Unit 4

Outcome 2
Debating Australias
future 1960 - 2000
Attitudes to the Vietnam
War 1965 and 1970
Jo Leech
Carey BGS

I was only 19 John Schumann

Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal
(1t was long march from cadets).
The sixth battalion was the next to tour and It was me who drew the card.
We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left.

Chorus I:
And Townsville lined the footpath as we marched down to the quay.
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean.
And there's me in my slouch hat with my SLR and greens.
God help me, I was only nineteen.

From Vung Tau riding Chinooks to the dust at Nui Dat,

I'd been in and out of choppers now for months.
But we made our tents a home. V.B. and pinups on the lockers,
And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub.

Chorus 2:
And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And night time's just a jungle dark and a barking M.16?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen.

A four week operation, when each step can mean your last one
On two legs: it was a war within yourself.
But you wouldn't let your mates down 'til they had you dusted off,
So you closed your eyes and thought about something else.

Chorus 3:
Then someone yelled out "Contact"', and the bloke behind me swore.
We hooked in there for hours, then a God almighty roar.
Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon.
God help me, he was going home in June.

1 can still see Frankie, drinking tinnies in the Grand Hotel

On a thirty-six hour rec. leave in Vung Tau.
And I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle.
'Till the morphine came and killed the bloody row

Chorus 4:
And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears.
And stories that my father told me never seemed quite real
I caught some pieces In my back that I didn't even feel.
God help me, I was only nineteen.

Chorus 5:
And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen.

1. A range of attitudes at each point in time

Key Knowledge
points in time
(History
VCE Study Design)

2. The connection between the two significant

3. The degree of change in attitudes between

the two significant points and the reasons

for any change

Key Skills
(History VCE Study Design)
Explain the historical issues covered in the key

knowledge
Apply historical concepts related to the period
(1960 2000)
Analyse and evaluate written and historical
evidence
Synthesis material and evidence to draw
conclusions
Analyse the way that the experience of the period
(1960 2000) has been interpreted and understood
over time by historians and other commentators
Express knowledge and ideas in writing, presenting
material using historical conventions such as
quotations, acknowledgement of sources, and a
bibliography


1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

1965
Pro/anti war
Pro/anti
conscription
Alliance with U.S.
Pro/anti
communism
(domino theory)
SEATO

1.
2.
3.
4.

In no specific
order

1970
Pro/anti war
Pro/anti
conscription
Pro/anti
moratorium
Bring troops
home

the nature of the Vietnam

War, and consequently
whether or not Australia
should be involved in that
war
compulsory conscription,
particularly for overseas
service.

Australias Involvement in
Vietnam
KEY ISSUES
US support
o Australias involvement Communism (fear of)
Govt. making
decisions
o Conscription Issue
o Public Opinion questions decisions
expected to be heard
o Reasons for Australia pulling out of Vietnam when they
do;
Public opinion
TV
Government
o Returned Soldiers
o Vietnam Veterans treatment

Why did Australia get

involved?
Anti communist fear of domino affect

(personal views and pressure spread by

media and government)
Support the US
Support Australia save Australia
Heroic
Freedom, travel (O.S.), adventure
Older generation support war out of
WWII tradition, initially encourage sons
etc.

Why Australia
became
In the 1950s Australia became part
involved.
of
two international defence

agreements: ANZUS (Australia, New

Zealand and United States, 1951),
and SEATO (South-East Asia Treaty
Organisation, 1954 involving
Australia, France, Great Britain, New
Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines,
Thailand, and the United States).
These treaties committed Australia
to helping other member countries if
they were attacked, and committed
them to helping Australia if we
were attacked.
The closest defence problems for
Australia at this time were occurring
in Malaysia and Indonesia. Australia
was very worried about Indonesia,
which it saw as both vulnerable to
communist takeover, as well as
potentially hostile militarily to
Australia. In 1963 Indonesias
attempts to subvert the
establishment of Malaysia led to

By 1962 the United

States was heavily

involved in training
and supplying South
Vietnams military
forces to resist the
North Vietnamese
army, and those
supporters of the
North who lived in the
South.

In this year Australia

also decided to help

the South, and
provided some
military advisers to
help train South
Vietnamese troops.
Then, in 1965, Prime
Minister Menzies
made the

Australias position in 1962

The South Vietnamese government sought

assistance from the United States and her

regional ally, Australia. Both countries responded
with civil and military aid. Australias contribution
was small in comparison to Americas, but
sufficient to show loyalty to the United States,
Australias most valued ally.
Australias initial military contribution to South
Vietnam was modest; comprising a team of 30
advisers who worked in various areas of the
country under the command of Colonel F.P. Ted
Serong. Known as the Australian Army Training
Team Vietnam (AATTV),

Political Leaders Opposing Views

1965
Prime Minister Menzies announces

that combat troops will be sent to

South Vietnam

The Australian Government is now in

receipt of a request from the Government

of South Vietnam for further military
assistance. We have decidedand this
has been after close consultation with the
Government of the United Statesto
provide an infantry battalion for service in
Vietnam There can be no doubt of the
gravity of the situation in South Vietnam.
There is ample evidence to show that with
the support of the North Vietnamese
regime and other Communist powers, the
Viet Cong has been preparing on a more
substantial scale than [before]
insurgency action designed to destroy
South Vietnamese Government control,
and to disrupt by violence the life of the
local people The takeover of South
Vietnam would be a direct military threat
to Australia and all the countries of South
and South-East Asia. It must be seen as
part of a thrust by Communist China
between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Opposition leader Arthur Calwell

opposes the sending of troops

[O]n behalf of all my colleagues of Her

Majestys Opposition, I say that we oppose

the Governments decision to send 800 men
to fight in Vietnam. We oppose it firmly and
completely We do not think it is a wise
decision. We do not think it is a timely
decision. We do not think it will help the
fight against Communism. On the contrary,
we believe it will harm that fight in the long
term. We do not believe it will promote the
welfare of the people of Vietnam. On the
contrary, we believe it will prolong and
deepen the suffering of that unhappy people
so that Australias very name may become a
term of reproach among them. We do not
believe that it represents a wise or even
intelligent response to the challenge of
Chinese power. On the contrary, we believe
it mistakes entirely the nature of that power,
and that it materially assists China in her
subversive aims. Indeed, we cannot
conceive a decision by the Government
more likely to promote the long term
interests of China in Asia and the Pacific.

ATTITUDES: - examples &

sources
1965
PRO-GOVERNMENT

ANTI-GOVERNMENT

Gallup Poll 69%

We oppose it firmly

support conscription,
56% support
deployment
Santamaria likened
threat to that with
which Hitler
confronted Europe
no choice but to
respond as we have
The Age
Isi Leiber, Brisbane
Archbishop Phillip
Strong

and completely
Arthur Calwell
Lottery of death
Calwell
Decision we may live to
regret The Australian
Anglican bishops wrote
to Menzies concerned
that we be seen to be
taking positive steps
with others
SOS, YCAC, Rev Allen
Walker, Morris West
(Catholic)

National Service
Australias national service scheme

was introduced in 1964

Opposition to the scheme, which
grew increasingly widespread once
national servicemen began to be
sent to Vietnam, became the
catalyst for broader opposition to the
war.
The first national servicemen
reached Vietnam in the middle of
that year, several months before the
official end of Confrontation on 11
August 1966.
Between 1964 and December 1972
when the Whitlam Government
suspended the scheme, 804,286
twenty-year-olds registered for
national service, 63,735 national
servicemen served in the Army and
15,381 served in Vietnam.
Between 1966 and 1971 Australian
infantry battalions were typically

National Service Scheme

Under the National Service

Scheme, twenty-year-old men

were required to register with
the Department of Labour and
National Service (DLNS), they
were then subject to a ballot
which, if their birth date was
drawn, meant the possibility of
two years of continuous fulltime service in the regular
army, followed by three years
part-time service in the Army
Reserve. As part of their duty,

Opposition to National Service

National services early opponents included

the Parliamentary Opposition, religious

groups, trade unionists, academics, and young
men affected by the scheme. From within this
disparate anti-conscription movement groups
began to form and organise, some becoming
prominent and forming branches across
Australia. Among them: Youth Campaign
Against Conscription (YCAC) formed in late
1964 and closely aligned to the Australian
Labor Party (ALP), and Save Our Sons (SOS)
founded in Sydney in 1965 shortly after the
government announced an increase of troops

Anti-conscription
National service was introduced in
1964 as a response to "aggressive
communism" and "recent
Indonesian policies and actions"
and a "deterioration in our strategic
position".
Men aged 20 were required to
serve in the army for two years,
followed by three years in the
reserve.
The policy sparked mass protests
and was opposed by the ALP at
elections in 1966, 1969 and 1972.
One of Gough Whitlam's first
actions on being elected prime
minister in 1972 was to abolish it.

INTRODUCTION of
CONSCRIPTION
Conscription had been discussed in

Australia previously in 1903, 1909- 1910,

1916 -1917, 1949 1959
Conscription was announced by govt. 1964
Conscription was actively introduced in
Australia in 1965 until 1972
All 20 year old men were to register
1966 first conscripted soldiers sent to
Vietnam

Who was ANTICONSCRIPTION?

Uni-students
Pacifists
Resisters (Draft Resistance Movement)
Anti-war
Unemployed
SOS Save our Sons eg: Jean Maclean
Housewives and mothers etc.
Arthur Calwell (Labour)
YCAC Youth Campaign Against Conscription
Conscientious Objectors took out anger on

returned soldiers

REASONS AGAINST
CONSCRIPTION
Anti authoritarian first time people publicly spoke

out against government decisions

People began to mistrust the government and their
decisions
Influence of the media people had seen the unjust
and killings of Sth Vietnamese on TV this had
never happened before
Soldiers made their own movies/videos & took
photos which were viewed back at home
By 1970 friends had been called up & people aware
of the unfair system public demonstrations were
being held
The length of the war soldiers coming home
injured or not, having begin killed

1965 PM Menzies sends troops

On the afternoon of 29 April

1965, Australians were warned

that the Australian Government
would provide an infantry
battalion for service in Vietnam.
Prime Minister Sir Robert
Menzies delivered a statement
to the Lower House of
Parliament that evening,
explaining that the decision was
made in response to a request
for further military assistance
by the Government of South

'The Sun', Thursday 29

April 1965.

Public Opinion 1965

Australian public opinion

about the war in Vietnam

moved through several stages
over the decade-long
involvement. In the beginning
a largely disinterested public
paid little attention to a war
that involved very few
Australian soldiers, especially
as they were members of the
regular Army engaged in a
training role.
At the same time, most
Australians were wary of

Accompanying the troops on HMAS Sydney in

May 1965 was a small group of television and
radio journalists and cameramen. Mayo
Hunter, from ATN7 in Sydney, was with the
group. [AWM DNE/65/0316/VN]. Television
brought the Vietnam War into Australian living
rooms and many families ate their evening
meal watching news footage of the war. The
Australian media as a group had really no
influence on the war at all. The media as a
whole, of course, but the American media,
television; television dominated. Our first war
on television in our living rooms every night,
but American television. Not Australian
television. The role of the Australian media
was zilch, absolutely. Nobody gave a bugger

VIETNAM - MORATORIUMS
1930 the first moratorium took place in

Australia
May 1970 Australians protested
government policies about involvement in &
conscription of armed forces (200,000
people participated)
September 1970 and June 1971
AIM all business brought to a halt while
marches, rallies & meetings were held in
towns, suburbs and major cities
The moratorium itself became an issue
People who opposed it feared violence

VIETNAM - MORATORIUMS
1970 September Moratorium same aims

as May, but different reaction only 40,000

50,000 people attended with incidents of
violence
By 1970 people who had not registered for
conscription had broken the law, people
supporting them also broken the law
People who marched were registering their
interest, in what was going on

Anti- war movement

increases
By 1969 those who opposed

the war had increased in

number and become
sufficiently well organised to
coordinate Australia-wide
mass protests, known as the
moratorium marches of
197071.
Involvement in anti-war
activities politicised many
previously disinterested
Australians. Opposition to
the war was a radicalising
experience for some people
such as the middle-class

Anti-war movement
The most active period of the anti-Vietnam

movement.
A Gallup poll in August of 1969 showed 55 per
cent of Australians were in favour of Australian
troops coming home.
On 8-9 May 1970, over 200,000 people from all
over Australia took part in the Moratorium,
including 75,000 in Melbourne alone.
On 18 September 1970, about 100,000 people
took part in a second Moratorium march.
On 30 June 1971, the third and final Moratorium,
with about 110,000 protesters, was held.

Withdrawal of Troops
After 1968 the United States began withdrawing its

forces from Vietnam until, by late 1972, carriage of

the war had been placed in the hands of South
Vietnam which, in 1975, was defeated by the North
In Australia public opinion and public protest played
a relatively small role in policy decisions about
Vietnam.
Australias withdrawal from the war was already
underway in the early 1970s when widespread
protests, known as moratorium marches, took place
in the countrys major cities
When the United States began removing its troops
from Vietnam, Australia followed suit, irrespective

ATTITUDES: - examples &

sources
1970
PRO-GOVERNMENT

ANTI-GOVERNMENT

Political bikies pack-

It is time to end trying to

raping democracy
Billy Snedden
Miracle for there not to
be a blue Santamaria
Majority of Australian
National University
students supported the
Government
Gorton called on Labor
to disavow Jim Cairns
for anarchy
Gallup Poll 55%
support conscription

save face and start trying

to save lives Whitlam
Renewed democracy
rather than raped it
The Age
Victor was Australian
democracy The Sun
Involvement in Vietnam
is wrong and immorally
based Brian Ross (d.r.)
From September 1969 the
majority of Australians
supported withdrawal

CONCLUSIONS..
Vietnam Moratorium did not bring about

immediate change in government policy

It revealed opposition to war & conscription
Reflection change taken place between
1965 and 1970 in Australia
People started questioning the government
and their decisions
In 1965 people supported war and
conscription by 1970 they didnt and they
were more interested in the issues

What happened between 1965 and

1970 for attitudes to change?
When more was known about the Vietnam War
and its causes, people began to resent the fact
that Australia was involved. This feeling
consequently made the Vietnam War an
unpopular war. The Australian public were very
much opposed to being involved in this war as
many began to think that it was a civil war and
Australia had no reason to be there. Opposition to
the war grew in 1967 and a strong anti-Vietnam
War movement began to develop in 1968. Even
though most Australians were against
communism, more and more people began to join
the anti-war movement as it became increasingly
obvious that the war was going to be very
difficult, if not impossible, to win. Students from
high schools and universities began to join the

Compare the two dates for eg:

1965
Australian advisers
increased to 100
1st American
combat troops
Menzies announced
29th April
compulsory
national service

1970
April Prime
Minister Gorton
reduction of
Australian troops
Australia reached
peak with large
moratorium rallies

SAC 4

Australian Gallop Polls

May 1965 April 1969
1965

Approve
(increase or/
& continue)
Disapprove
(bring back)
Undecided

1966

May July Sept

%
52
59 56
37
27
28
11

14

16

Sept
%
61
21
12

1967

May Sept Dec

%
62
55 63
24 29 24
14

16

13

1968

1969

Dec
%
49
37

April
%
48
40

14

12

PRIME MINISTERS
1949 1966
1966 1967

R.G. Menzies Liberal

H. Holt Liberal
1967 1968 J. McEwan Liberal
1968 1971 J. Gorton Liberal
1971 1972 W. McMahon - Liberal

Jim Cairns

Dr Jim Cairns

(former
policeman and
Deputy Prime
Minister) at
the AntiVietnam War
Moratorium

The first mass Vietnam

War moratorium rallies
occurred in 1970. Cairns
called for the people of
Australia to come out
onto the streets and
march peacefully against
involvement in the war. In
every capital city in
Australia people turned
out in the tens of
thousands - young, old,
rich, poor, workers and
even bosses. It was a
national mobilisation that
shook the Australian
establishment. Cairns
was the inspiration, the
titular head and the main
spokesman for this
unique movement.
T.Uren 13.10.03

SERVICE FACTS
&
FIGURES

Between 1965 1971 : 46882

Australians served in Vietnam
1967 : 8000 served at one time
494 died
2398 wounded
Many conscripts (served army for 2
years)

11 years 58, 000 Australians fought and 504 were lost Ref: Vietnam
Veterans

SOLDIERS experiences
12,000 helicopters used
Agent orange (90 million gallons sprayed by US to kill jungle etc)

___________________________________

12 months duty exposed to danger for 10 months

Always carried weapons
Veterans returned at different times
Came back at night no protestors around
Told to change out of their uniforms rejected by the army,
RSL, friends and had trouble adjusting to family life again
Not acknowledged & and a lot went bush
Last Australian troops were out in 1973
Welcome home in 1987 Sydney Vietnam Veterans had to
organise this themselves
Government only started to support Vietnam Veterans more recently
- as
suicide and divorce rate was very high for returned soldiers

EXAMINATIO
N

In the exam do not write

DO NOT
Dont give a narrative (eg: dont tell a

story)
Dont give a general account of
participation in the period in general
Dont use evidence that doesnt relate
Dont write in point form
Answer the questions being asked

End of year examination

Task:consist of a document visual or written from
either one of the years 1965 and 1970
Answer 3 questions students already know
Identification of the attitudes reflected in the
representation. Use evidence from the
representation to support your comments (4 marks)
Evaluation of the degree to which the representation
reflects attitudes about the issue you have studied
as that particular point of time (8 marks)
Analysis of changing attitudes towards this issue.
Use evidence from the other point of time that you
have studied to support your comments (8 marks)

In the exam show an

understanding of :Qu 3 - Changing attitudes in society
between 1965 and 1970 whats changed
during the Vietnam War Need to
understand the main ideas and values of
the various groups who were involved in
the debates and issues of the Vietnam War
eg; pro and anti war and conscription
Need to write from an Australian
perspective
Try and include quotes and visual
representations which support your ideas
Qu 2 & 3 - Need to understand more than
just one group or one issue what
changed and why it changed between
1965 and 1970?

Exam TIPS
Show an understanding of the range of attitudes
IMPACT
CHANGE the degree
CONNECTION
Tell context; eg: dates
Use specific evidence & analyse evidence
Conclusion relate back to the question
Analyse and COMPARE groups, ideas, values etc.
Synthesise
KEY CONCEPTS construction of the argument
Ideas and values of the range of attitudes
Present material dont give a narrative
Dont write in point form
Refer too the sources and link to other sources

Source 2005 Exam

This visual is 1965 Pro War Pro US Pro Conscription

Question 3 Menzies cartoon

The graphic from the Australian, June 14, 1965, is an interesting window of time and much can be gleaned from it.
It showed the key attitudes that were present in 1965. However, to gain a more complete picture of the Vietnam
Era it is necessary to look at another point in time, 1970, to see the full extent of the attitudes present during this
elusive period. Thus we take a look forward to 1970 to see how they key attitudes of this document changed.

This graphic raises many key attitudes of the time in 1966. The graphic shows that it was anti-communist and
pro-war. By the use of the words a murkey shadow it can be noted that communism was considered a threat
and a shadow that had befallen on the US and was reaching to our very shores (Menzies). The graphic points
out that considered a threat to Australia by communism, being linked to America and he further illustrated this in
his speech to Parliament (1965) that we have recognised that Aggressive communist existsand we are going to
fight side by side with our great American allies. The graphic also highlights the expansionist communism
fears of the time (Bottom, faithful alley) and that the Domino Theory was a reason and justification for Australias
intervention to the war: (Curthoys), it also shows the US-Australian alliance in 2965 and the changes of
Communism, coming from Vietnam to Australia.

Though the graphic shows many key attitudes of 1965 towards the Vietnam Conflict, it fails to show the full extent
of attitudes. It fails to show the minority that were against the war such as the Australians claim that the
Menzies government has made a reckless decision (1965) and the outspoken Calwell (Bolton) who asked the
Australian people not to cast a blood vote for the Holt government and a conscription (Frame 05). It also
doesnt show that despite the majority support for the Vietnam War, many such as the Vietnam Generation
claiming that Australia should not go to war and had not political obligation.

By the 1970s many events took place to change the views soon in the graphic and strengthen the views against
war. In 1968, the Tet Offensive which was a major communist insurgency in Vietnam occurred and despite its
outcome, had psychological and political effects which were devastating to the US and Australia. They Hackneyed
term light at the end of the tunnel was used so much that Australians began to question the motives of
Australians going to war. The issue of conscription in 1966 by the Menzies Government also had effects which
changed the attitudes of the Australian public. Generational change was another factor which changed views, and
a new generation emerged and was questioning of government motives. Curthoys argues that the upsetting
images of .. from media and TV served to make people more aware. By 1970 most people had turned against
the war (just after the US) and attitudes had changed, an example of those being the moratoriums with Jim Cairns.

The graphic of 1965 is a valuable window of time. E H Carr and serves of an interest however, to gain a more
complete picture the study of change and another point in time such as 1970 (Moratoriums) is needed so that the
Vietnam era is shown in more complexity and detail and that we can gain a better understanding.

Source 2006 Exam

This written source is 1970 Anti War Pro Moratorium

Bring troops home

Source 2007 Exam

This written source is 1965 Anti War Anti Conscription

Source 2008 Exam

The Source is 1970 anti- war , pro moratorium and bring

troops home

Source 2009 Exam

The Source is 1970 anti- war , pro moratorium and bring

troops home

Sample source and answer

I subscribe to the domino theory

because I believe it is obvious that is

the Vietnam War ends with some
compromise that denies South Vietnam a
real and protected independence, Laos
and Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia,
Singapore and Indonesia will be
vulnerable this domino theory has
formidable realities to Australians who
see the boundaries of aggressive
communism coming closer and closer
Menzies 1965
Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates

This
source, an of
extract
from the reflected
1965 Commonwealth
Identification
the attitudes
in the

Parliamentary
Debates
as spoken
by Liberal
Prime
representation.
Use evidence
from
the
Minister
Robert Menzies,
on his
view
of the spread
representation
to support
your
comments:
(4 of
communism
and the domino effect. It is evident that
marks)
his attitude is one which was widely held at the time,
through the support for his pledging troops to support
the South Vietnamese and the subsequent introduction
of compulsory national service for men aged twenty.
Menzies reference to communism as aggressive is
another indication that the attitude reflected in the
source is one of anti-communism and therefore prowar and pro-conscription. Menzies is explicit when he
states I subscribe to the domino theory.

Evaluation of the degree to which the

representation reflects attitudes about the issue
you have studied as that particular point of time:
(8 marks)
In 1965 most Australians supported conscription, and the war.

Comments like the ones made by Menzies in the above source were
largely accepted by the public, and emulated by most print media
forms. For example The Age stated that there was no alternative to
respond as we have, clearly a supporter of Menzies who has previously
been known to say that The Age was his favourite paper. Religious
groups however, were divided in their opinions, for example the
Catholic B.A. Santamaria likened Australian responsibility in Vietnam to
the responsibility of fighting Hitler, while the Anglican Archbishop of
Brisbane, Phillip Strong too supported the governments views. Isi
Leiber, a Jewish man, supported Menzies actions as indeed did the
majority of Australians in 1965. There were a number of people who
disagreed for example Arthur Calwell, Labor Opposition Leader,
opposed the governments actions firmly and completely, while the
Australian newspaper stated that Menzies had once again shown his
contempt for public opinion. Many Anglican Archbishops wrote to
Menzies in complaint of his actions, and groups such as Save Our Sons
(SOS) and Youth Campaign Against Conscription (YCAC) were formed,
and vocal in their opposition to ideas of Australian troops being sent to
Vietnam. However, while there were many smaller groups opposing
the Prime Ministers actions, the source itself represents the majority of
Australians opinions at the time.

Analysis of changing attitudes towards this issue.

Use evidence from the other point of time that you
have Menzies
studiedspeech
to support
your comments: (8 marks)
Between
and the May Moratorium in 1970 a number of

attitudes for and against the war evolved and changed. While in 1965 the
majority of Australians did agree with Menzies view on the potential spread of
communism, therefore supporting Australias intervention in Vietnam, while in
reality the majority of the population was ignorant on the actual issues relating
to the war. Liberal Party propaganda was utilised throughout the war years,
hinting at Australias susceptibility to a potential communist takeover. Groups
who opposed the war, such as the SOS and YCAC, were vociferous but
disparate; however by 1970 this had changed. The alteration of public
attitudes were brought about by an increasing awareness of the issues for
example; the length of the war, the TV media footage, Super 8 movies brought
back by veterans themselves and stories told by veterans. The anti-war
movement was also active after the 1966 re-election of the liberal party with
the distribution of pamphlets and minor protests throughout Australian cities.
By August 1969 Gallop Polls reflected that the previous 69% of Australian
public support for the war had dropped to an all time low of 55%. This was
possible due to the actions of various Labor politicians for example Jim Cairns,
who spoke for and promoted the 1970 May Moratorium. Likewise in 1970 Labor
Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam spoke that it is time to end trying to save
face and start trying to save lives, a comment in support for the withdrawal of
Australian troops. The growing collaboration between different protest groups
also contributed to the change in attitude, since with coordination and visions
they were able to build greater public support to the level where the May
Moratorium was seen as a success. This coordination of people, that was
missing in 1965, was vital with growing public awareness about the various
issue involved towards Australias involvement in Vietnam.

Examiners Report 2009 vcaa

Examiners Report 2009

cont

Following slides:-

SAMPLE
SOURCES

Cartoons of five young men,

dressed in clothes associated
with their careers; a doctor in a
white coat with a stethoscope in
his pocket, a lawyer wearing a
cloak and wig, a mechanic and a
businessman in a suit. The fifth
man wears an Army uniform and
is a conscript. The accompanying
text calls for the abolition of
conscription.

A text poster soliciting

support for the May 1970
Moratorium, illustrated
with a photograph of an
American soldier holding
up the remains of a
Vietnamese child killed
during the My Lai
massacre. The poster
includes a caption from
the United States
President, Richard Nixon.

Holt calling
Cartoon by John Frith
The Herald, June 1968
Courtesy of the National
Library of Australia

Australia participated in the Vietnam War

partly because of its commitment to halt
the spread of communism in Asia, and
partly in an attempt to maintain its alliance
with the U.S.A. The involvement of the
Australian military in the Vietnam War was
to be the longest in Australian history.
The first Australian troops arrived in South
Vietnam in July 1962. Some 50,000
Australians served in Vietnam, including
conscripts called up under the National
Service scheme introduced by Sir Robert
Menzies in 1964. Despite military
successes, notably at Long Tan, by late
1970 Australia had begun to withdraw from
Vietnam.
Friths cartoons on the Vietnam War clearly
reflect his sympathy for the Australian
troops. In this cartoon he commented that
in the face of mounting opposition to
Australian involvement in Vietnam, troops
were placed in a no-win situation

National service was last

introduced in 1964 as a response to
"aggressive communism" and
"recent Indonesian policies and
actions" and a "deterioration in our
strategic position". Men aged 20
were required to serve in the army
for two years, followed by three
years in the reserve.
The policy sparked mass protests
and was opposed by the ALP at
elections in 1966, 1969 and 1972.
One of Gough Whitlam's first
actions on being elected prime
minister in 1972 was to abolish it.

DIGGERS ARRIVE

Its the only language they

understand

Oz. (Sydney, N.S.W. : Oz

Publications Ink Ltd., 1963-1969)
Oz was a satirical magazine

begun by Richard Neville and

Richard Walsh. Martin Sharp did
many of the graphics. The first
issue appeared on April Fool's
Day 1963. Issue no. 6 (Feb.
1964) fell foul of the censors
and Neville, Walsh and Sharp
were found guilty under the
Obscene and Indecent
Publications Act. They were
sentenced to jail terms with hard
labour, a decision quashed on
appeal.
Neville and Sharp left for
England where they established
the London Oz, a much betterproduced and altogether more
colourful publication, but this
also had its problems with the
authorities

Do you approve this? Can you

ignore this?
Broadsheet of four pages from an

unidentified Sydney newspaper.

Front page: 'Do you approve this?
and 'Can you ignore this?' is a
photograph of police arresting a
Vietnam protester in the streets of
Sydney on 11 April 1969. Inside
pages: 'Unprovoked police
violence in Sydney streets'; 'But
the police had their orders' shows
further scenes of violence. Back
page: 'Democracy: your rights are
at stake' has photographs of street
violence: a Trade Union offical
being arrested and a student
knocked to the ground.

1969

Before you register for

national service think
A wounded Vietnamese child carried by

an adult after the My Lai massacre. The

accompanying text advertises the Draft
Counselling Centre, Sydney, and
solicits donations to the Committee.
The poster was produced by the
Committee in Defiance of the National
Service Act. It was formed in July 1969
after civil disobedience had spread
from University students and
academics to the wider community the
month before. Its declarations of
defiance received widespread support
and by the end of November 1969
more than 8000 people had signed the
Committee's 'incitement statements'
which urged young men not to register
under the National Service Act.

1969

Films about the Vietnam War from

an American Perspective
Representations of the Australian
created myths
experience in popular culture are far
We Were Soldiers Once,
fewer than those of Americas war in
Vietnam. The most notable, perhaps, is
Full Metal Jacket,
Redgums 1983 song I Was Only Nineteen
Hamburger Hill,
(A Walk in the Light Green) which tells
the story of Frank Hunt, maimed by a
Apocalypse Now from
landmine and now a wheel-chair bound
veteran of the war. Other well-known
1979,
portrayals of Australias experience of
Platoon from 1986 the Vietnam War were the 1987
television miniseries Vietnam and the
Rambo
1979 film The Odd Angry Shot. Like many
films and television shows they rely to a
The Deer Hunter
degree on stereotypes, but licence
sometimes demands this and they bring
us closer to what the war was like for
Australians than the American
portrayals.

Websites
http://vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au
http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/vietnam.asp
http://www.anzacday.org.au
http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/fact-sheets/fs117.aspx
LATELINE - ABC
Author of 'Vietnam: The Australian War' Paul Ham discusses his new

book, which is partly based on interviews, kept secret for 30 years, that
were conducted by the Australian Defence Force with its military
commanders.
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2007/s2068284.htm

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 23/10/2007
Reporter: Virginia Trivoli

Useful general texts:

Imagining Australia - Ch 11 - Mirams, Davidson,

Gordon
Unity and Diversity Ch 7 Darlington
Debating Australias Future 1960 2000: Vietnam
Leech, J
Australias Vietnam War in History and Memory
(eds) Cook, P and Manning, C
Case Studies in Australian History (ed) Stewart, D
Home Fronts at War Lewis, R and Gurry, L
Vietnam: The Australian War Ham, P

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