PAULL, John

Family Name:

Paull

Given Names:

John

Gender:

Male

Birth-date:

Unknown, possibly 1947

Death-date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Singke, married by 1972

Age Range:

Early 20s

Location:

VIC, Coburg

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:

John Paull was from Coburg a suburb of Melbourne. He opposed the National Service Act 1964 (NSA). He refused to register for the July 1967 intake of conscripts. Before the authorities could prosecute, he left for New Zealand but returned to Melbourne after about 5 years. On Monday 14 November 1972 it was reported that police burst into his Pascoe Vale home and arrested him. His wife said that, a policeman dragged her husband from the house to a car. …two Commonwealth policeman had broken open two windows to arrest her husband. They had grabbed his hands and feet and carried and dragged him to a police car outside. Despite his arrest it was unlikely that John 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, November/ December 1969, p.8; May/ June 1970, p.4; May/ June/ July/ August 1971, p.11.

Canberra Times, 14 November 19712, p.3.