‘Those Women with Banners’: A History of the Save Our Sons Movement, 1965-1973

Abstract

This thesis presents a detailed historical analysis of Save Our Sons, a movement mainly comprising women that protested against the conscription of Australian youth during the Vietnam War. SOS was formed in Sydney but spread to several other mainland capitals and country centres in the mid-1960s. This thesis is the first national history of the movement, focusing on the period from 1965, when the first group was formed in Sydney, to 1973, when the last remaining group in Melbourne disbanded after conscription was abolished by the Whitlam Labor Government. Framed as a social history, it examines the origins of each group that was established, the diverse backgrounds of its members, and their many varied reasons for objecting to conscription. A large focus is the radicalisation of the movement and its evolution from a law-abiding ‘traditional’ protest movement that was recognised for its respectable dress and impeccable behaviour to one that was prepared to embrace more militant tactics. While difficult to assess the overall effect of SOS on broader Government policy, this thesis will argue that SOS was a significant part of the anti-war movement. It not only provided vital moral and practical assistance to young men at risk of conscription but was also a safe place where women new to activism could exercise dissent at a time when their participation in the political sphere was still limited. SOS women may have only been “small chips in the huge mosaic of the anti-war movement in Australia” but this thesis argues that the overall picture remains incomplete without considering their contribution. The overarching aim of this thesis is to reinstate the narrative of SOS into the broader history of the anti-war movement during the Vietnam era.