resigned because of disputes with neo-Nazi and white supremacist factions._{John McCrone, 'A Right Muddle', The Press, 5 December 2009}

Bolton was educated at Hutt Valley Technical College, in Lower Hutt. Several years after college he obtained qualifications in psychology, and in 2006 and 2007 obtained doctorates in theology. He has been published in recent years in peer reviewed and professional journals and on the websites of academics including Alfred Vierling and that of the Centre for Conservative Studies, Sociology Department, at Moscow State University. He is closely associated with the peer reviewed journal Ab Aeterno, whose contributors have included Dr Dimitris Michalopoulos, Dr Tom Sunic, Prof. Alexander Dugin, et al. Bolton is a Fellow of the Academy of Social and Political Research. Bolton's 2003 book Thinkers of the Right was described by Paul Gottfried as one of the best he's read on the inter-war Right.

In 2008, a masters thesis written about Bolton published by the Waikato University was pulled from the library pending investigation after Bolton complained to the Vice-Chancellor. The thesis, titled "Dreamers of the Dark: Kerry Bolton and the Order of the Left Hand Path; a Case-study of a Satanic/Neo Nazi Synthesis", dealt with the link between neo-Nazi and satanic beliefs in New Zealand. It had been passed by the university, had been reviewed by senior academics from two other universities, and had received full class honors. Professor Dov Bing, who supervised the thesis, called it a first-class piece of work. Bolton claimed the thesis was "poorly researched" and was "a poorly contrived smear-document against a private individual, namely myself". After threats from the Tertiary Education Union, Vice Chancellor Crawford issued a one page letter stating that the thesis was sound because it had been externally examined by 'two well qualified academics'.

In December 2009 Bolton filed a complaint with the Broadcasting Standards Authority concerning the Ideas program on Radio New Zealand, which featured Marxist poet and sociologist Scott Hamilton. Hamilton had stated that Bolton was an avid 'holocaust denier', had a 'close relationship' with the revisionist Adelaide Institute, insinuated himself into the anti-war movement where he made anti-Semitic and 'holocaust denial' statements, and exercised a bad political influence over 'unwary youth.' Bolton claimed that all of Hamilton's allegations were incorrect. The Broadcasting Standards Authority initially upheld Bolton's complaint on all grounds, and criticised Radio New Zealand for not having verified the accuracy of Hamilton's statements before airing the program, but reversed this decision in December 2010 and declined to uphold any of Bolton's complaints. However, the BSA also declined to form an opinion on the allegations made by Scott Hamilton, and stated "for the record" the complaint would have been better made under the "fairness" clause.

In December 2009 Bolton complained to the Press Council against a lengthy feature article run by The Press, Christchurch, 'A Right Muddle' by John McCrone. Bolton stated that the article wrongly implied that Bolton was a 'neo-Nazi Satanist', that he was associated with 'white power' and 'pseudo-fascist views', that he was involved with the National Front and was the founder of New Right New Zealand, among other matters. The Press Council in a ruling dated for release as 26 March 2010, upheld the complaint, determining that the article is 'inaccurate and biased'.