CRAVEN, Robert

Family Name:

Craven

Given Names:

Robert

Gender:

Male

Birth-date:

Unknown, possibly 1951

Death-date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age Range:

Early 20s

Location:

NSW

Occupation:

Unknown

Primary Motivation:

Draft Resister

Reason for Court Appearance:

Court Name and Location:

Court Hearing Date:

Court Outcome:

Military Event:

National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972

Further Information:

Robert Craven was from New South Wales and opposed the National Service Act 1964 (NSA). He refused to register under the Act. He was amongst a group of non-compliers from New South Wales that demanded the government ‘Gaol Us Now’ during October 1972. In part the statement read, We have all publicly refused to comply with the National Service Ac with the full expectation of being gaoled. Yet only a handful of us have been prosecuted. We demand the government stop back-pedalling and end selective prosecution and gaol us now…We know that if the government did gaol us the Australian people would not tolerate it…We refuse to condone the massed stupidity, the organized barbarism of your state. We defy you…all nations, all governments, all people dedicated to war! It is unknown if Robert continued with his non-compliance. If he did so then it was unlikely he was 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, May/ June/ July/ August 1971, p.11.

Tharunka, 18 October 1972, p.6.