'' The Peacemaker'' was a pacifist newspaper based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It was published from 1939 to 1971.

History

In 1939

Frank Coaldrake Frank William Coaldrake (12 March 1912 – 22 July 1970) was an Australian priest in the Church of England in Australia (as the Anglican Church of Australia was then called). A noted pacifist during WWII, Coaldrake was subsequently an Anglican ...

(1912–70) was a community worker with the

Brotherhood of St Laurence The Brotherhood of St Laurence is an Australian not-for-profit organisation working toward an Australia free of poverty. The Brotherhood (as it is colloquially known) has its headquarters in Melbourne but provides services and programs across Au ...

in the inner-Melbourne suburb of

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

. In 1938-39 he had been the travelling secretary of the

Australian Student Christian Movement The Australian Student Christian Movement (ASCM), formerly the Australasian Student Christian Union, is a Christian group with an ecumenical focus working with university students. History Described as a "university within a university", the ...

, and during this time he had become a convinced pacifist. Three weeks after the declaration of war in 1939, he founded ''The Peacemaker'', a monthly paper to inform and assist those who conscientiously objected to military service. Although ''The Peacemaker'' was notionally a monthly publication, the actual publication history was more erratic than that suggests. Coaldrake was president of the

Federal Pacifist Council of Australia Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

from 1943 to 1946. He offered to serve as a missionary in Japan, initially in 1943 at the height of the war to Dr

H. V. Evatt Herbert Vere Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a judge of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs from 1941 to 1949, and l ...

, the Minister for External Affairs and which was declined, but which was accepted by Bishop

George Cranswick George Harvard Cranswick (1882–1954) was the 2nd bishop of Gippsland from 1917 until 1942. Educated at The King's School, Parramatta, and Sydney University, he was ordained in 1908. In a varied career he was acting vice-principal of Noble C ...

, Chairman of the

Australian Board of Missions The Anglican Board of Mission - Australia (ABM), formerly Australasian Board of Missions and Australian Board of Missions, is the national mission agency of the Anglican Church of Australia. In its earliest form, it was established in 1850. ...

in 1946. He left Melbourne at the end of 1946 to spend 15 months studying Japanese at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. At this point the Federal Pacifist Council (which was the Australian section of

War Resisters' International War Resisters' International (WRI), headquartered in London, is an international anti-war organisation with members and affiliates in over 30 countries. History ''War Resisters' International'' was founded in Bilthoven, Netherlands in 1921 unde ...

) took over responsibility for publication of ''The Peacemaker''. During this time ''The Peacemaker'' was a strong campaigner for those who objected to performing

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

. The last issue featured a cover photo of the anti-war activist and conscientious objector

Michael Matteson Michael Matteson was an anti-war activist who resisted conscription into the Australian Army during the Vietnam War, due to his anarchist philosophy and principles. In 1972, Matteson was being escorted by two Commonwealth policemen—handcuffed to ...

whilst on the run from police. ''The Peacemaker'' ceased publication in 1971.

Editors

*The Rev

, 1939–46. *GA (Tony) Bishop, 1946–53. *Vivienne Abraham, 1953–55. *WJ Latona, 1955–57. *The Rev Dr Ernest Edgar Vyvyan Collocott, 1957–60. *An editorial committee convened by A Hodge, 1960–63. *Vivienne Abraham and Shirley Abraham, 1964–68. *Vivienne Abraham, 1968–71.

References

{{Authority control Newspapers established in 1939 Defunct newspapers published in Melbourne Publications disestablished in 1971