Conscription

The idea of conscription was proposed in 1916 by the prime minister of the time, Billy Hughes. He introduced it in hope it would increase the numbers of Australian Troops, therefore putting them at full strength. The government already had the right to conscript Australian men to fight in Australia but they didn't have the right to do that in other countries.

But he did not have the majority of the senate’s agreement and so he decided to let the people vote on it. The peoples vote wasn't official but he planned to use it to try and convince the opposing senators that it was what the people wanted and therefore change their mind.

Leading up to this vote propaganda was used a lot. It was used for both sides and mostly aimed at the women because they made up the majority of people voting. It was also aimed at the men themselves, parents and even children.

This is an example of a poster for and against conscription.

They are using the same argument in both posters but have completely twisted it so one is arguing for conscription and one against it. They are also both aimed at women, with young children.

The propaganda from both sides were very effective and used every way they could think of to convince people that their side was the right side and that you were a bad person if you didn't agree. The propaganda mostly worked because it brought strong emotions (usually guilt) onto those who they were aimed at.

The result from the vote was the conscription being rejected- 51% to 49%but as you can see it was very close.

In 1917 Prime Minister Hughes held another vote for conscription but once again it was rejected by the people, this time by a larger margin of votes.

www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww1/.../conscription.html

Propaganda & Women

Clip similar to those that would have been used to promote the war during World War One.

This clip is relevant because it is an example of the kind of clips people would have been exposed to (especially women) during the war. It leaves out all the death and harshness of war and potrays it as an heroic adventure. It shows men marching around, very proudly and fighting for their country with courage and bravery.

This kind of thing would have been shown during 1915-1916 when people were starting to realize the dark side of war. This clip would have been reassuring to women and would have encouraged them to put pressure on their male family and friends to enlist. They would have imagined the men only marching honourably for their courage and would not be prepared for the negative effects.

Although the music is not from that time period it is similar to the messages that music of that time would have had. In the song it states "never can there be a greater love, Just couldn't be a greater sacrifice." Propaganda commonly used these elements to persuade and inform both men and women.

Note that the statistics at the start of the clip would not have been there at the time.

Propaganda's affect on the Australian people.

Diary of Jack Laurie

Today, whose date is August, 1914 will mark the most significant date in Australia and her prestigious history. I was settling down with my wife at breakfast time for a bowl of Kellogg’s corn flakes, banana and orange juice when the news came. I work in a mine, you see, so my knowledge of the War which ignited in Europe is not at all thorough.

‘Jack, dear, JACK...JACK! Have you seen the papers this morning?!’ my wife, Marjorie said.

‘I haven’t darling’ I replied, with a mouthful of milky golden flakes, ‘What’s the matter?’ 

‘It says here that Australia needs to fill a quota of 20 000 men to fight for Britain in the Great War!’

My response was pure excitement. I could not wait to enlist in this adventure of a lifetime, where I would fight for Australia and go down in history as one of the many who have shown their dedication to Australia and our Mother Country, Britain.

I turned to Marjorie. I could see the excitement reflected in her eyes, but I knew that smile was laced with bitter-sweetness.

‘I won’t go then,’ I said, ‘nothing’s more important to me than you.’ 

‘Let us take a walk and clear our minds,’ she muttered.

As we opened the door, we saw that our town had undergone a transformation in the short minutes since we knew of the war. People were dancing to music in the streets, singing madly and posters covered every wall. We looked to our left and saw two posters:

‘Go darling, go!’ she exclaimed.

 We used this post show the effect Propaganda could have on people.This excitement for the war which erupted is known as ‘Indecent Enthusiasm.’ People saw War as an opportunity and never considered the negative impacts it would have. However, once they were hit with the harsh reality of war, their views changed dramatically.

NB: The Jack and Marjorie Laurie in this post are entirely fictitious. Any person who shares similarities with the aforesaid is purely coincidental. However, the events which take place are based on fact.

http://australian-history.wikispaces.com/World+War+One

http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/australia.htm

Come Join the Army!

In August 1914, Australia along with Great Britain, entered the Great War. During this time, conscription was forbidden in Australia but this did not hinder the government from investing in a strong campaign to recruit troops to defend Australia.

Posters were created, targeting the Australian people’s personal life. The one to the left is about a hypothetical man’s father. It is asking the man if he would prefer his father to show his friends a picture of his son sitting at home; a lazy, easy-going, beer drinking man, or a picture of his son as a brave war hero, representing Australia in the Great War, doing something useful with his life.

This poster gives people a personal, real life perspective on War. Australia is a country prone to bush fires, they could be dubbed as the enemies of our bushland. ‘Would you stand by while a bushfire raged?’ it asks.’ GET BUSY. And drive the Germans back!’ This, one could say, attributes the Germans to our annual bushfire season; our ‘enemy’.This poster is asking if we would just let a bushfire keep burning, or if would we take action to stop its growth. In other words, Are we simply going to let the Germans win the War? Or are we going to defend our country and the Triple Entente and come back home as victors?

The posters’ effects on the Australian people will be explored in another post.

http://ookaboo.com/o/pictures/topic/13054191/Military_recruitment 

http://www.firstworldwar.com/posters/australia.htm

Overview of WWI Origins and Australian Involvement

Origins

There was a lot of tension around Europe in the lead-up to WWI. The four main contributors to this were:

Alliance System: There were alliances formed between the major powers throughout Europe, splitting them into two predominate forces, The Triple Entente, consisting of France, Great Britain and Russia, and The Triple Alliance, consisting of Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy, who later converted to the Entente’s side.

Nationalism: Often leading to distrust of foreigners and unquestioning loyalty.

Militarism: Arms Race between the two sides ignited.

Imperialism: Colonial territories created conflict amongst the Great Powers.

The trigger event for the eruption of WWI occurred when Austria-Hungary’s Crown Prince, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia by a Serbian terrorist group, The Black Hand. Hence this gave Austria-Hungary a reason to declare war against Serbia, resulting in a chain reaction.



Map of Europe, 1914.  Triple Alliance is shaded green, Triple Entente- yellow.
http://burdicksocstud09.wikispaces.com/The+World+At+War+(1914-1918)



Australia’s Involvement:

The major reason why Australia was involved in the Great War was because she was part of Great Britain’s Commonwealth and hence, the obligation to support the Triple Entente arose.

However, the British cared more about their own troops than those of Australia. This resulted in the Australian soldiers being placed in higher risk areas and the mix up during Gallipoli where many lives were lost.

There was a lot of Propaganda both for and against WWI. This is what we will talk about in our Blog, exploring the various mediums used and the effect they had on the Australian people during these hard times.

 


Royal Australian Airfore preparing for war
http://www.airforce.gov.au/history/

  References: Australia Emerges, Eshuys, Guest, Lawrence, Chapter 2