The Anti-Vietnam War Movement: 1960s-70s Australia

By Sarah Lewis
Student ID: 18974257

A Controversial War

Australia set out to help “repulse the

aggression of the Viet Cong”1
As the result of a controversial war in
Vietnam, an antiwar movement grew
across Australia and the world during
the 1960s and 1970s, much political
and social debate surrounded the war.
Australians protested for peace and
justice, whilst soldiers fought in
Vietnam, with many soldiers protesting
too. The Vietnam war began in 1955 as
communist tension worldwide Figure 1: Soldiers on the ‘front line’ during the Vietnam War.

U.S Marines, U.S Marines with company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th marines, direct
intensified and South Vietnam needed concentration of fire at the enemy during operation Allen Brook, 1968. From
U.S Marine Corps History website. 22/10/18
to be protected from communism
attacks, therefore preventing the domino effect throughout South East Asia. In a pocket-
book given to Australian soldiers, the Australian intervention was described as “helping the
people of this proud nation repulse the aggression of the Viet Cong.”2

1
Murphy, John. A Harvest of Fear : A History of Australia's Vietnam War. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1993. Page
166.
2
Murphy, John. A Harvest of Fear : A History of Australia's Vietnam War. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1993. Page
166.
Australia joined the fight in 1962 after the Menzies government decided to support the
United States. “There can be no doubt of the gravity of the situation in South Vietnam”3
Prime Minister Robert Menzies explained in his speech committing Australia to the war.
Originally, a small number of soldiers were sent over to Vietnam, but this number ended up
being over 60,000 soldiers and personnel.

By the end of the war in 1975, almost every Australian knew somebody affected by the war.
Australians involvement in the war was to support superpowers such as the United States.
The Vietnam War ended up being the longest serving war for Australians, only surpassed by
the Afghanistan war in recent history.

Reasoning for the antiwar movement including…

Conscription, raw media coverage… which included media sent straight from soldiers
themselves, those who were left behind to pick up the pieces of Australia whilst at war and
the political climate of the time were reasons to be anti-war in the infancy of Australia’s
involvement in the war. The reasons why the Vietnam war was so protested are evident and
insight into Australians biggest anti-war protests, including the May 1970 Melbourne
protest, how they were organised, supported, criticized and their effectiveness show the
widespread support. In regards to effectiveness, the argument for and against the war must
be analyzed and what the results of Vietnam war had, and what the result could have been
if there was no action taken, and to what extent was the Vietnam war affected by the Anti-
War movement.

3
‘Sir Robert Menzies Announces Military Commitment to South Vietnam, Australianpolitics.com,
http://australianpolitics.com/1965/04/29/menzies-vietnam-commitment-announcement.html. 10/10/18
 Why Protest?

“Strengthen the alliance with the United States’ leaps off the
page as a damp description of the end-play of Menzies’s career-
long focus on managing ‘great and powerful friends’’4

The Vietnam war was not seen as heroic, nor patriotic by some
members of society, instead of lining the streets to welcome back
soldiers, the public was lining the streets in protest to the war.
There were many reasons for protesting the war, ranging from
political too deeply personal and many walks of life joined the
common cause of the Anti-War movement. Fuel for the anti-war
movement can originally be derived from conscription and the
debate about whether Australia should even be involved in the
war. Conscription, officially known as the National Service Act was
Figure 2: An anti-conscription poster
created by the Moratorium passed 11 November 1964 5, two years after Australia joined the
Vietnam Moratorium Group, Abolish war and voluntary sign-ups to the war were falling. Conscripting
Conscription now, 1970. From Trove.
22/10/18 young men in a lottery styled draw, were your ‘lucky’ number was
your birthdate, and just five months after the first draws,
conscripts were sent to Vietnam, “The movement really started to build once Menzies
committed Australia to the war.”6 Within weeks of the Menzies governments
announcement to send off conscripts, public protests meetings begin. 7 Additionally, the
entire commitment of Australia to the Vietnam War was questioned by many protesters,
further frustrating the Australian public. John F. Kennedy, the United States president at the

4
Woodard, Garry. “Australia’s War in Vietnam: Debate without End.” Australian Journal of International
Affairs, vol. 71, no. 2, 2017, pp. 216–230. Page 218.

5
Joy Damousi, Marilyn Lake, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, New York 1995, page 319.
6
Joy Damousi, Marilyn Lake, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, New York 1995, page 319.
7
Joy Damousi, Marilyn Lake, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, New York 1995, page 319.
time of the beginning of the Vietnam war, supposedly privately believed only the South
Vietnamese could win the war, 8 a common believe felt by many. The Vietnam war was
often debated as for whether it should be a world war, involving allies from the world’s
strongest superpowers, or a civil war between north and South Vietnam, the soldier's
pocketbook insisted that the conflict was not a civil war9, but much debate still exists
regarding this. In regards to Australia and joining the war, it’s believed Australia could have
avoided the war. 10 The Foreign Minister at the time, Paul Hasluck, and prime minister
Robert Menzies pushed the idea of Australia joining the war, perhaps to propel their own
careers and status… ‘Strengthen the alliance with the United States’ leaps off the page as a
damp description of the end-play of Menzies’s career-long focus on managing ‘great and
powerful friends’’. 11

All the questionable decisions made by the government leading up to them during the
Vietnam war led to a progressively liberal public becoming frustrated, as a changing
Australia was forced to adapt to wartime conditions.

Those Left Behind in Australia and those suffering in

Vietnam
Australians were used to having to adapt to a wartime society, but the Vietnam war did not
feel like a sacrifice to help one’s country with conscription, media coverage and a
controversial war being drawn out. Protesters were made up of all walks of life, including a
large percentage of women, as the brutality of the Vietnam war was realized. Media
coverage of the Vietnam war was unfiltered, with soldiers even carrying their own cameras
sending it straight home, in addition to harrowing letters…

8
Woodard, Garry. “Australia’s War in Vietnam: Debate without End.” Australian Journal of International
Affairs, vol. 71, no. 2, 2017, pp. 216–230. Page 217.
9
Murphy, John. A Harvest of Fear : A History of Australia's Vietnam War. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1993. Page
166.
10
Woodard, Garry. “Australia’s War in Vietnam: Debate without End.” Australian Journal of International
Affairs, vol. 71, no. 2, 2017, pp. 216–230. Page 217.
11
Woodard, Garry. “Australia’s War in Vietnam: Debate without End.” Australian Journal of International
Affairs, vol. 71, no. 2, 2017, pp. 216–230. Page 218.
 ‘” Today is my special day of the year, today I am 22, another year older and
perhaps wiser and probably a little more tolerant. A bad taste to this note; today
we found a body of a man and we left him there. On the way back ... I thought
"just a body we say! Once a life, a Man".’12

Furthermore, an internal protest and frustration from

soldiers grew. Protests in form of slogans on helmets,
music and pop culture made it evident soldiers were sick of
war13, showing the public it was no reason for patriotism.
An emotional connection to the protest is really shown
when looking at women protesting… In April 1971, five
women became known as the Fairlea Five, these women spent
Figure 3: Anti-War Protest on military helmet,
eleven days in Melbourne’s Fairlea Prison, the women were adopted to protest the Vietnam War

key members of Save Our Sons, a group that was mothers Bridges, Mr Paul, British MkIII pattern, Military
steel helmet painted with the slogan ‘out now’,
against conscription and eventually the war more generally. 1944. From Trove. 22/1/18.

Often mothers, wives, girlfriends, sisters, were involved in the protest as

Figure 4: Moratorium anti-war pin.
Moratorium Group, Withdraw all
troops now, 1970. From The
National Museum of Australia.
22/10/18
military service was lesser seen as a passageway to manhood, rather a
forced service taking away from possible education, families, and
workforce. The Fairlea Five were imprisoned for wilful tress pass after
handing out leaflets against the Department of Labour and National
Service. 14 Other groups such as The Youth Campaign Against Conscription,
the Draft Resisters’ Union and many thousands of people turned out for
the anti-war Moratorium marches. The women in the Save Our Sons
express that their goal extended past conscription, their interests in
raising awareness and getting publicity for their cause, and the young
men involved in the Draft Resisters union were not only avoiding the

12
Australian War Memorial, ‘Impressions: Australians in Vietnam: Quotes, www.awm.gov.au, 20/03/18
https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/impressions/quotes, 01/09/18
13
Joy Damousi, Marilyn Lake, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, New York, 1995, page 223.
14
Pierce, Alexandra. The anti-conscription and anti-Vietnam war movements in Australia [online]. Agora, Vol.
51, No. 3, 2016: 67
conscription draft but encouraging others to avoid and protest it too. 15 These organisations
show whilst many have their own personal reasons for being against the war, it often
progressed as a united front against the war altogether, uniting forces leading to
Melbourne’s largest protest in the 1970s.

Moratorium Marches
“The mood is exuberant, relaxed,
jocular”16
The Moratorium marches began in 1970,
inspired by American anti-war protests from
the year prior. The first Moratorium march
saw over 200,000 people protest across
Australia, with almost half of them in
Melbourne, gathered on Burke Street, a sea
of people poured out into the wider Central
Business District, the first Moratorium
March was hard to ignore. The Three
Moratorium protests were organized by a
Figure 5: The First Moratorium March, May 1970.
coalition of anti-war and anti-conscription
Hogg, Richard J, Protester holding banner during Vietnam war
organizations called the Vietnam Moratorium march, Melbourne, May 1970. From Trove, 22/10/18

Moratorium Campaign. Formed in Canberra

in 1969, a year before the first protest, it was the product of the Victorian Committee for
International Co-Operation and Disarmament. 17 The first Moratorium Protest in May of
1970 included protesters made up of all walks of life… the expected young, generally left
public and students, groups such as Save our Sons, and anti-conscription groups but also
included business persons, politicians, churchgoers… it had a sense of unity and many came

15
Pierce, Alexandra. The anti-conscription and anti-Vietnam war movements in Australia [online]. Agora, Vol.
51, No. 3, 2016: 68.
16
Ward, Alan. The Second Vietnam Moratorium: Reflections of a Melbourne Participant, Vol. 29, No. 4, 1970:
501
17
Nick Irving, ‘Vietnam War Moratorium: Participatory Democracy’ www.abc.net.au, (29/09/2010) <
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-05-07/33984> 10/10/18
 together to protest a common cause. The Moratorium marches undoubtedly caught
attention from the government, police and the public. The second and third Moratorium
marches in later 1970 and early 1971 were seen as less welcomed or accepted as the first
Moratorium, a mix of frustration, radically left protesters and police presence lead to arrests
of over a dozen people, something the first march did not have. Two days before the second
Moratorium march, the right-winged public who were not against the war called for law and
order to try and prevent the protesting of the Vietnam War. Police struck down non-violent
La Trobe University students showing their support for the Moratorium March in the coming
days, nevertheless, the march went ahead. Alan Ward, a member of the public who walked
in the second march explains his reflection on the day;

“The mood is exuberant, relaxed, jocular. Our

leaders take us straight down the middle of
Swanson Street and the police let us have our way.
All the way down we go, past Carlton brewery, past
the Public Library, past Bourke Street and Town
Hall. Not until Collins Street do we turn left for
treasury Gardens… It’s easier to feel as one with
these people again… And it’s easier to laugh and
ignore the abuse and obscenities of the hecklers.”18

Figure 6: Moratorium March, May 1970

Hogg, Richard J, Protesters holding banners marching

through Spring Street during the Vietnam War Moratorium
March, Melbourne, May 1970. From Trove, 22/10/18

18
Ward, Alan. The Second Vietnam Moratorium: Reflections of a Melbourne Participant, Vol. 29, No. 4, 1970:
501
Whilst the second Moratorium march is smaller in numbers, ward exerts “Burke Street is
undoubtedly ours.”19 Protesters roll called a list of the Australian dead, noting the poor
Vietnam victims are nameless and numberless. 20 They’d again made an impact, peacefully
even with a minority being arrested or battened down by police, but to what extent?

Effectiveness of the war and anti-Vietnam war movement

We can understand the concerns of the Menzies Government to join the fight in Vietnam,
their ulterior motives to maintains relations with superpowers such as the United States
could not be ignored by anti-Vietnam war protesters. The fear of communism since the
emergence of the cold war was real, the domino effect throughout South East Asia was
evident and it did appear that Australia was an easy target for communists, but going back
onto the idea of a world war vs civil war, comparing it to the previous Korean war, there was
no guarantee a Western intervention would solve anything, yet conscripts were sent into
war to “repulse the aggression of the Viet Cong”.21

During the Vietnam war, both American and Australian governments changed hands, the
pressure of the Vietnam war perhaps influencing this, and both governments struggled for
support after the Vietnam war, after all, the result of the war wasn’t favorable to the west.
The first Moratorium March, in which over 200,000 people Australia wide united, came
eight years into Australia’s involvement in the war.

It’s hard to imagine what the world would have been like if these outstanding, undeniable
united fronts protested in such numbers before the commitment to Vietnam. Concluding,
the Australian anti-war movement had a vast impact on Australia during the Vietnam war,
but questions can be raised over its power on a political stage, and if they came earlier,
could the result have had been different?

19
Ward, Alan. The Second Vietnam Moratorium: Reflections of a Melbourne Participant, Vol. 29, No. 4, 1970:
502
20
Ward, Alan. The Second Vietnam Moratorium: Reflections of a Melbourne Participant, Vol. 29, No. 4, 1970:
502
21
Murphy, John. A Harvest of Fear : A History of Australia's Vietnam War. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1993. Page
166.
 Bibliography

Figure List
Figure 1: U.S Marines, U.S Marines with company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th marines, direct
concentration of fire at the enemy during operation Allen Brook, 1968. From U.S Marine
Corps History website. 22/10/18
Figure 2: Vietnam Moratorium Group, Abolish Conscription now, 1970. Trove. 22/10/18
Figure 3: Bridges, Mr Paul, British MkIII pattern, Military steel helmet painted with the
slogan ‘out now’, 1944. Trove. 22/1/18.
Figure 4: Moratorium Group, Withdraw all troops now, 1970. The National Museum of
Australia. 22/10/18
Figure 5: Hogg, Richard J, Protester holding banner during Vietnam war Moratorium march,
Melbourne, May 1970. Trove, 22/10/18
Figure 6: Hogg, Richard J, Protesters holding banners marching through Spring Street during
the Vietnam War Moratorium March, Melbourne, May 1970. Trove, 22/10/18

Primary
Australian War Memorial, ‘Impressions: Australians in Vietnam: Quotes, www.awm.gov.au,
20/03/18 https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/impressions/quotes, 01/09/18
Sir Robert Menzies Announces Military Commitment to South
Vietnam, Australianpolitics.com, http://australianpolitics.com/1965/04/29/menzies-
vietnam-commitment-announcement.html. 10/10/18
Ward, Alan. The Second Vietnam Moratorium: Reflections of a Melbourne Participant, Vol.
29, No. 4, 1970

Secondary
Curran, James. “Australia and the Vietnam War: The Essential History.” Australian Historical
Studies, vol. 46, no. 2, 2015
Doyle, Jeff, et al. Australia's Vietnam War. 1st ed., Texas A& Amp; M University Press, 2002.

Joy Damousi, Marilyn Lake, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, New York, 1995
.
Murphy, John. A Harvest of Fear : A History of Australia's Vietnam War. Sydney: Allen &
Unwin, 1993.
Nick Irving, ‘Vietnam War Moratorium: Participatory Democracy’ www.abc.net.au,
(29/09/2010) < https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-05-07/33984>
Pierce, Alexandra. The anti-conscription and anti-Vietnam war movements in Australia
[online]. Agora, Vol. 51, No. 3, 2016:

Wirtz, James J. “Intelligence to Please? The Order of Battle Controversy during the Vietnam
War.” Political Science Quarterly, vol. 106, no. 2, 1991
Woodard, Garry. “Australia’s War in Vietnam: Debate without End.” Australian Journal of
International Affairs, vol. 71, no. 2, 2017, pp. 216–230.