In what way did life on the home front change in response to Australian involvement in World War 2?.
World war two began when Germany invaded Poland in 1939, bringing Great Britain under threat and resulting in our troops going to war. On 19th February 1942, soon after the attack on Pearl Harbour, Australia became directly involved in the war. Darwin was attacked by the Japanese, killing 243 and wounding over 350.
Not long after, on the 31 May 1942, there was yet another attack, this time on Sydney Harbour. The Australian government feared the worst and took precautions such as; blackouts at night so enemies could not find us, issuing personal identity cards in case you were killed, prosecution and imprisonment of protestors and the restriction of week day sporting events.
Australians were shocked, bewildered and confused, as they never thought that they would be under direct threat, being a laid back, isolated country. There was little resistance to conscription when there was a vote on wether it should be introduced. This was because people were willing to go to war to protect their families and they figured, "I"m going so others should help too.".
Women joined the Women's Land Army because they felt obliged to help. They made provisions such as food, clothing, linen and parachutes for the soldiers away at battle. Others entered the work force to support their families. They had no difficulty finding jobs as more were around due to the fact that men were away fighting and work was created to support the war effort.
The war ended in 1945 and changed the Australian way of life dramatically. We, as a nation, no longer relied solely on Britain for defence, and we had extended our allies. Women in the work force resulted in a boost of equality and independence. All in all, we had increased national cohesion and had grown and learnt from the traumatic experience.
