Save our sons : women, dissent and conscription during the Vietnam War / Carolyn Collins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Collins, Carolyn (Historian), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Draft--Australia.

Draft.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Women--Australia.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements--Australia.

Women.

Australia.

Physical Description:

xxix, 338 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Clayton, Victoria : Monash University Publishing, [2021]

Summary:

"Save Our Sons tells for the first time the full story of the Save Our Sons movement of Australian women who banded together to oppose conscription during the Vietnam War. In 1965, angered by the Menzies' government's decision to conscript young men to fight in the Vietnam War, a group of Sydney housewives issued a national 'distress call - SOS - to mothers everywhere'. Their clarion call was answered by women across Australia, who formed groups of their own in Townsville, Brisbane, Newcastle, Wollongong, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Of varying ages, backgrounds and religious and political persuasions, they united under the Save Our Sons banner, determined to end the so-called 'lottery of death'. In 1965, nobody envisaged this would take eight long years, or that some would be jailed in the process.SOS members initially stood out as respectable voices of middle-class dissent in their sensible shoes, hats and gloves, but as the war dragged on some became more radical: staging sit-ins at government buildings, chaining themselves to Canberra's Parliament House, wearing anti-war fashions to the Melbourne Cup, hijacking an evangelical rally, and organising an 'underground' to hide draft resisters. In 1971, the jailing of five Melbourne SOS mums over Easter sparked national outrage, and was seen by some as a turning point in the anti-war campaign. Set against a backdrop of percolating social change in Australia, Save Our Sons is the first national history of the SOS movement and those who answered its call" -- Publisher's website.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: ch. 1 Dress Rehearsal

pt. 1 Roll Call

ch. 2 Rebels with a Cause

ch. 3 The `Founding Mothers'

ch. 4 `Mothers Are on the March'

pt. 2 Taking It to the Streets, 1960s

ch. 5 `Heads Bowed, Hands Clasped', 1965

66

ch. 6 Gloves Off, 1967

69

ch. 7 On the World Stage

ch. 8 `Fan Mail'

pt. 3 Keeping up Appearances, 1970s

ch. 9 Moratoriums, Chain Gangs and `Falsies'

ch. 10 The Fairlea Five and the `Underground'

ch. 11 The Final Push

ch. 12 Rolling up the Banners.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 316-327) and index.

ISBN:

1925835960

9781925835960

OCLC:

1232072021

Publisher Number:

99988572559