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Conscription - criticism, pre-1950

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Political Movement
Alternative Names
  • Conscription - First World War

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There have been numerous campaigns against compulsory military training or service in Australian since compulsory training for boys was first introduced in 1911.

The Labor government of Billy Hughes during the First World War attempted to introduce conscription; an attempt which split the party. Two referendums were held: in October 1916 and November 1917. Both were rejected.

During the Second World War the United Australian Party reintroduced conscription; men were drafted into the Citizen’s Miliary Forces, a policy which Labor continued and then extended. Conscription ended after the war but the Menzies government reintroduced compulsory training from 1951-59. In 1964 compulsory military service was introduced, in April 1966 the first Australian conscripts were sent to Vietnam. There was bitter opposition to this conscription. National service ended in 1974.

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Items for Download

Books

  • Hills, John Francis, Child conscription; our country's shame, Burmeister & Co., Adelaide, 1912. [ | | Details... ]
  • Judd, E, E., The War: and the Sydney Labor Council, Socialist Labour Party of Australia, Sydney, 1917. [ | | Details... ]
  • Kirkpatrick, George Ross, War and the working class, F.A. Holland, Fitzroy, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Marshall, Vance, World of the Living Dead & Jail from Within, Wentworth Press, 1969. [ | | Details... ]
  • Walker, Bertha, How to Defeat Concription: A Story of the 1916 and 1917 Campaigns in Victoria, Anti-Conscription Jubilee Committee, Melbourne, 1968. [ Image | | Details... ]

Cartoons

  • Marquet, Claude, 'Blood Vote', 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Marquet, Claude and Cassidy, R.J., 'The mothers', No-conscription Council Campaign Committee, Sydney, 1916. [ | | Details... ]

Constitutions

  • Australian Union of Democratic Control. [ | | Details... ]

Journals

  • Communist Review, Central Committee Communist Party of Australia [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sdyney, August 1935. [ | | Details... ]
  • Communist Review, Central Committee Communist Party of Australia [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, December 1935. [ | | Details... ]

Journal Articles

  • 'Free Religious Fellowship; Anti-Conscription Committee', Fellowship: a monthly magazine of undogmatic religion and social and literary criticism (Melbourne), vol. 4, no. 6, 1918. [ | | Details... ]

Lectures

  • Richardson, Bill, Labour Day - Its significance and the life and times of E.J. [Edward John] Holloway, 1971. [ | | Details... ]

Manifestos

  • Manifesto of the Australian Freedom League, n.d.. [ | | Details... ]
  • Australian Peace Alliance, Election manifesto to the people of Australia, 1917. [ | | Details... ]
  • Australian Trade Union Anti-Conscription Congress National Executive, Manifesto to trades unionists, Melbourne, 6 November 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Political Labor Council of Victoria Central Executive, Anti-conscription manifesto, 1916. [ | | Details... ]

Newspapers

  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 1, no. 6, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, June 1, 1914. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 35, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, August 15, 1915. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 38, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, October 1, 1915. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 39, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, October 2, 1915. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 40, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, October 9, 1915. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 41, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, October 16, 1915. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 42, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, October 23, 1915. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 43, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, October 30, 1915. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 44, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, November 6, 1915. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 50, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, December 18, 1915. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 51, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, December 25, 1915. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 34, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, August 1, 1915. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 3, no. 95, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, November 4, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 3, no. 97, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, November 18, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 3, no. 96, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, November 11, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 56, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, February 5, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 55, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, January 29, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 52, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, January 8, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 3, no. 98, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, December 2, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 3, no. 94, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, October 28, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 3, no. 93, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, October 21, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 53, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, January 15, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Direct Action: Paper of the Industrial Workers of the World, vol. 2, no. 54, Industrial Workers of the World [This scan courtesy of the State Library of Victoria], Sydney, January 22, 1916. [ | | Details... ]

Newspaper Articles

  • Goldstein, Vida, 'Open Letter of Members of the Commonwealth Parliament', The Woman Voter, 1916. [ | | Details... ]
  • Goldstein, Vida, 'Manifesto. Australian Women's Peace Army. Conscription. Vote NO.', The woman voter, 5 October 1916. [ | | Details... ]

Pamphlets

  • Free-citizenship or Military Tyranny. [ | | Details... ]
  • An open-letter to women, Melbourne, 1917. [ | | Details... ]
  • Citizens' Defence League, Open letter to Australian citizens, Melbourne, 1917. [ | | Details... ]
  • Holloway, E. J., The Australian Victory over Conscription in 1916-1917, Anti-Conscription Jubilee Committee, Melbourne, 1966. [ | | Details... ]
  • McKellar, John, Maurice Blackburn and the struggle for freedom, Anti-Conscription Campaign, Melbourne, 1945. [ | | Details... ]
  • Returned Soldiers' No Conscription League, Manifesto, Melbourne, 1917. [ | | Details... ]
  • Ross, R.S., The No-conscription Fellowship, 1916?. [ | | Details... ]
  • Wilson, Alf, What conscription is wanted for, Adelaide, 1916. [ | | Details... ]