Larissa Dubecki, ‘Bursting the bubble on originality’, The Age (Metro), March 1, 2005, p.2:

“…But my favourite artistic stunts involve no personality-driven grandstanding, rather a delight in perplexing people in complete anonymity. A little compilation of Australian pranks and hoaxes called How To Make Trouble and Influence People is — going by the imagination-free bubble episode — probably a more useful publication for the uni student neophyte than the official orientation guide.

I bought my photocopied, hand-stapled copy from Barricades [sic] bookstore in Brunswick’s Sydney Road almost a decade ago. Barricades is itself long gone now — a smart cafe that serves babychinos stands where the skanky bookshelves once were…”

Jason McQuinn, ‘Anarchist press review’, Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed, #56, Fall-Winter 2003-04, p.23:

“In Ya Face / ‘Journal of Barricade Books’ (#5) is a very readable and intelligent, 52-page magazine presenting an eclectic variety of perspectives within the Australian milieu. The issue starts off with Andrew & Aggy’s “Renegotiating the Terrain” (focusing on the autonomous nature of recent Australian — and worldwide — anti-capitalist resistance), an examination of “Strategies against the WTO” (in preparation for last winter’s WTO “mini-ministerial” in Sydney), a strange “Proposal for a Regional Anarchist Federation” (inspired by the goal of having a federation exert control over “anarchist resources” like bookshops, and including as an appendix, the wildly misnamed 1975 “Organisational Platform of the Federation of Australian Anarchists” — not by any stretch a platformist document), and continues with many more articles on prisons, affinity groups, “Building an antiwar movement”, Aboriginal sovereignty, anarchist education, etc. Overall, a solid effort.”

‘Nazi attack on Brunswick shop’, The Melbourne Times, February 7, 1996:

The front of [DG]’s house and the Barricade book shop in Sydney Road, Brunswick, have something in common — they are swathed in swastikas. Barricade Books has a distinctly war-zone ambience, with its smashed windows and semi-permanent shutters… The response from the Brunswick community was a rally at the traditional battleground — Brunswick Town Hall — followed by a march to Barricade Books. The protesters mostly matched the ambience of the any-and-all cause bookshop — shaved heads, coloured hair, overalls, work boots and politics ranging from the local Radical Women group to anarchists to mainstream politicians making election speeches… Speeches were made about “scum” who only come out in the dead of night — in 1993 a group of young National Action members did rally at the town hall, where they were pelted with eggs and abuse… Eventually, after mutual congratulations on a fine rally, the crowd went home — or popped into Barricade for a fresh supply of stickers and PC t-shirts. One member of Barricade’s collective organising committee said the steel shutters would remain while the bookshop tried to get permission to put up proper night security shutters to protect the windows.”

‘Fear of Nazi revival’, Northcote Leader, Monday, July 17, 1995:

“The Friends of Barricade Bookshop group fears a resurgence of neo-Nazi activity in Brunswick after two attacks on its bookshop in as many months. The group claims neo-Nazis smashed its windows at Barricade Bookshop in Sydney Road last Tuesday. “We believe the attack was buoyed by the police raid [see History] because the news had gone out on the streets and the neo-Nazis acted in response to that”, group member [SS] said. Mr S said members feared a resurgence of neo-Nazi activity similar to that in March last year. Mr S said two witnesses saw three young men, who looked like [boneheads], smash the windows about 1am.”