Journal
- Title
- Peacemaker [front cover, with image of Mike Matteson]
- Imprint
- September to December, 1971, 1 pp
- Abstract
Mike Matteson, who features on this cover, was one of the many brave young men who resisted conscription for the Vietnam War by refusing to register, often burning their draft cards in public. Matteson was one of the first, refusing to register in January 1967. In a famous incident at Sydney University in early 1972, police controversially came onto campus to arrest Matteson, but student anti-war activists freed him from police custody by using bolt cutters to cut through his handcuffs. Police were unable to arrest him again and he survived underground until 9 November 1972 when he gave himself up and was sentenced to 18 months' gaol, thereby making conscription an election issue. The Whitlam Government abolished conscription when it was elected in December 1972.