O’SULLIVAN, Brendon

Family Name:

O’Sullivan

Given Names:

Brendon

Gender:

Male

Birth-date:

Unknown, possibly 1950

Death-date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age Range:

Early 20s

Location:

VIC, Kew

Occupation:

Unknown

Primary Motivation:

Draft Resister

Reason for Court Appearance:

Failure to register for national service

Court Name and Location:

Magistrates Court, Victoria

Court Hearing Date:

28 June 1971

Court Outcome:

Convicted and fined $40 plus costs

Military Event:

National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972

Further Information:

Brendon O’Sullivan was from Kew, a suburb of Melbourne. He opposed the National Service Act 1964 (NSA). He refused to register for the January 1970 intake of conscripts. He was summonsed to a magistrate’s court on 28 June 1971. He was convicted and fined $40 plus costs. It was unlikely that Brendon 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, October/ November 1970, p.6; May/ June/ July/ August 1971, p.11.