WHITE, William Phillip Orrick

Family Name:

White

Given Names:

William Phillip Orrick (Bill)

Gender:

Male

Birth-date:

1945

Death-date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Single, engaged

Age/ Age Range:

20 years old

Location:

NSW, Sydney

Occupation:

Primary School Teacher

Primary Motivation:

Conscientious Objector – Pacifism Humanist

Reason for Court/ Tribunal Appearance:

[1] Application for full exemption from military duties
[2] Appeal of the decision to grant exemption from combatant duties only
[3] Summonsed because of non-compliance with call-up notice
[4] Hearing of conscientious objection submission to the High Court

[5] Court Martial
[6] Second appeal against partial exemption from military duties

Court/ Tribunal Name and Location:

[1] Court of Petty Sessions, Sydney
[2] District Court, Sydney
[3] Court of Petty Sessions, Sydney
[4] High Court, Sydney

[5] Court Martial, Victoria Barracks
[6] Magistrates Court Sydney

Court/ Tribunal Hearing Date:

[1] 20 December 1965
[2] 22 March 1966
[3] 3 August 1966
[4] 29-30 August 1966

[5] 29 November 1966
[6] 23 December 1966

Court/ Tribunal Outcome:

[1] Granted exemption from combatant duties by Magistrate Rogers
[2] Appeal dismissed by Judge Cameron Smith
[3] Continued refusal to comply with call-up will result in forcible induction into the army
[4] Lower court’s decision upheld

[5] Army incarceration at holsworth Military Prison
[6] Appeal upheld by Magistrate Ward

Military Event:

National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1975

Further Information:

William Phillip Orrick White (Bill) was a school teacher from Gladesville New South Wales (NSW). Bill was supported by his family and financee, Clare Seale, throughout the ordeal. He had registered under the National Service Act 1964 (NSA) and was balloted in for the second intake during 1965. In November 1965 he applied for full exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector. He was granted exemption from combatant duties only by Magistrate Rogers. He appealed and this was heard on 22 March 1966 by Judge Cameron Smith in the District Court. At the appeal hearing Bill White summarised his pacifist views and stated that Man’s chief purpose is to live-therefore the taking of human life is wrong and unjustifiable I cannot with a clear conscience kill a person or be part of any organisation that is able or willing to kill or make war. Despite Bill’s clear statement the judge dismissed his appeal. He refused to accept the court’s decision and continued teaching.

He received a call-up notice 23 June 1966. He refused to comply and informed the Department of Labour and National Service (DLNS) of such. He received another call-up notice 18 July 1966. Bill informed the NSW Department of Education of his non-compliance with the call-up notice. Under the NSA the Department could not continue to employ him. On that day Bill went to school to engage in classroom teaching. The headmaster under instruction from the Education Department had him removed from the class. Bill was summonsed on 3 August 1966 to the Court of Petty Sessions in Philip Street, Sydney. He was informed by the court that continued refusal to comply with call-up would result in him being handed over to the army. Meanwhile the High Court agreed to hear conscientious objection submissions from Bill, and another Noel Edgar Collett from Queensland, on 29-30 August 1966. It upheld the decision of the lower courts. Bill was then ordered to report to the army at Watsons Bay 17 November 1966. He refused to comply and waited at home for any response from the authorities. The NSW Department of Education ‘sacked’ him whilst his appeal against his removal from the classroom was pending. Events then took a dramatic turn. Bill was dragged by four burly policemen from his family home on 22 November 1966 and this was witnessed by the press, family friends and neighbours. He was forcibly delivered to the Army and was jailed for 3 weeks, first at South Head Barracks and then in the Holsworthy Correctional Facility. On 29 November 1966 the army court-martialed Bill for his refusal to wear a uniform or obey orders. His arrest and jailing received wide coverage by the media and in the Commonwealth parliament questions were asked. It was bad publicity for the government. Just before his arrest Bill had made application for a second appeal against the partial exemption decision. This was heard on 23 December 1966 by Magistrate Ward. The magistrate ruled in favour of Bill and he was registered as a conscientious objector and granted exemption from all military duties.

Confirmatory Sources:

NAA Series MP1357/2. Control Symbol 34 Item ID 12178804, White, William Phillip Orrick-Papers and Trial Proceedings.

Peacemaker May/June 1966 p.3; July/Aug 1966 p.1; Nov 1966 p.?; Feb 1967 p.3; Nov/Dec 1968 p.3

Bobbie Oliver, Hell No! We Won’t Go: Resistance to Conscription in Postwar Australia, Interventions, Melbourne, 2022, esp. pp.73-79.

Image: William (Bill) White with parents 1966

Courtesy: Tribune/ SEARCH FOUNDATION