Impacts on the Australian Home Front – WWII
Australia didn’t have much involvement in the first years of the war and it wasn’t until 1940, when the Germans radically changed their tactics,
flattening entire cities at a time with their ‘Blitzkrieg’ Australia was forced to get real. The War suddenly hit closer to home when Japan attempted to
position themselves in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea – a prime position to strike Australia. Majority of trained, equipped and able-bodied men had already joined the AIF leaving the Militia to defend Australia. The Militia were considered the second string and were nicknamed ‘chocolate soldiers’ this implying when things got hot they would melt.
However, the Militia travelled to Papua New Guinea and fought along the Kokoda track and managed to defend Australia’s borders with dignity
and success.
The amount of men in Australia was minimal, and women were forced to take on jobs usually performed by males. While many women continued
supporting the war effort through textiles, cooking and other typically feminine jobs, many filled the shoes of their husbands. Rations were dwindling
during the war and so women took to the farms, planting, sewing and harvesting food that would later be sent to support the men fighting.
Men were still paid more than the average women, even if they were doing the same job. Women were generally paid 50-70% of men’s wages however this shift in employment and labour was a vital part in the liberation of women. Although when the War ended, things were expected to return to the way there were prior to the war, and many women were happy to return to their domestic lives, many women retained their position in society. While society appeared to have returned to normal, no-one would ever forget the part women played in the Second World War. Women proved themselves to be self-sufficient and capable of duties beyond domestic life, something that would shape their future and build the society we have today.
Australia didn’t have much involvement in the first years of the war and it wasn’t until 1940, when the Germans radically changed their tactics,
flattening entire cities at a time with their ‘Blitzkrieg’ Australia was forced to get real. The War suddenly hit closer to home when Japan attempted to
position themselves in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea – a prime position to strike Australia. Majority of trained, equipped and able-bodied men had already joined the AIF leaving the Militia to defend Australia. The Militia were considered the second string and were nicknamed ‘chocolate soldiers’ this implying when things got hot they would melt.
However, the Militia travelled to Papua New Guinea and fought along the Kokoda track and managed to defend Australia’s borders with dignity
and success.
The amount of men in Australia was minimal, and women were forced to take on jobs usually performed by males. While many women continued
supporting the war effort through textiles, cooking and other typically feminine jobs, many filled the shoes of their husbands. Rations were dwindling
during the war and so women took to the farms, planting, sewing and harvesting food that would later be sent to support the men fighting.
Men were still paid more than the average women, even if they were doing the same job. Women were generally paid 50-70% of men’s wages however this shift in employment and labour was a vital part in the liberation of women. Although when the War ended, things were expected to return to the way there were prior to the war, and many women were happy to return to their domestic lives, many women retained their position in society. While society appeared to have returned to normal, no-one would ever forget the part women played in the Second World War. Women proved themselves to be self-sufficient and capable of duties beyond domestic life, something that would shape their future and build the society we have today.