As in World War I, the Commonwealth Government imposed a large number of new controls over people's lives. They did this through the authority of the National Security Act of 1939.
Australia's Home Defence 1939-1945
This publication is a part of the series, Australians in the Pacific War. It briefly shares the history of Australia's defence against the Japanese from 1939-1945.
The Second World War was the first time Australians were conscripted to fight overseas.
On Sunday 3 September 1939, Prime Minister Robert Menzies declared to the nation that Australia was at war with Germany. Australia was completely unprepared.
Source: SLSA. “Conscription : Conscription during World War Two.” Welcome to SA Memory, SLSA, 2014, www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1023.
Strict censorship was imposed in Australia at the start of World War II. The Menzies Government formed the Department of Information (DOI) to control publicity)
1939-1949: Censorship, the Broadcasting Act, Licences and a Regulator
Throughout World War II, both the press and broadcasters were subject to considerable government censorship. This imposition caused great angst.
A postcard from Spain in 1943 with San Sebastian, United Kingdom and Australian censor markings, some text obliterated by indelible pencil.
By Crusoe8181 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Reserved Occupations, Second World War
Labour controls were introduced during the Second World War to meet a crisis in manpower and to administrate between the needs of the armed services and industry.
Reflections on Enlistment in World War II: In their own words
In this series of interviews, you will hear veterans share their views and lived experiences of enlistment.
Source: Education Services Australia Ltd and National Archives of Australia. “Notice to Youths and Girls.” Scheme=AGLSTERMS.AglsAgent; CorporateName=National Archives of Australia; Address=Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes, ACT 2600; Contact= 61 2 6212 3600, 1 July 2014, vrroom.naa.gov.au/print/?ID=19204. Virtual Reading Room Vrroom
Poster depicts a housewife throwing cans of food at a twisted caricature of a Japanese soldier. The title runs across the top half of the poster, in red and blue ink. The housewife, who is drawn in black and white, is in the background, and the Japanese soldier, who is also in monochrome, except for his red lips, is in the foreground of the right hand side.The cans of food are quite a devestating weapon; if used in this fashion they could have been quite effective missiles. Food rationing was pervasive in war-time Australia and this poster implores households to keep up the effort in economising food.
Source: Food is a munition of war! (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/ARTV00161/
Source: SLQ. "Filling the car with rationed petrol, Woolloongabba, 1949". State Library of Queensland, 2008, https://myplace.edu.au/assets/TLF_resources/R8622/description.html
Rations and Coupon Shopping (ABC Education Video)
Discover what it was like to go shopping in Australia in World War II. See how people in the 1940s had to live with restrictions on how much they could buy (rationing). Find out how rationing was an attempt to make the distribution of necessary goods, such as food and clothing, equal for everybody.
Rationing of food and clothing during the Second World War
rationing regulations for food and clothing were gazetted on 14 May 1942. Rationing was introduced to manage shortages and control civil consumption.
in Australia, the war did not only affect those men and women who went to fight and serve abroad. Many things also had to change for those who remained at home.
Food was rationed progressively from 1942. Butter was the first item to be rationed, as Australia struggled to meet its commitments to Britain and the troops in the Pacific.
In Australia, rationing regulations for food and clothing were strictly introduced in mid-1942 to manage shortages and control civil consumption. It also aimed to curb inflation by reducing consumer spending, hopefully leading to a higher level of savings by the population and greater investment in the government war loans program.
The Australian people went through six years of war with considerable unity. Of course there were many divisions and tensions, but overwhelmingly the people seemed to be quite united, particularly in comparison to the World War I experience.
Source: Education Services Australia LTD and National Archives of Australia " World War II propaganda poster - help win the war in your kitchen" (2010) https://www.naa.gov.au/learn/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/war/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-propaganda-poster-help-win-war-your-kitchen
