The impact of World War I on the Australian home front

Question 1

What was the cost of the war?

Answer 1

• From a population of less than 5 million, 416 809 men voluntarily enlisted.
• 40 per cent of eligible men enlisted (5 per cent of Imperial troops).
• Over 60 000 killed.
• 6.9 per cent death rate.
• 153 000 wounded, gassed or taken prisoner.
• 90 000 returned physically or mentally incapacitated.
• 65 per cent casualty rate (killed; wounded; captured).

Question 2

How did Australians respond to the war?

Answer 2

• There was initial enthusiasm for war following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 4 August 1914.
• Defence Act 1903 (Cwlth) limited the Australian Army to defence of Australia and only on Australian territory.
• Australian army needed to attract volunteers.
• Recruitment began on 10 August 1914.
• Within days 40 000 men volunteered – double what Australia had offered to Britain.
• By December 1914, 52 000 men volunteered to be part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) who would join with New Zelanders to form the Anzacs

Question 3

How did Australians respond after realising the reality of war?

Answer 3

• As the reality of war began to dawn, enlistment figures slumped.
• Government created recruitment campaigns.
• Division started to develop in the community.
• Government was under fire for their handling of censorship, restricting freedoms and high unemployment.

-A minority of Australians opposed the war. These included conscientious objectors from religious groups and pacifists.

Question 4

How did Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders respond to the war?

Answer 4

• Estimated that between 500 and 800 Aboriginal men served in Australia’s armed forces during WW1.
• May be an understatement as Aboriginality was usually not recorded at enlistment.
• Difficult for Aboriginal men to enlist.
• Only in 1917 were half-caste (a term now considered offensive)Aborigines allowed to serve.
• May have been motivated to enlist to escape racism, discrimination, poor living and working conditions, patriotism, adventure and better wages.
• Able toshow their abilities and to work towards greater recognition of rights.

Question 5

What was the War Precautions Act 1915

Answer 5

• On October 1914, federal Parliament passed the War Precautions Act 1914 (Cwlth).
• Greatly increased powers of the Commonwealth Government, enabling it to make laws:
  - about anything related to Australia’s war effort
  - in areas outside its usual powers under the Constitution.
• Government took responsibility in the areas of:
  - Military effort: raising of troops, organising equipment, transport and payment
  - Paying for the war: new taxes were introduced, and war loans offered for investment
  - Trade: trade with enemy countries ceased
  - Manufacturing: industrial growth occurred
  - National security: censorship was introduced to present the government view and prevent damaging news being released. German nationals and Australians of German origin interned.

Question 6

What would be censored in the letters from the trench?

Answer 6

• where you were stationed
• how many soldiers were there
• name of any soldiers or officers
• what weapons you had
• details of planned attacks
• soldiers who were injured
• soldiers who had died
• bad conditions

Question 7

How was the economy post war in Australia?

Answer 7

• In 1914 the Australian economy was based on primary products.
• War disrupted international trade and ended Australia’s trade with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
• Growth of heavy industry hastened.
• Australia became more self-sufficient.
• Employment in manufacturing increased by 11 per cent during the war years.
• By 1919, 400 products previously imported were produced locally.

Question 8

How was the economy after the war?

Answer 8

• War caused increasing hardship.
• Prices rose for domestic goods due to the priority to supply the military.
• People struggled to keep up with inflation and increased taxes.
• Working-class carried the greatest burden – felt they were being exploited.
• Trade unions organised strikes in 1916 and 1917 – demanded higher wages and better conditions.

Question 9

What happened to Germans living in Australia?

Answer 9

• The 1911 Census identified nearly 35 000 of German origin living in Australia.
• Following the outbreak of war, the Commonwealth Government took action to oversee and control the behaviour of ‘German’ Australians and German citizens in Australia – categorised them as ‘enemy aliens’.
• Had to report to their local police station on a weekly basis.
• Due to heavy anti-German propaganda, there was a strong anti-German attitude in the population. For example:
  - Australians avoided buying German goods
  - Germans were excluded from employment opportunities
  - Verbal and physical abuse against Germans.

Question 10

What did the government do with the Germans?

Answer 10

• With the passing of the War Precautions Act, the federal government had the power to intern these enemy aliens.
• About 6 000 were sent to interment camps which were created around Australia in remote areas, including at Rottnest Island.
• In July 1915, all internees were transferred to camps in NSW.
• The internees lived a normal a life as possible while confined in camps. Undertook physical work associated with the camps or community.
• Anti-German feeling continued in the 1920s with many ‘enemy aliens’ deported.

Question 11

What was the role of the women?

Answer 11

• Offered some opportunities for women to expand their roles, but only in a limited way.
• The number of women in workforce rose from 24 per cent in 1914 to 37 per cent in 1918.
• Women were largely restricted to traditionally ‘female’ areas of work in the food, clothing, footwear, printing and textile industries. Continued to work as shop assistants, in office work, in teaching and as nurses.
• Women who replaced men who enlisted were only seen as a ‘reserve’ labour force.
• Paid considerably less than men for the same work.
• Trade unions opposed the employment of women fearingwages would be lowered and they would take jobs away from men.

Question 12

What did women try to do to help with the war?

Answer 12

• Not allowed to join the armed forces.
• 3 000 women served as nurses in all main theatres of war and on hospital ships.
• Many women took on voluntary comfort and fundraising roles with organisations such as the Red Cross and the Australian Comforts Fund (ACF) to support the troops overseas.
• Australian Women’s Service Corps (AWSC) formed in an attempt to make the government aware of women who wanted to do more for the war effort.
• Groups such as the Women’s Peace Army opposed the war.
• Government used women in their propaganda campaigns to pressure men to enlist and invest in war bonds. Women were also used on both sides of the conscription campaigns.

Question 13

What was the conscription?

Answer 13

• As more Australians became disillusioned by the war and the high rates of causalities, the number of troops enlisting was not enough to ensure the AIF maintained its strength.
• Following a visit to Britain and the front, Australian Labor Prime Minister Billy Hughes called for conscription (compulsory military service) to be introduced in Australia.
• Compulsory military service overseas was forbidden by the Defence Act of 1903.
• The Labor Party though were opposed, so Hughes decided to hold a referendum (technically a plebiscite as the results were not legally binding).
• The conscription issue was among the most divisive issues in Australia’s history.
• Differences between social classes and religions were heightened.
• Speeches and posters were aimed at producing fear and guilt on both sides.

Question 14

Why did conscription occur?

Answer 14

• As more Australians became disillusioned by the war and the high rates of causalities, the number of troops enlisting was not enough to ensure the AIF maintained its strength.
• Following a visit to Britain and the front, Australian Labor Prime Minister Billy Hughes called for conscription (compulsory military service) to be introduced in Australia.
• Compulsory military service overseas was forbidden by the Defence Act of 1903.
• The Labor Party though were opposed, so Hughes decided to hold a referendum (technically a plebiscite as the results were not legally binding).
• The conscription issue was among the most divisive issues in Australia’s history.
• Differences between social classes and religions were heightened.
• Speeches and posters were aimed at producing fear and guilt on both sides.