WWI - Australia The Home Front

All the information you need to complete the questions below can be found in the link below. Read each section then answer the questions pertaining to that section before continuing to the next section.

Initial Reactions

  1. The outbreak of war in 1914 seemed to unleash a huge wave of enthusiastic support for ______and Australia’s part in the war. There was a rush to the recruiting offices, and, at this stage, only the very ______and ______men were accepted.
  2. What were some of the men who did not enlist treated like?
  3. What influence do you think the Australian Government had on the way these men (those that did not enlist) were treated?

Gallipoli

  1. Why was Gallipoli such a huge event in the minds of the Australians? (Remembering that we had only become our own nation 14 years earlier.)
  2. The reporting of the landing also influenced people’s reactions to the event. The glowing ______of the British war correspondent ______gave the achievement an authenticity —here was someone who should know, who was making such a ______judgment.

Deaths and Casualties

  1. Look at the black and white image depicting the crying woman and the large rich man. What is the purpose of the image? What point is the artist trying to make?

Recruiting

  1. Looking at the four recruitment posters. State if each poster is either appealing to the individual’s sense of what was the right or wrong thing to do, or whether it is using accusation, confrontation and guilt.

Government Powers

  1. Describe the Government’s new powers (not activities) under the War Precautions Act.
  2. List three of the major activities that this Act allowed the government to carry out.

Economy

  1. List some negative effects of the war on the Australian economy.
  2. List some positive effects of the war on the Australian economy.
  3. How could rich people benefit financially from the war?

Conscription

  1. In 1916 Prime Minister ______proposed raising the numbers needed to maintain Australian troops at full strength at the Front by ______those who to date were unwilling or opposed to enlisting to fight. The government already had the power under the existing provisions of the ______to conscript men -- but only for service in ______. They could not be sent overseas to fight.
  2. What was stopping the government from changing the Defense Act to allow conscription for overseas service?
  3. What is the difference between a referendum and a plebiscite?
  4. In 1917 Prime Minister Hughes held another plebiscite on the conscription issue. He did not need to hold this vote as he had the numbers in the upper and lower house to pass the law. Why did he hold the plebiscite?

Political Change

  1. Which new political party was formed after the defeat of the first Conscription Referendum (plebiscite)?

Women’s Role

  1. Describe how the war affected the role of women in the work place.
  2. Why did unions oppose women joining the workforce in greater numbers?
  3. Why do you think the Australian Government did not allow women to become more involved in war related activities?
  4. Define Temperance.

Sport

  1. What were the two reasons that there were calls for competitive sports to be abandoned?

The Enemy Within

  1. What is an enemy alien?
  2. Describe what life was like for ‘enemy aliens’ that lived in Australia during WW1
  3. Imagine you are an ‘enemy alien’ whose child is fighting for Australia at Gallipoli. One morning you open a magazine to see a propaganda image by Norman Lindsay depicting a German monster sitting on an alter with blood on his hands and his feet. Write a short imaginative piece about how you would feel.