Family Name:
Miller
Given Names:
Irene (Rene Renee)
Gender:
Female
Birth-Date:
Unknown, probably 1921
Death-Date:
22 January 2022
Marital Status:
Married
Age Range:
40s – 50s
Location:
VIC, Beaumaris
Occupation:
Unknown
Primary Motivation:
Anti-Militarism, especially conscription
Reason for Court Appearance:
Willful trespass on government property
Court Name and Location:
Magistrates Court, Melbourne
Court Hearing Date:
8 April 1971
Court Outcome:
Sentenced to 14 days jail at Fairlea Women’s Prison
Military Event:
National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972
Further Information:
Irene Miller. or Rene or Renee was from Beaumaris a suburb of Melbourne. She was probably born in 1921, and when she died in 2022 was 101 years old. She was the mother of ten children at the time of her peace activism. Irene was a member of the Save Our Sons Movement in Melbourne. It was active in supporting the rights of conscientious objectors and draft resisters (conscientious non-compliers) during the Vietnam War. It worked for the repeal of the National Service Act (NSA), the instrument of selective conscription. It also advocated for a change to the NSA to allow for conscientious objection to a particular war. In this case the Vietnam War. Some members formed a network of suburban safe-houses to help draft resisters evade the authorities. Irene was involved with this. Its campaigns were non-violent and contributed to a larger movement dedicated to the same objectives. It had an advantage in that members were “ordinary” wives and mothers. Many wore hats and gloves and took their handbags to their protest activities.
Its activism included regular vigils In Melbourne City Square and the State Library. Members would stand in silent protest holding anti-war and conscription placards. Members also wore sashes to identify themselves. They also handed out draft registration forms and encouraged people to fill them out with fictious names. The aim was to overload the national service registration system. They also engaged in civil disobedience outside the Swan Street army barracks where intakes of young men reported to. The SOS ceased operating soon after the newly elected Labor government of December 1972 ended conscription and released conscientious objectors and draft resisters who had been imprisoned.
Irene, together with Joan Coxsedge, Jean McLean, Chris Cathie and Jo Maclaine-Ross, all SOS members, were charged with willful trespass on government property under the Summary Offences Act. The property was an office of the Department of Labour and National Service. The court hearing was Thursday 8 April 1971, Maundy Thursday the day before Good Friday. They were handing out of anti-conscription leaflets to young men reporting for induction into the army. Joan and the others were sentenced to fourteen days imprisonment in Fairlea Woman’s Prison Melbourne, without the option of a fine. They served 11 days before being released. They became known as the “’Fairlea Five’. These jailings attracted opprobrium, verbal confrontation, and abuse. She and other SOS members were charged with being communists or communist sympathisers, anti-Australian, bad mothers and neglectful wives. It is suggested that Magistrate Foley had been leant on by the authorities to make an example of the five women. They were largely unaware of what was happening outside the prison. Irene’s husband, Bill, managed to smuggle some relevant newspaper articles into the prison by sticking them to pages into old magazines.
After the Fairlea Five’s release they were taken to a welcoming rally at the Melbourne City Square. Chris told the assembled, it wasn’t’ easy, particularly with worries about the children and affairs at home. But we would’nt appeal, and we would,nt have paid any fine if we were given that alternative. And if it becomes necessary to take such a stand again, I’ll do it. In fact I don’t think the Government has succeeded in beating or reducing any of us.
Confirmatory Sources:
Hadley L Stein, Australian Women Protest Conscription during the Vietnam War {save Our Sons}. 1965-1972. The Comon Social Change Library. https://commonslibrary.org/australian-women-protest-conscription-during-vietnam-war-save-our-sons-sos-1965-1972/ accessed 26 January 2024.
Tribune, 21 April 1971, p.12.
Canberra Times, 9 April 1971, p.1; 19 April 1971, p.9.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 