World War I to World War II

Australia's involvement in World War I (WWI) began in 1914 at the moment of the British declaration of war. When war was declared a federal election was under way. The two main party leaders, Andrew Fisher and Joseph Cook, both espoused patriotic allegiance to the defence of the Empire and to the war effort.

WWI demonstrated most decisively the degree of involvement Australia was expected to have in international conflicts on behalf of the British Empire. Although there was some debate about Australia's involvement in the war, particularly around the issue of conscription (which played out in the bitterly contested and ultimately unsuccessful conscription plebiscites held in 1916-17), support was widespread.

Andrew Fisher, the leader of the Labor party, stated that Australians would support Britain 'to our last man and our last shilling'. The concept of Australia as a political entity separate from the British Empire was not something that occurred to many people in this period. The main concern was as to how Australia could protect its international interests and function as a loyal subject of the Crown.

The decision-making process during WWI was led by Prime Minister Billy Hughes (elected to office in 1915), who was a staunch advocate for Australia's participation in the war. After meeting with the British government in 1916 Hughes was convinced that conscription was necessary if Australia's involvement in the campaign was to be sustained. The vast majority of the governing Labor party was strongly opposed to conscription, and in October 1916 Hughes held a vote on conscription, with the issue being narrowly rejected by the Australian public.

Hughes continued to campaign in favour of conscription, splitting both the party and the Australian population. At the end of 1916 he was expelled from the Labor Party. Even with a new coalition government, Hughes was unable to get the conscription issue approved, and his continued campaign did no favours to his political career.

As a member of the Imperial War Cabinet (the part of the British government that controlled war policy), Hughes was involved with the running of the war and post-war treaties at a high level. Other Australians were also involved at a high level of command in the WWI era. This included military commanders such as General Sir John Monash, who by 1918 was commanding five divisions of Australian troops and was a contender for British commander-in-chief.

In 1919, Hughes and former Prime Minister Cook attended the Versailles peace conference, signing the Treaty of Versailles on behalf of Australia. This was the first time Australia had signed an international treaty and reflected the growing international status of Australia as a result of our participation in the war.

Hughes proved to be a demanding presence at the Versailles meeting, asking for reparations from Germany including its colonial territory in New Guinea. He came into conflict with the US President Woodrow Wilson, with Wilson describing Hughes as a 'pestiferous varmint'. When the Charter for the League of Nations was debated, Japan proposed that a clause stating 'the equality of all nations and fair treatment of all peoples' be included in the Charter. At the treaty talks, Hughes was strongly opposed to the racial equality proposal and succeeded in having it removed from the final treaty. The Japanese were offended by Australia's position on this matter, which previewed worse relations to come in the period around WWII. See image 1

WWI forever changed the way Australians saw themselves and their place in the world. For Australia, as for many of the nations involved, WWI remains the most costly conflict ever in terms of deaths and casualties. A total of 300 000 men enlisted from a national population of fewer than five million, and over 60 000 of these men were killed and 156 000 were wounded, gassed or taken prisoner. Several key battles of WWI were central to Australia's debut on the world stage, and to our national image. The battle at Gallipoli, in particular, has resonated in the national consciousness around the legend of the ANZACs.

One result of Australia's faithful and sacrificial effort to the cause of WWI was an enhanced international status. After the war, the question of Dominion independence arose. As Australia developed a diplomatic service, the government pressed for more autonomy from Britain in enacting laws. The Statute of Westminster 1931 (UK) was passed by the Imperial Parliament in the UK and established legislative equality between the self-governing Dominions of the British Empire. In effect it gave the Dominion parliaments equal status with the British Parliament, and established that the dominions were under the authority of the Crown as opposed to the government of Britain. Australia finally ratified this law in the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act of 1942 (Cth).

At home, the Australian government was faced with a new social phenomenon after 1918. When the 100 000 or so soldiers returned from the battles of WWI they needed to be resettled and re-absorbed into society in the wake of a very disruptive and traumatic four years. Around 40 000 soldiers took up parcels of Crown land and loans offered by the government intending to become farmers, but met with a general lack of success due to the unsuitability of the Australian land to a small-scale farming model. See animation

This period also saw the establishment of new political parties across the political spectrum, such as the Communist Party and the Country Party. The increased power of trade unions and the growing paranoia about the influence of communism also dominated the political landscape at this time. See image 2

Australia was hit hard by the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression of the 1930s. With its heavy dependence on primary exports, such as wheat and wool, Australia was, in particular, very susceptible to the drastic slumps in the economies of the United Kingdom. As an imperial dominion, Australia's economy was intricately linked with that of the United Kingdom, with the Australian pound being pegged to the pound sterling. Despite introducing a protectionist trade policy in the 1900s, Australia was still dependent on industrial capital and manufactured goods from the UK, which Australia imported in return for its exports of primary products. As the British economy slumped after WWI so followed the Australian economy. Unemployment reached a record high in Australia of 29 percent in 1932, one of the highest rates in the world.

The State government of Premier Jack Lang dominated the Depression years in NSW. Early in 1931 Jack Lang released his own plan to combat the Depression, which was in conflict with the "Melbourne Agreement" which all other state governments and the federal government had agreed to in 1930 (this was a plan to slash government spending, cancel public works and decrease welfare benefits). This led to a heated conflict with the federal government and a split in the Labor party, with Lang forming a new Labor party and continuing to push for protection against the domination of Australia by International capitalism. However, as unemployment levels dropped, so did support for Lang and he was eventually defeated at election. In the 1930s Australia saw a sluggish economic recovery in general.

Unlike the United States where President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal stimulated the economy or in Britain where rearmament ahead of WWII reduced unemployment, there was no banking reform or government stimulus to lead to economic recovery in Australia.

Although the main emphasis of Australia's foreign policy remained on the interests of the British Empire, after WWI, Australia still had important concerns of its own. Between the wars the expansionist drive of the Japanese continued to worry the Australian government. In the lead up to WWII, Australia was forced to take a more independent approach to foreign policy. Australia's proximity to Asia demanded that the government look after regional interests and be wary of local threats. This led to Australia looking away from Europe and strengthening ties with the United States. Although the Australian government had extended military connections to the US as far back as 1908, it was only in the era of WWII that the US came to be seen as a principal ally of Australia.

In the years before WWII Australia was forced to look again at its military commitment to international conflicts. In 1922, during a dispute between Britain and Turkey, then Prime Minister Billy Hughes offered 20 000 troops. Political reaction to his hastiness was critical, with Australians reluctant to so-quickly offer large numbers of troops to European conflicts in the wake of the mass casualties of WWI. However, due to allegiance to the British Empire and the regional threat posed by Japan, commitments to WWII were quick to come about.

The period before WWII had been marked by concerns about the rising power of Japan, the tide of refugees from a Europe on the brink of war (especially in 1938), and a general concern over the rise of Fascism in Europe. On 3 September 1939, when Britain and France declared war on Germany in the wake of her invasion of Poland, Prime Minister Menzies announced to the nation that they too were again at war.