Protesters burn their national service papers at an anti-conscription rally in the 1960s in Australia.
Australian anti-war movements took many forms.
- Teach-ins took place in 1965. Speakers holding a variety of opinions debated the issues. Leading speakers against the war included Dr Jim Cairns, a Shadow Minister in the Labor Opposition in Federal Parliament and Morris West, a prominent author and influential Roman Catholic.
- The Youth Campaign Against Conscription (YCAC) was a group of university students who organized marches and demonstrations.
- Save Our Sons(SOS) movement was largely composed of middle-aged women, who held silent protest vigils.
- Seamen’s Union in 1965 refused to carry war materials to Vietnam.
After 1966 protests became more radical. Young men burned their draft cards and protests began to experience involvement from the police. Some young men decided to go to jail rather than be drafted. The courts could exempt those who could prove they were pacifists (opposed to all wars on religious or moral grounds.)
