Family Name:
Parnaby
Given Names:
Oliver
Gender:
Male
Birth-date:
Unknown, possibly 1951
Death-date:
Unknown
Marital Status:
Unknown, probably single
Age Range:
Early 20s
Location:
VIC
Occupation:
University Student
Primary Motivation:
Draft Resister
Reason for Court Appearance:
Failure to register for national service
Court Name and Location:
Court of Petty Sessions, Carlton
Court Hearing Date:
20 May 1971
Court Outcome:
Convicted and fined
Military Event:
National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972
Further Information:
Oliver Parnaby was from Victoria. He was a second-year Social Studies student at Sydney University. He refused to register for national service under the National Service Act 1964 (NSA) for a 1971 intake of conscripts. He sent a letter to Minister Snedden to inform him why he adopted non-compliance. He was summonsed to appear at the Carlton Court of Petty Sessions on 20 May 1971. The magistrate convicted and fined him. It was unlikely that Oliver 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, March/ April 1971, p.11; May/ June/ July/ August 1971, p.11.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 