Yes No uses thousands of pegboard letters to present the results of the 1917 conscription vote and reveals how close Australia came to forcing its citizens to fight in WWI. Yes No also offers insights of two fictional characters voting on this fundamental issue from two real perspectives: an Indigenous man votes ‘yes’ hoping to gain additional rights as an Australian citizen, while a widower votes ‘no’ to prevent other families being torn apart.
Jack said…
Yes to the recruiter on Sydney Road
Yes to a medic's spite
Yes in ink between black boxes
Yes to being white
Yes for a country no longer his
Yes for a piece of his own
Yes for six shillings a week
Yes to be a warrior grown
Yes to money sent back to family
Yes for lines to be drawn
Yes for children yet to come
Yes for a culture gone.
Nell said…
No to losing an uncle
No to wasting time
No to missing her husband’s leg
No to losing his mind
No to selling all their sheep
No to losing the farm
No to rum drunk in silence
No to sleepless harm
No to planes over birds
No to the shine of a gun
No to letters delivered blankly
No to losing a son.
