What A Difference A Day Makes
On November 1964, the Australian federal government decided to introduce a compulsory selective National Service scheme. In announcing this decision to Parliament, Prime Minister Robert Menzies referred to ‘aggressive Communism’ developments in Asia.
20 year old males, if selected, were to serve in the Army for a period of 2 years, followed by three years in the Reserve. The Defence Act was amended to provide that conscripts could be obliged to serve overseas, and in March 1966, Prime Minister Holt announced that National Servicemen would be sent to Vietnam to fight in units of the Australian Regular Army.
Registration was compulsory and a process of selection by ballot determined who would be called up. Two ballots were conducted each year. The ballots selected several dates in the selected period and all males with corresponding birthdays were called up for national service. The ballot was conducted using a lottery barrel and marbles representing birthdays.
From 1966 opposition to conscription swelled and was often enmeshed with opposition to Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Evasion of national service was not uncommon and some cases were prosecuted harshly leading to much publicity. National Service was a significant issue in the Federal election campaigns and in 1972, a change in government finally resulted in the end of peace time conscription
My dad was a sergeant in the British army during WWII and I think was of the opinion “The army will make a man of you”, so when I received the dreaded notice to enroll for the ballot, I was not a happy chappie. It was a few weeks before I finally got the awesome news, that sadly, I was granted “indefinite deferment” (read: not required).
I didn’t do cartwheels through the lounge room in uncontrolled happiness, as I wasn’t sure what my dad was thinking.
So life rolled on, and I often wondered what I might have turned out like, had I gone to Vietnam, as many had gone and many came back with issues.
The 60s and 70s were a time of social change and personal expression in Australia, as it was in other countries, and the Vietnam war was a very controversial and political issue. Ban the bomb, tie dyed shirts, free love and protests about our involvement in Vietnam meant many servicemen returned home to mixed feelings swinging between blame and “well done” over the war.
It wasn’t until many years later, that the government finally did the right thing and expressed gratitude and recognition for all the poor buggers who got shot at over there.
What is my photo title about? My birth date is the 20th, and now there are publicly available records listing the birth dates that were used in all the ballots, and I have now seen for the very first time, that if my mum had waited one more day, I would have been on the boat to Vietnam.
Here are the dates used in my ballot - March 1, 10, 15, 21
The enrollment card also says that if the card is destroyed, it must be reported "forthwith". I have waited for them to change their mind on the deferment for 43 years now, waiting for that knock on the door at midnight, ok, not really, but today Mrs Mail helped me (made me) destroy a lot of old papers that were clogging up our filing cabinet, so my enrollment card has finally been shredded.
Prime Minister Holt won’t care though - His term as Australian Prime Minister was brought to an early end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.
What A Difference A Day Makes
On November 1964, the Australian federal government decided to introduce a compulsory selective National Service scheme. In announcing this decision to Parliament, Prime Minister Robert Menzies referred to ‘aggressive Communism’ developments in Asia.
20 year old males, if selected, were to serve in the Army for a period of 2 years, followed by three years in the Reserve. The Defence Act was amended to provide that conscripts could be obliged to serve overseas, and in March 1966, Prime Minister Holt announced that National Servicemen would be sent to Vietnam to fight in units of the Australian Regular Army.
Registration was compulsory and a process of selection by ballot determined who would be called up. Two ballots were conducted each year. The ballots selected several dates in the selected period and all males with corresponding birthdays were called up for national service. The ballot was conducted using a lottery barrel and marbles representing birthdays.
From 1966 opposition to conscription swelled and was often enmeshed with opposition to Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Evasion of national service was not uncommon and some cases were prosecuted harshly leading to much publicity. National Service was a significant issue in the Federal election campaigns and in 1972, a change in government finally resulted in the end of peace time conscription
My dad was a sergeant in the British army during WWII and I think was of the opinion “The army will make a man of you”, so when I received the dreaded notice to enroll for the ballot, I was not a happy chappie. It was a few weeks before I finally got the awesome news, that sadly, I was granted “indefinite deferment” (read: not required).
I didn’t do cartwheels through the lounge room in uncontrolled happiness, as I wasn’t sure what my dad was thinking.
So life rolled on, and I often wondered what I might have turned out like, had I gone to Vietnam, as many had gone and many came back with issues.
The 60s and 70s were a time of social change and personal expression in Australia, as it was in other countries, and the Vietnam war was a very controversial and political issue. Ban the bomb, tie dyed shirts, free love and protests about our involvement in Vietnam meant many servicemen returned home to mixed feelings swinging between blame and “well done” over the war.
It wasn’t until many years later, that the government finally did the right thing and expressed gratitude and recognition for all the poor buggers who got shot at over there.
What is my photo title about? My birth date is the 20th, and now there are publicly available records listing the birth dates that were used in all the ballots, and I have now seen for the very first time, that if my mum had waited one more day, I would have been on the boat to Vietnam.
Here are the dates used in my ballot - March 1, 10, 15, 21
The enrollment card also says that if the card is destroyed, it must be reported "forthwith". I have waited for them to change their mind on the deferment for 43 years now, waiting for that knock on the door at midnight, ok, not really, but today Mrs Mail helped me (made me) destroy a lot of old papers that were clogging up our filing cabinet, so my enrollment card has finally been shredded.
Prime Minister Holt won’t care though - His term as Australian Prime Minister was brought to an early end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.