Family Name:
Sprod
Given Names:
Timothy James (Tim)
Gender:
Male
Birth-date:
18 March 1951
Death-date:
Not applicable
Marital Status:
Single
Age Range:
20 years old
Location:
TAS, Sandy Bay
Occupation:
Student, University of Tasmania
Primary Motivation:
Draft Resister, Pacifist, opposed to military conscription and the Vietnam War
Reason for Court Appearance:
Failure to register for national service
Court Name and Location:
Court of Petty Sessions, Hobart
Court Hearing Date:
24 September 1971
Court Outcome:
Convicted and fined
Military Event:
National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972
Further Information:
Tim Sprod was from Sandy Bay, a suburb of Hobart. He opposed the National Service Act 1964 (NSA). He refused to register for the February 1971 intake of conscripts. He was a pacifist based on humanism and was opposed to the Vietnam War and military conscription. He was educated at Griffith Primary and Narrabundah High Schools in the Australian Capital Territory. He attended Hobart Matriculation College and then was accepted to the University of Tasmania. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Geology and Philosophy. He attributes his pacifism to family influences, a left-leaning household, his university experience and his wide reading, including the history of the conflict in Indo-China.
Tim wrote to the Minister, Phillip Lynch, on 28 June 1971 to inform him of his non-compliance and the reasons for adopting that stance. His letter was published in togatus, the newspaper of the Student Representative Council of the University. He stated that, the war in Indo-China which our government supports is totally immoral…I am a Pacifist. I feel that the use of force cannot solve any problem…I cannot take advantage of Conscientious Objection as I feel that this indirectly supports the National Service Act and my aim is to see this Act completely repealed. Tim then continues by stating that, I don’t believe that the State has the right to force anyone to serve them in any way, especially for military service. Although I think that all people should help their fellow man…I intend in the future to do service of this kind with an organization like Australian Volunteers Abroad, but I cannot undertake this without a passport, which I am now denied due to my stand on conscription. He then concluded his letter to the Minister with, I shall never take part in your iniquitous system of National Slavery. Minister Lynch responded to Tim’s letter defending the selective military conscription system and urging him to register without delay but indicated he could apply to be registered as a conscientious objector. The minister enclosed the relevant application form. Tim sent a letter of rebuttal to the Minister, and this was also published in togatus.
He was summonsed to the Court of Petty sessions at Hobart on 24 September 1971. He was convicted and fined by Magistrate Morris. As a student he was given time to pay but he refused anyway. By the time the due date arrived Tim had moved to Sydney where he worked. He mentions that the authorities occasionally knocked on the door of his parents’ home inquiring of his whereabouts. His mother responded by saying she did know where he was exactly. Tim was not 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, although Tim was not issued with a call-up. 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 on 2 December 1972.
Whilst at the University Tim was heavily involved in the Moratorium movement and served as secretary of the UTas Moratorium Committee. He organised and spoke at Moratorium events. Towards the end of 1971 he curtailed his activities so as not to attract the attention of the authorities. Throughout 1972 he was in conversation with the Overseas Service Bureau (OSB) about volunteering for them. On Monday 4 December 1972 the OSB offered him a placement in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. He accepted and gave four years of service, two of them on a local contract.
Confirmatory Sources:
Interview Tim Sprod, 29 September 2026.
Peacemaker, May/ June/ July/ August 1971, p.11; August/ September 1971, p.4.
togatus, Vol.42, No 19, Monday 13 September, 1971.
