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World War One (WW1), was a devastating historical conflict between many countries all over the world. This war began in 1914 and ended in 1918. WWI is still known as one of the biggest wars Australia has ever fought in. WW1 had a significant impact on many different countries, unions, and religions, including Australia’s Homefront. WW1 politically impacted Australia over the debate of conscription which divided political parties. Australian women were greatly affected due to the number of men enlisting, enforcing them to enter the workforce which had an economic impact. This war impacted the social rights within Australia leaving Australians of German descent with no civil rights. Through great research of primary and secondary sources, there is no doubt that WW1 had a large impact on the Homefront of Australia.
WW1 impacted Australia’s Homefront in many different ways, some being positive and others negative. One of the main political impacts WWI had on Australia was the split in parliament due to the debate over conscription. The issue of conscription caused a division within unions, beliefs, and the role of women. According to Easton et al., ( 2014 p. 470), in 1916 William “Billy” Hughes decided to leave his current party due to their differing beliefs. Hughes left the party alongside other men who supported his thoughts and ideas. They then made a new party called the Nationalist Party. This event which was led by Hughes caused a split in the Australian parliament. According to the Australian War Memorial (2017), the first referendum over the debate on conscription was held in October 1916 and the second one was held in December 1917. According to the Easton et al., ( 2014 p. 470) textbook, the people that were more likely to oppose this idea of conscription were the people in the working class, Catholics, or people of Irish background. The people that did vote “no” claimed that Australia had already sent enough of its young men and that it was not even Australia’s war to fight. A poster found on the Australian War Memorial (2017), a website named (Single Men. Conscription [Gun], Who’s Next?) shows a large man sitting down loading a gun that has “conscription” written on it with bullets from a box named “single men”. There is another box next to the man named “who next?”. This poster shows that people supporting conscription were agreeing to men being sent out to fight in the war with the possibility of not returning. The poster illustrating the man casually loading the gun shows that many young and single men are going to risk their life by fighting in the war if the idea of conscription is passed. Overall many sources show that Australia’s Homefront was impacted politically mainly due to the debate over the idea of conscription in Australia.
The increase in women entering the workforce was an impact clearly brought on by Australia’s involvement in WWI. Due to many of the men volunteering to fight in the war, it left a lot of wives in need of money so they felt obliged to join the workforce. Many families would have been poor at this time leaving them with no choice other than to work and ration their food. The workforce began to change as more men were needed at war so more women started to work. A photograph taken in 1915 by Easton et al., ( 2014 p. 468) shows many women at the Commonwealth Clothing Factory in Melbourne making uniforms for the men at war. This image shows many women in a large room all working hard at their sewing machines. Women working in this particular facility were offered better working conditions and wages compared to offers from private employees, however, they were expected to work very hard for the war effort. At the time of war, there was a great deal of voluntary work being done by the women of different groups like the Australian Branch of Red Cross and the Australian Women’s Service Corps (AWSC) as well as paid jobs like Australian Army Nursing Services. A primary source from The Argus, Melbourne, 4 January 1917, cited in Easton et al., ( 2014 p. 468) states that the AWSC had a membership of roughly 1000 women. This group of women was training with the object to develop their skills in organization and finances. This source states that the AWSC offered 700 women to the Defence Department “to release men for fighting purposes”. To which the Department of Defence replied that there were no positions available where “the services of women could be utilized”. This shows that the women wanted to help more with the war other than sending clothes and boxed goods to the soldiers. According to Striking Women (2013), women’s employment rates increase greatly during WW1. Striking Women (2013) states that before WW1 the employment of women was 23.6% and between 1914 to 1918 it increased to 46.7%. These statistics clearly show that because of WW1, the number of women in the workforce increased greatly. According to Conroy et al., (2000 P. 56, 57) women were paid much less compared to men for doing the exact same job. During the times of WW1, many believed that it was just natural for women to help others therefore they were paid less. These primary and secondary sources show that WW1 had an impact on the economic structure of Australia’s Homefront.
Socially, WW1 also had an impact on Australia’s Homefront. The two main ways in which Australia was impacted socially by WWI were through the rights of Germans and those of German descent and the impact on the public. At the time of WW1 Germans or people of German descent had their civil rights ripped away from them leaving them without land, businesses, and even homes. This happened due to the rising tensions between the British and German Empires, Easton et al., ( 2014 p. 473). Many German-Australians had enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. When Australia and the rest of the British Empire were at war with the Germans, life became very hard for anyone of German descent living in Australia. Any German-Australians were considered as threats to the nation's security, often being put into internment camps due to the government seeing them as “enemy aliens”, Easton et al., (2014 p. 472) Not long after the war began the War Precautions Act was introduced. This act allowed the Commonwealth government to do whatever was necessary to ensure the safety of the nation. Following this act, anything that was ‘too German’ was either renamed or removed, including schools, foods, towns, churches, and music. Speaking German was forbidden in public places or on the phone. This was all because of the thought that these German-Australians were plotting things behind the Australians’ backs. Due to all of this fuss the public became ‘spy-manic’. People everywhere were being careful about what they said and they would even listen to others' conversations. Many Australians would refuse to work alongside anyone of German descent, tearing apart the social life in Australia at the time. German-Australians were forbidden to have any civil position such as counselors or Justices of Peace and were not allowed to join the Defence Department due to the government's suspicions. People of this time also would refuse to buy anything from German-owned businesses causing many to go bankrupt and close down, Easton et al., ( 2014 p. 473). Overall after analyzing many primary and secondary sources, it is clear that Australia’s Homefront was impacted socially due to WW1.
In conclusion, WW1 had an overpowering impact on Australia’s Homefront from 1914-1918. The impacts of war-affected many different groups of people within Australia. The social impacts were felt mostly by those of German descent because their civil rights were taken away. The economic impacts changed how women were seen in the economy and the overall structure. Politically the debate over the idea of conscription changed the views of many as well as splitting parties within the Australian Government. In conclusion, Australia’s Homefront was impacted and changed due to the outbreak of WWI.
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