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Australian History
AOS4 - Vietnam NOTE: Do in order
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1965 Paragraph | 1965 Paragraph |
| Prime Minister Menzies announced in Parliament the government’s decision to send a | battalion of Australian troops to Vietnam on the 29th of April 1965 |
| Menzies justified his decision by quoting Australia’s treaty obligations under the | Australian New Zealand and United States defence pact (ANZUS) and the South East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO). |
| At this time the Cold War was at its peak. Consequently, fear was rampant among Australians. With the | perceived threat of Communist China and the ‘domino theory’ both providing incentives for military action |
| The Minister for External Affairs at the time, Paul Hasluck, said that “it would not be in the Australian character or consistent with our | national self-respect to stand aside while the Americans do the fighting in what we know are our own interests and causes”. |
| Many groups were supportive of the governments decision. The Returned Services League (RSL) were supportive of the Vietnam War and | conscription seeing both as a rite of passage or ‘testing’ for the younger generations. |
| The majority of the media supported the Government in their decision, The Age characterises this; the decision was a âgrave oneâ however âthese are | inescapable obligations which fall on us" |
| A Gallup poll from September 1965 indicates that | 56% of Australians supported continuing the fighting while only 28% supported bring the troops home. |
| The Australian took an alternative view, stating that the government “has made a | reckless decision on Vietnam which this nation may live to regret”. |
| However the majority of the | population were persuaded and seduced by the conservative media. |
| Many of the Churches in Australia were pro-war. The Catholic Church was largely supportive of the war. With | B. A. Santamaria speaking for many Catholics through his anti-communist commentaries on the television program ‘Point of View’. |
| However a group of Anglican Bishops, in a letter to the Prime Minister in March 1965 expressed that “our nation” should strive towards “bringing to a close a | war that is costing so many lives and reducing the economy of Vietnam to chaos”. |
| Groups such as Save Our Sons (SOS) and Youth Campaign Against Conscription (YCAC) were formed by 1965 and also held an anti-war stance. These groups organised | rallies and demonstrations. However their principle role was educative: circulating petitions, organising public meetings and conducting ‘teach-ins’. |
| 1970 Paragraph | 1970 Paragraph |
| At the May Moratoriums of 1970, more than | 200,000 people gathered to protest against the war in cities and towns throughout the country |
| The leader of the Moratorium and Labor MP, Jim Cairns, stated that “the | killing and devastation is not declining… our interests are for peace” |
| The influence of the Moratorium is reflected in the shift of attitudes in some media outlets, such as The Age. Prior to the event, the newspaper described it as | “irresponsible, potentially dangerous and, ultimately futile”. |
| On May 9th, however, it reported, | “the takeover of the City of Melbourne was [achieved] with good humour… with dignity, and without violence” |
| On the other hand, not all citizens were of this belief. The Minister for Labour and National Service at the time, Billy Snedden, said that the leaders of the moratorium were | “political bikies pack-raping democracy”, representing attitudes of some in government. |
| Despite this event the PM John Gorton, had already announced on the | 22nd of April, that Australian forces in Vietnam would be reduced. |
| Across the floor, the | Annual Victorian State ALP Conference in June supported young Australians who refused to be conscripted. |
| A Gallup poll taken on the 31st of October 1970 indicated that | 42% of Australians wanted to continue the war, while 45% wanted to bring the troops home. |
| Furthermore, the Senate elections of 1970 were vastly varied, with | Liberal 21 seats, Country Party 5 seats, ALP 26 seats, DLP 5 seats and 3 Independent seats.. This result alone reflects a divided community |
| The attitudes of groups such as | Save Our Sons, Youth Campaign Against Conscription and the Draft Resistors Union now were reflected in the views of a slim majority in 1970. |
| 1966-1969 Paragraph | 1966-1969 Paragraph |
| In March 1966, Prime Minister | Harold Holt increased the Australian commitment in Vietnam. |
| In the same year, the first | Australian conscript, Errol Noack, was killed. |
| During these years a ‘television war’ was sparked with coverage of The Battle of Long Tan in August 1966—a significant battle for Australia, in which 18 Australians were killed and 4 wounded— the 1968 | Tet Offensive, and the My Lai Massacre in 1969 all of which were ‘psychologically shattering’ for many supporters of the war. |
| The belief that the war was not | “winnable” evolved, as “the US could not even protect its own embassy” (Burns). |
| William White, a Sydney teacher, was the first | conscientious objector in the Vietnam era to refuse call up. |
| The Judge handling his case rejected his appeal on the grounds that Whiteâs ideas were | âthe result of ignorance rather than good reasoning founded on learning and logicâ. |
| Many more objectors went underground and | joined the Draft Resistors Union, established in 1970. |
| Others took legitimate routes, volunteering for the Citizens Military Force at the | time of registration. Which in turn fuelled the anti-war movement, as pure pacifists remained heavily involved. |
| The returning soldiers brought with them stories, and | Super 8 films, of atrocities and conditions. That when shown to their friends and families, contributed to the shift in attitudes to the war. |
| Save Our Sons along with Youth Campaign Against Conscription were continuing their | educative role, with ‘teach-ins’ hosted at various Universities and town halls across the country |
| In August 1969, a Gallup poll revealed that | 55% of Australians were opposed to the war, with 40% supporting the continuation of the war. |
| Last Paragraph | Last Paragraph |
| Therefore, it was through the cooperative and educative approach that various protest groups employed, coupled with the events of the | war in Vietnam and at home through the years 1965 to 1970, |
| that culminated in a change of attitudes, a change that | was clearly expressed at the moratoriums and is captured in the…. [BACK TO EXTRACT] |
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