How Did World War 1 Change Australia

At the conclusion of World War I, Australia saw the daybreak of great change. The diggers returned from war to search for employment and a country that resembled the tranquility of pre-war years. Men which returned able-bodied found it easier to settle and return to a ‘normal life’ however the numerous soldiers which experienced physical injuries and post traumatic stress disorder found settling arduous. The diggers encountered the atrocities of war, these experiences could only be understood by their compatriots. Upon return they were confronted with a mature Australia, one that had evolved with confidence and had taken place on the world stage. The diggers had to find their place in society and become accustomed to a peaceful way of life in the Australia that had been assured by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George as he stated that they would return to a “world fit for heroes,” he may have genuinely believed it as he felt a sense of accountability to provide the soldiers with a job and a stable country. As time went by and the war progressed diggers experienced the horrors of war,

Australia had evolved and relations to their return was not always appreciated.

The soldiers returned to a new Australia.

With the departure of soldiers to Europe to fight in the war occupations were left empty with no one to fill them. This caused women to work outside of the home to fill the empty jobs to assist the army at home and abroad, enabling women the opportunity to participate in new and challenging jobs often engaged by men. Occupations which were worked by women include, clerks, nursing, teaching, shop assisting, domestic work and work in factories. This caused a big change in fashion trends as a large amount of these jobs needed to be practical. As women worked in factories it was dangerous to have lengthy dresses and long hair. Source A, shows a comparison between the fashion prior to the beginning of the war and the fashion during the war and onwards. The image on the right presents the fashion which is similar to British due to their backgrounds women wore corsets, skirts and blouses embellished with lace and frills. This style of fashion did not suit the climate of Australia. The image on the left shows the new found fashion of the 1920s which was influenced by many countries. Dresses were created shorter in the popular American style of drop-waisted dresses causing controversy due to showing what was them too much skin. As the soldiers
SOURCE B
THE PUNCH retuned from war many men struggled to get their jobs back as promised.

Women worked as efficiently as men and often were only paid half of what men were. Employers often would not fire their female employees in favour of returned soldiers. Source B, a cartoon from Punch Magazine, 1916, shows a soldier seeking to get his job back. As shown by the sign next to the counter and current women worker the employer is now paying to have the same job done for less money. This reflects the changes of women entering the work force. During the war, technology advanced tremendously, factories were built which replaced the work of unskilled workers with machines. Due to this many soldiers lacked skills needed to do basic work. Australia was unprepared for the influx of workers as they had not been there for the past years which caused the country to learn how to endure without

them.

Experiences of soldiers in the 1920s were mixed - many soldiers were unable to find adequate jobs and took up the assistance of the government which ultimately resulted in failure. Their role in society was no longer clear to themselves and the society surrounding them. As they returned home there was no guarantee that they would be able to find work and if they did there was no job security. As soldiers returned from overseas the number of unemployment steadily increased leading up to the 1930s. As time went on soldiers which were unable to find trade began demanding assistance and support from the government. Politicians saw this as a way to add support to their political parties and so the current Prime Minister, Billy Hughes and his Labor Party scrambled to pass legislation in the following years to benefit the soldiers and thus win their support. With this Hughes also promoted pride in Australia, to this many diggers responded eagerly to the Nationalist Party due to their love for Australia. Due to the proposal of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George stating that soldiers would return to a “world fit for heroes.” To fulfil this promise Billy Hughes put in place a number repatriation acts, collectively known as soldier settlement schemes. These were part of an economic plan which aimed to boost the economy through developing the rural regions of Australia. Source C, a poster written by W. G. Ashford the Minister for Lands, 1915, advertises the scheme of land for soldiers displaying the plans. The post claims that “the bulk of this land is suitable for wheat growing under modern up-to-date farming conditions”. There were many flaws in the system as majority of the soldiers were not trained farmers. The total allotted farms in Australia was recorded as 37,500 in the year 1929, which caused a loss of £23,525,500 which is equivalent to approximately $3 billion in currency today (Modern Australia in Documents - vol 4, 1973, p. 449). The reason for such great cost is that soldiers were able to borrow items to allow them to start their farm, a large amount of the crops grown were unsuited to the climate which had no market value and the quality as size of land was sometimes not enough to start a farm. Justice Pike as a reply to a inquiry labelled the failures of the soldier settlement scheme as the ‘seamy sides of the scheme’, meaning that they were a result of poor planning the less thought out parts. He then turns his answer to highlight the positives when the settlers were given adequate area.
“As my inquiry was directed to the losses on soldier settlement, of necessity I was brought mostly into contact with what I may term the seamy side of that scheme, but there is no question that in very many cases, particularly in the grazing and mixed farming propositions where the settlers have been given a sufficient area, the settlers are doing well and making a good living.” (Justice Pike, Victorian Parliamentary Papers, 1929).

Soldiers often felt isolated and displaced in the new found Australian society. At war there was a bound of mate-ship between soldiers as they share their experiences at war, unfortunately this bond that was shared also distanced themselves from the thousands of people at home. Due to their commitments many soldiers returned with great pride towards Australia and would often take offence to those who did not recognise Australia’s actions in the war. The diggers had been exposed to the horrors and violence and so many returned disabled by their physical and emotional wounds. By 1938, there were 1600 still in hostels for the permanently incapacitated. Source D, a photograph of a ward in an Anzac Hostel, 1919, shows multiple men lying in mobile beds due to being permanently incapacitated. These hostels were founded by the governments Repatriation Department to care for incapacitated service men. In the years following the war the cities were permeated with drunkenness and violence the men trying to forget their past experiences. There was little attention given to the mental heath of returning soldiers what is now known as PTSD was known as ‘shell shock’ and it was only thought to be caused by cowardice and weakness and not the trauma of war. There was little support for those suffering from ‘shell shock’.