GRONDAL, Donald William

Family Name:

Grondal

Given Names:

Donald William

Gender:

Male

Birth-Date:

1935

Death-Date:

Marital Status:

Single

Age:

18 years old

Location:

WA, Collie

Occupation:

Family Farm and as a benchman at a timber mill

Primary Motivation:

Conscientious Objector, religious

Reason for Court Appearance:

[1] Application for total exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector

[2] Appeal against being exempted from combatant military duties only

Court Name and Location:

[1] Police Court, Collie

[2] Supreme Court of Western Australia

Court Hearing Date:

[1] 14 July 1953

[2] 11 September 1953

Court Outcome:

[1] Exempted from combatant military duties only

[2] Appeal was upheld

Military Event:

National Service 1951-1959

Further Information:

Donald Grondal was from Collie in Western Australia and a member of the Jehovah’s Witness. He married and had two children. He worked on the family farm and as a benchman at the Buckingham’s timber mill. Based on his religious beliefs he applied for total exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector under the National Service Act 1951 (NSA). Magistrate Stotter, at the Collie Courthouse, granted him exemption from combatant military duties only. Donald told the magistrate he could not serve in the army in any capacity. He said that rather than compromise my beliefs I would rather go to prison or even be killed. Donald said, he had dedicated his life to the service of Jehovah God. He would obey the laws of the land as long as they did not conflict with God’s will. The army which trains you to kill is contrary to God’s will. AL Gleedman represented the Department of Labour and National Service. The magistrate told Donald he could appeal to the Supreme Court if he wished.

Donald appealed the decision. His court hearing was before the Chief Justice, Sir John Dwyer of the Supreme Court of Western Australia on 11 September 1953. TJ Hughes was legal counsel for Donald, and A L Gleedman again represented the state. Justice Dwyer stated, I should say that a conscientious belief is an inward conviction of what is morally right or morally wrong…It is a conviction that is generally reached and held by some process of thinking about the subject…It represents a conclusion that is uninfluenced by any consideration of advantage or disadvantage, either to oneself or others, and perhaps is combined with a willingness to act according to a particular conviction reached, although it may involve personal discomfort or suffering or material loss…If those characteristics are present, I think it is quite irrelevant to consider whether the conviction is reasonable or correct. Justice Dwyer then reflected on the lower court’s decision, I think once the magistrate reached the stage that he thought the appellant had a conscientious belief in refraining from doing the service which the law requires of him there was nothing to modify the belief and justify his being attached to a non-combatant unit. Accordingly, the Chief Justice upheld Donald’s appeal. Donald was given full exemption from all military training and registered as a conscientious objector.

Confirmatory Sources:

West Australian, 15 July 1953, p.11; 12 September 1953, p.10.

Collie Mail, 16 July 1953, p.1; 17 September 1953, p.6.

Daily News, 11 September 1953, p.15.

Peacemaker, August/ September 1956, p.4. Bobbie Oliver, Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia, Interventions, Melbourne, 2022. p.221.