In October 1968, Melbourne high school student Michael Eidelson was suspended for distributing an underground newspaper featuring ‘unfair and abusive criticism’ of staff. The case quickly made headlines. A petition in support of Eidelson was signed by 200 of his peers and a teacher defended him in a letter to The Age. The Victorian Opposition Leader, Clyde Holding, joined in calls for the suspension to be lifted, while the Assistant Minister for Education, John Rossiter, retaliated with accusations that federal Labor MP and prominent left-winger Jim Cairns had encouraged high school protesters and was attempting to ‘subvert’ Australian youth more generally.

While the year 1968 is often characterised as a moment of generational revolt, the political mobilisation of high school students has received surprisingly little attention in Australian histories. Focusing on the Eidelson case and a subsequent 1969 campaign in Brisbane to defend suspended student Margaret Bailey, this paper will highlight their presence across a range of protest movements and canvas the reactions of other activists, education authorities, parents and the media to their involvement. The paper forms part of a wider study of children’s rights in Australia since the post-war period which includes a focus on young people's activism.