Australia's Changing relations during the second world war Essay

The Fall of Singapore is considered one of the greatest defeats in British History. For it to be overtaken and then occupied by the Japanese posed a massive threat and shock to Australia, which then caused Australia to withdraw troops introduce conscription and also the USA came in to help Australia against the threatening Japanese.

Australia’s new dependence on America resulted in a large influx of American soldiers to Australia and while Australian society was initially accepting and welcoming of their unorthodox culture, behaviours and morals, this quickly turned to contempt and created an unsavoury relationship between Australians and Americans whom they saw as being a bad influence on the women and youth of Australia. Australians regarded Americans as being, “overpaid, oversexed and over-here”. However, while this had the possibility to cause influential divides in society, Australians realised the necessity for the American presence in their country and the security they had provided, overruling any irritation felt towards them. The Australian war effort in the pacific regions had also served to amplify and fuel the ‘Anzac legend’ creating a national sense of pride and unity during the war. Australia’s involvement in the Second World War thus served to create a more independent Australia, in charge of its own policies and decisions in foreign affairs, creating cohesion within society.

Source 4 mentions two common sayings to do with Australian realisations entering the war, "here Australia became a nation" and Blightly [Britain] is a failure, take me to Australia" (Stanley, 2011). The service of 320 thousand Australians stimulated the first growth of a self-conscious Australian nationalism. At the landing at Gallipoli Australian troops expected to learn from the British but instead looked down on them as amateurs and were disappointed with their performance, efficiency and supplies. "Real sense of inequality of sacrifice" (Carrodus, Delany, Easton, Howitt and Smith, 2014). Source 5 makes notice of the fact that by the middle of 1915 the reality of war began to dawn. Australians became disillusioned with the news of deaths upon deaths and war waged on with no visible end. Endless, helplessness, unfairly treated feelings. Australia was divided due to the working class feeling exploited and the middle and upper classes being affected less by the war. "It was a hollow mockery for citizens to celebrate the glories of ANZAC Day unless they were prepared to fulfil their promises and do their duty to the men who had fought and suffered through the war." (Brand, 1925). Source 6 is a quote from a recent time after WW1, it shows the pride Australians had in their soldiers, that they thought they were brave and to

Australia’s response to the threat of communism after WW2 was extraordinary. Australia and its politicians immediately recognised what could happen of a result of the domino theory. With the Soviet Union influencing so many countries and causing China, Vietnam, and North Korea to turn Communist it was only matter of time until it reached Australia, and all in all this was when Australia took action.

Thus, Australia felt Britain could no longer be relied upon. Mark Johnson, an Australian historian, associated with Department of Veteran Affairs, elaborates why the relations with Britain crumbled in The Japanese Advance. He states the Fall of Singapore was blamed on the Australians, and this theme was common with the many British reporters at the time. Johnson calls this claim “grossly unfair” as only 7 of the 42 battalions that were fighting for Singapore were Australian. These accusations affected Australia’s views on its alliance with Britain. Blaming the country for the loss of their defence not only implied that Australia’s duties were not appreciated, it also showed Britain’s untrustworthy attitude towards the situation. This view is corroborated in The Canberra Times in 1942. The journalist states “The loss of Singapore is directly due to the English conception of the British Commonwealth as something that should be run “with preference for English interests.” …All through weary months in which defenses were known to be inadequate, the United Kingdom turned deaf ears to every plea.” This

These had the effect of Australia feeling vulnerable and lonely, and all the traditional beliefs of the mother country, Britain, coming to Australia’s aid in time of need vanished and with the reaction of Britain towards Australia, Australian Government had to accept the fact that they were only expendable part of the British Empire. Australia, led by the Curtin Government at the time, at last realized the limits of British powers, yet desperate in need of allies and protectors, looked up to the United States as the only support to assist Australia. This realization made a great impact in the changes of the relationships between Britain and Australia. United States did come to rescue Australia in 1942 but the motive was for its self interest because Australia was the best place from which the Americans could apply its counter offenses against the Japanese, and when General MacArthur arrived in Australia he was greatly welcomed by the Australia government, seeing as they didn’t have much choice other than follow US military strategies due to the fall of British power.

Many would agree that WW2 changed the face of history and it was a war that had very different elements to any war fought before. The proceeding discussion illuminates one aspect of the war ,the aid effort during wartime Australia.

Firstly, being the Prime Minster and leader of Australia, Andrew fisher, promised that Australia would support Britain 'to the last man and the last shilling'. However, within a few days after his promise, the British empire declared war on Germany on the fourth of August 1914. Nevertheless, he headed his nation towards war as pledged. This was in view of his perspective that since war was vital, all Australians could demonstrate their loyalty for the mother country by defending and aiding Britain.

The Kokoda Campaign (1942-1943) in World War Two impacted Australia greatly because it saved Australia from isolation by the Japanese forces, their values the soldiers demonstrated shaped Australia’s identity and it enabled the Allies to improve their military operations and plan their attack on Japan more effectively. The victory in the Kokoda Track meant that the Japanese never captured Port Moresby, reducing the possibility of an attack on Australia. Australia’s identity was developed because of the courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice of the Australian soldiers, despite the hardships they faced. The victory at Kokoda, helped the Allies immensely, as regaining Port Moresby and the territory that the

In order to understand why the Anzac legend became so prominent, an understanding of Australia’s reasons for entering the First World War must be understood. Firstly, it was the first major war Australia would participate in as a state in its own right, less than two decades after Australian became a federation in 1901. According to Stanley,

The Second World War commenced in 1939 to 1945. Australia’s involvement in the Second World War was announced by Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies on the 3rd of September 1939. Roughly one million Australian men and women served the World War passionately guarding its allies. Australia took part in many campaigns during the Second World War in Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, South-East Asia and the Pacific regions. Many notable defence units that were involved in the Second World War: Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Air Force. Women were privileged as they are given more employment opportunities, especially contributed in war efforts. Women were assigned in nursing, Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force, Women’s Royal Australian Navy Service and The Australian Women’s Army Service. Australia has contributed as part of the Asian region protecting its neighbours. One of Australia’s significant involvement within the Asian region was the Battle of Singapore in 1942 supporting the British Empire forces. On account of Australia’s involvement, it has positively shaped our relationship with the Asia region today. Immigration policy has changed as Australia accepts refugees to support Asia, introduced trade networks and alliances with Asian defences.

Politically the great depression hit Australia hard, as many Australians lost confidence in their government representatives. A number of radical or extremist organizations gather strength and popularity as a result of the large scale public dissatisfaction. In Australia the developing of the new capital Canberra was put to a stop leaving a population of 7,000 in limbo, workers were laid off and the federal capital commission was abolished. The Sydney harbor bridge was a great way of bringing employment back into Australia during the depression. At the time of the war and after the great depression it was Australian best interest to have an alliance with Great Britain. Australia needed to form an alliance with Great Britain during World War II, because if the war ended up near or in Australia, we would need the help from Great Britain and their allies. Having Great Britain as its ally at that time was the right thing to do as it protected its colonies from the imperil japan and other foreign invaders. During the period of 1942 Australia was extremely worried as the fall of Singapore in February 1942 and had the threat of a possibility of a Japanese

It has been argued that after World War 1, Australia gained more than it lost. Even though there were many lives lost during the war, these losses didn’t hold Australia back as a country. Australia was fortunate enough to come out of the war with more than they put into the war. Some of these gains are - There economy boomed, the relationship between Australia and Britain was stronger, the women replaced the men's jobs, many immigrants were encouraged to migrate to Australia. Although Australia gained many things they still lost a lot. These were things such as Australia spent a lot of money, they lost many troops and lost trade with Germany. Although Australia lost some things, they were outweighed by the things they

Australia is a British settled colony; nevertheless, Australian forces have fought together with the United States military in every significant conflict since World War I.

It’s 1916 in Australia. The beckoning shores of Gallipoli await the thousands of soldiers that are yet to die amongst the bloodshed. These same shores, are yet to provide the battle of the century, that will go down in history as “The Great War.” Meanwhile, Australian’s take to the polls, with the Labour government asking the people whether or not they support the proposal to conscript young Australian men overseas for service. This national debate marked Australia’s first non-binding plebiscite, however 51% of the population voted against the proposal, conveying majority views, values and an underlying conservative nature.