Increasing protest
Many groups were formed to object to both Australia’s participation in the
Vietnam War and the conscription of twenty year-olds to fight. The early
protests were largely peaceful, but the later groups became more militant in
their actions.
In this lesson, you identify the anti-war and anti-conscription groups formed
during the Vietnam War. You compare the groups who expressed their
opposition to the war through peaceful means with the more militant protest
groups.
You then learn about a series of events that united the groups — the three
Moratorium marches of the early 1970s. These were some of the biggest
demonstrations of ‘people power’ in Australian history.
The peaceful groups
Throughout the Vietnam War, much of the protest action was organised
within Australia's universities. Student groups banded together to hold
demonstrations that attracted hundreds of students, unionists and members
of the public.
Some of the student-directed groups included the Vietnam Action
Committee, the Vietnam Day Committee and Students for Democratic
Action.
The photograph on the following page shows the membership of these
protest groups to be mainly young people.
Part 2 Australia goes to Vietnam
39
Source: A photograph of a demonstration against Australia's involvement in the Vietnam
War
Cowie H, 1987, Obedience or Choice, Jacaranda Press, Sydney, p 494.
Youth Campaign against Conscription
Largely made up of Sydney University students, the Youth Campaign
against Conscription (YCAC) formed after the Federal Government
announced the new National Service Act in November 1964.
In June 1965, the YCAC placed an advertisement in The Australian
newspaper seeking support. The advertisement was in the form of
a petition opposing overseas conscription and was signed by 144 potential
conscripts. The YCAC advertisement encouraged any other twenty yearolds to sign and send in the pledge:
‘I support the campaign against overseas conscription.’
Hundreds of twenty year-old men responded to the YCAC advertisement,
signing and returning the pledge of support for the YCAC campaign.
Within months YCAC branches were formed in all states.
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Australia in the Vietnam Era
Save Our Sons
Two Sydney mothers, Joyce Golgerth and Pat Ashcroft, established the Save
Our Sons (SOS) organisation within weeks of the government’s 1965
announcement that it would send conscripts overseas.
Save Our Sons was set up by ‘mothers joining together to voice their
opposition to the conscription of their sons for the slaughter in Vietnam’
(YCAC Newsletter, August 1968). By the end of the year, SOS had branches in
Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Newcastle and Adelaide.
A photograph of an SOS group can be seen below. You will notice some
obvious differences in appearance between members of this group and those
of the YCAC.
© National Library of Australia, November 1966
Source: Photograph of a Brisbane SOS group protesting in November 1966
Murphy J, 1993, Harvest of Fear, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, p 141.
A name you can see on two of the placards is ‘Bill White’. He was the first
man to publicly refuse to report for national service. Bill White was also a
schoolteacher.
The YCAC and SOS held generally peaceful demonstrations at induction
centres, railway stations (when conscripts were leaving for training), and
other public places. Other action included draft card burnings and sit-ins
outside politicians’ homes and in public places.
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41
Activity 13
Write ‘true’ or ‘false’ in response to these statements from the
information in ‘The peaceful groups’.
1
YCAC was mainly made up of students.
_________
2
Bill White was a member of SOS.
_________
3
The members of YCAC and SOS were primarily anticonscription, rather than anti-war groups.
_________
Check your responses by going to the suggested answers section.
Much of the YCAC and SOS action in 1966 was directed at helping the ALP
win the federal election. When Labor suffered a massive defeat in the
November poll, branches of the YCAC began to disband.
The militant groups
The formation of the Draft Resistance Movement (DRM) in early 1968
signalled a start to a more aggressive protest movement. Whereas the
YCAC had tried to end conscription politically by supporting the Labor
Party, the DRM took more active measures. Although only in existence for a
few months, the DRM provided information to draftees to help them fail
their medicals and actively encouraged them not to register for national
service.
The extract on the following page leaves the reader in little doubt as to the
aggressive nature of the DRM and its strategies.
Source: Extract from a DRM publication
The DRM has not been formed to oppose conscription; it has been formed to wreck
it. We are opposed to the war in Vietnam and we intend to resist the conscription of
Australian youth for this war by all available means. We will hold demonstrations of
various kinds with the aim of making conscription as ineffective as possible; we will
supply information on how to fail medical exams and other methods of resisting the
draft and we will encourage people not to register. By these means we will help
those 20 year olds who do not wish to be conscripted for any reason.
The Peacemaker, February-March 1968 cited in King P, 1983, Australia’s Vietnam,
Allen and Unwin, Sydney, p 113.
You will notice that the word ‘all’ has been written in italics in the fourth
line. As with capital letters and underlining, italics are often used in writing
to emphasise a word or phrase. In this case, the DRM is making it very clear
that no tactic was beyond them.
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Australia in the Vietnam Era
As well as demonstrations, sit-ins and draft card burnings, the DRM and other
militant groups such as the Students for a Democratic Society, the Pacifist
Society and the Students’ Democratic Alliance, participated in raids on
government offices. Demonstrations had also started to become more violent
and clashes with the police often resulted in the arrest of many protesters.
The defaulters
Twenty year-old Australians who refused to register, report for their medical
or obey their call-up were considered defaulters. Those who failed to
register without good reason could be arrested and imprisoned for the same
amount of time as their period of national service. That meant two years
until 1971, when the period of national service was reduced to eighteen
months.
The first defaulters were jailed in military prisons. However, in May 1968,
the government amended the National Service Act to impose a civil jail term
that meant instead of being sent to military prisons, defaulters were treated
as if they were criminals and were sent to normal prisons.
In fact, only fourteen men were actually imprisoned for disobeying a call-up
notice. However, almost 4000 were placed under investigation for suspected
violations of the National Service Act.
Activity 14
Colour in the circle that best answers the questions based on ‘The
militant groups’.
1
2
An example of a militant group was:
a
the DMR
b
the Pacific Society
c
Students for Democratic Action
d
Students for a Democratic Society.
In order to wreck conscription, the Draft Resistance Movement was
prepared to:
a
advise twenty year-olds on how to fail the medical test
b
break into government offices
c
burn draft cards
d
all of these measures plus a lot more.
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43
3
A defaulter was:
a
any Australian who refused to put their name on the
register
b
someone who could be jailed for three years
c
a person who didn’t attend their medical exam after being
called up
d
someone who didn’t go to Vietnam.
Check your responses by going to the suggested answers section.
Marching in the streets
By the start of 1970, Australian troops had been fighting in Vietnam for
nearly five years. Along with our allies, there had been no notable success in
defeating communism.
Nearly every family was affected by the war as sons, brothers, cousins and
friends were conscripted to fight in the jungles of Vietnam. The
overpowering images of war could be seen on television on a regular basis.
Anti-war groups from around the nation met in Melbourne at the start of
1970 to discuss a combined protest against the war. The idea of a
moratorium was acknowledged as the most effective way to demonstrate
large-scale opposition to the Vietnam War.
Just as the Melbourne Cup is said to be the ‘race that stops a nation’, the
objective of the Vietnam Moratorium was to bring Australia to a halt.
Normal business would pause while marches, rallies and meetings were held
around the country to protest against the war in Vietnam.
The Moratorium had two main demands:
•
the immediate, total and unconditional withdrawal of all United States
and allied troops from Indochina and the immediate, total and
unconditional withdrawal of all forms of support for the Saigon
Government, and
•
the immediate abolition of all forms of conscription.
The moratorium idea took off with great support in offices, factories,
schools and universities. Support was not only confined to the cities as
many regional areas also embraced the idea.
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Australia in the Vietnam Era
For and against
Naturally the Government opposed the idea of a moratorium. It was suggested
by Prime Minister John Gorton that holding a mass sit-in in a public place was
illegal. His colleague, Billy Sneddon, went as far as suggesting that the
Moratorium organisers were guilty of ‘pack-raping democracy’. On the other
hand, many members of the Labor Party were enthusiastic supporters of the
Moratorium Movement.
Read the following extracts. They express different opinions of the
Moratorium. The phrase, ‘fifth column’, used in the first extract is a figure of
speech used to describe the media.
Source A
One view of the Moratorium
Tomorrow we are to witness in many Australian cities the culmination of the
activities of Australia’s own fifth column movement — the Vietnam Moratorium
Campaign … the main additional support for the Moratorium seems to be
coming from Australian Labor Party voters whose purpose is to attack
democracy…. I would describe the Moratorium as the most blatant
Communist–ALP unity ticket ever conceived.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates House of Representatives, 7 May 1970 cited in
Blackmore W, 1976, Australians and War, Methuen of Australia, Melbourne, p 80.
Source B
Another view of the Moratorium
There is intense and widespread opposition to the death and destruction. It
needs no messages or control from Hanoi or Peking. Is it surprising that there is
intense opposition to what has happened in Vietnam from students, workers
and all sorts of people all round Australia and in every country of the world?…
what is being done in the Vietnam Moratorium Campaign is an example of
government by the people; it is an example of people taking action about issues
that are important to them.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates House of Representatives, 7 May 1970 cited in
Blackmore W, 1976, Australians and War, Methuen of Australia, Melbourne, p 80.
Not only do the extracts give very different perspectives of the Moratorium,
they also express very different opinions of its democratic nature.
Activity 15
Complete the following table based on the two views of the Moratorium.
Source A
Source B
Is the source for
or against the
Moratorium?
What does the
source say about
the democracy of
the Moratorium?
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45
Check your responses by going to the suggested answers section.
The second extract was part of a speech made by ALP politician, Dr Jim
Cairns, in the House of Representatives. Dr Cairns was recognised as the
leader of the Moratorium Movement.
The right to protest
The Moratorium raised fundamental questions about how far Australians
could legally go in protesting about the laws that governed them. One of the
rights of citizens of a democracy is to express their opposition to
government policies, as long as this done in a non-violent way.
Some of these forms of protest are:
•
visiting or writing letters to Members of Parliament (MPs)
•
signing and sending petitions to MPs
•
writing to newspapers or calling talkback radio
•
holding protest meetings, rallies, marches and strikes (usually with prior
warning and/or permission)
•
holding debates, lectures or other ways to promote an opinion.
Following this thinking, the participants in the Vietnam Moratorium had
every right to protest by stopping their work or study, closing their shops,
businesses and offices to show their opposition to the government’s policy
on Vietnam.
The big day out
As you can see in the photograph below, Moratorium Day attracted huge
support from the Australian public. Approximately 200 000 people around
Australia marched for peace on 8 May 1970. In Melbourne alone, over
70 000 protestors took part in the street parade.
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Australia in the Vietnam Era
Source: Photograph of the Moratorium March in Melbourne, 8 May 1970
Murphy J, 1993, Harvest of fear, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, p 247.
While shops and offices were temporarily closed the people were able to
show their objection to the war in Vietnam. Numerous functions were also
held outside city centres. As well as public meetings, there were concerts,
church services, dances, debates and other functions held to demonstrate
opposition to the war.
The May Moratorium was a peaceful affair. Although tens of thousands of
Australians gathered across the country to show their support for the antiwar movement, there were only a few arrests. However, subsequent
Moratoriums were not as peaceful.
Although the government had committed to reducing the number of
Australian troops in Vietnam, a second moratorium was planned for 18
September 1970. This and a third moratorium held on 30 June 1971,
attracted less support than the first although there were still many
Australians eager to protest. These demonstrations were also marred by
violence with several hundred people arrested.
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47
Activity 16
Complete the following passage by choosing the right word and writing it in
the space based on the information in ‘Marching in the streets’.
anti-war
conscription
democratic
demonstrate
illegal
right
The first Moratorium March was held on 8 May 1970. It attracted
about 200 000 people across Australia who wished to ____________
against Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War and the
____________ of soldiers to fight in the war.
As well as being a strong ____________ statement, the Moratorium also
raised important questions about the ____________ to protest in a
____________ society. Some people, such as Billy Sneddon, considered
the rally ____________. Others, like Dr Jim Cairns, believed that the
Moratorium was a perfect example of civics in action.
Check your responses by going to the suggested answers section.
Australia withdraws
In May 1969, Prime Minister Gorton declared Australian troops would remain
in Vietnam until they could be totally withdrawn. However, following an
announcement that the Unites States would begin bringing their troops home,
the Australian government decided in April 1970 that they would also begin a
partial withdrawal. In August 1971 the government declared most Australian
troops would be home by Christmas 1971.
Following the Labor Party’s election victory in December 1972, almost all
troops were immediately brought home. As well, conscription was abolished
and draft defaulters were released from prison. The war in Vietnam continued
until the Communists claimed victory in 1975.
The conflict resulted in hundreds and thousands of Vietnamese refugees, who
were either homeless and/or hunted by the victorious communist government
for their opposing views. Many of these refugees found their way to Australia
via a perilous sea journey. Most came in small, seriously overcrowded and
leaking boats. They became known as the ‘boat people’. In due course, they
would have a significant impact on Australian society.
Go to the exercises section and complete Exercises 2.9 to 2.10 as
directed by your teacher.
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Australia in the Vietnam Era