Australian Anti War Movement

Question 1

Save Our Sons movement

Answer 1

• middle aged white women, against the draft
• chained themselves to draft boards

Question 2

Ham’s quote on anti war in Australia

Answer 2

“The same spirit blazed through Sydney… and dozens of other rural towns. In Sydney, 20,000 marched down George Street to Town Hall”

Question 2

Cantwell and the moratorium

Answer 2

“Public moratoriums were held in May and September of 1970. Australian society, like American society, were deeply divided over the war and conscription”

Question 3

What was the reasons for the Australian anti war movement?

Answer 3

1) US modelling - TV
2) Counterculture (hippie movement)
3) Soundly based criticism of the war - troop deaths and immorality - “passionate moral protest” (Lake)

Question 4

Draft Resisters Union

Answer 4

“Challenging both conscription and Australia’s military commitment to Vietnam” (Pemberton)

Question 5

Moratorium march in Melbourne

Answer 5

• attracted 100,000 people and was the largest moratorium march
• modelled off american demonstrations
• was the culmination of a build up of tension and anger towards the war - “gave the silent majority a voice” (Ham)

Question 6

Deery’s argument on the significance of the Australian anti war movement

Answer 6

that it contributed significantly to the government revoking conscription policies
“the powerful moral resistance to conscription, combined with the broader anti-war sentiment, created a political climate that was no longer tenable for the government to continue the draft”