Today we are going to talk about the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam Moratorium.

Friday 8 May was the 50^th Anniversary of the Vietnam Moratorium.

The Vietnam moratorium protests, the first of which took place on 8 May 1970, were the largest public demonstrations in Australia’s history at the time.

The protests took place during a period of great social change in Australia, when people from a range of backgrounds were prepared to confront authority.

Labor politician Dr Jim Cairns at his address at the First Moratorium said:

“Our spirit is the spirit of peace and understanding. Our spirit is opposed to violence, opposed to hate, opposed to every motive that has produced this terrible war … we can overcome.”