COCHRANE, William

Family Name:

Cochrane

Given Names:

William

Gender:

Male

Birth-date:

Unknown, possibly 1950

Death-date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age:

20 years old

Location:

QLD, Brisbane

Occupation:

Unknown

Primary Motivation:

Draft Resister

Reason for Court Appearance:

Failure to register for national service

Court Name and Location:

Court of Petty Sessions, Brisbane

Court Hearing Date:

9 June 1971

Court Outcome:

Convicted and fined $60 plus $7.50 costs

Military Event:

National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972

Further Information:

William Cochrane was from Brisbane, in Queensland. He failed to register for national service under the National Service Act 1964 (NSA) for the January 1970 intake of conscripts. He was summoned to the Court of Petty Sessions in Brisbane on 9 June 1971. He was convicted and fined $60 plus $7.50 costs. I t was likely that Wiliam was not further prosecuted under the NSA. The government during 1971, and especially 1972, were reluctant to prosecute when the result would be jailing a young man. This was particularly in regard to a refusal to obey a call-up notice. This attracted 18 months’ imprisonment. The government aimed to minimize its political risk of having large numbers of young men in prison. All pending prosecutions under the NSA were stopped by the newly elected Whitlam Labor government in early December 1972.

Confirmatory Sources:

Peacemaker, March/ April 1971, p.11; May/ June/ July/ August 1071, p.11.

Bobbie Oliver, Hell No! We Won’t Go Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia, Interventions, Melbourne, 2022, p.247.