Two lapel badges : Vietnam Moratorium

The Moratorium marches of May and September 1970 were the most significant events of the anti-Vietnam war movement in Australia. A coordinated series of marches, meetings, and protests were held nationwide, with the largest demonstration held in Melbourne and attended by around 70,000 people. The organisers adopted the Moratorium name and its simple but readily recognisable circular symbol from similar American demonstrations of 1969. Moratorium committees in each state sold badges bearing the symbol to raise money for and awareness of the campaign. The logo displayed on these badges became a well-known symbol of the anti-Vietnam war protest.

Fears of violence proved largely unfounded at the Melbourne marches, although in Sydney and Adelaide violent conflicts broke out between police and demonstrators, with hundreds arrested. The campaign saw unprecedented numbers of people protesting against the war, but the May Moratorium was the high watermark of the anti-war movement. Although further Moratorium marches were held through 1970 and 1971, attendances were lower; internal disagreements had weakened the movement, and the government had in any case started winding down Australia’s participation in the war.