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Impact at home
- Industry
Before the declaration of World War II in September 1939 Queensland was not a heavy industry state. Its industries were geared to primary production and serving the needs of primary producers. The war was to change that. - Entertainment in World War IIRecreation and entertainment was an important component of the military presence in most Queensland towns occupied by service men and women. Often the pictures, dances and music were used to ‘escape’ the reality of war, if only for a moment.
- Children in war timeThe children of Queensland were directly and indirectly affected by the war years. Unlike the young in the United Kingdom and other locations across the globe, there was no immediate threat of injury or death from enemy action, but their everyday lives were changed.
- Echoes of the baby boom
The period from the end of World War II to the mid-1960s has come to be known as the baby boom in Australia and in several other countries including New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America.
The impact of war at home
Source: Lewis, R. (n.d.). The Home Front - World War 2. Retrieved March 27, 2018, from http://svc029.wic009tp.server-web.com/history/ww2/ww2main.html
- Increasing Australian independence
Until the 1940s Australian governments consistently pursued their foreign policy objectives within the framework of the British Empire. World War Two was the catalyst for creating an Australian perspective in foreign policy. - Patriotism: Stories from the Australian home front during the Second World War
For Australians the Second World War began on the far side of the world. In its early years, fighting took place mostly in Europe and around the Mediterranean. Only after Japan entered the war in December 1941 did fighting come to the Asia-Pacific region. By the time Japan surrendered in August 1945, Australia was a very different country from the one that had gone to war in support of Britain in 1939.
Internment
- Emergency Powers of Governments in AustraliaAustralia is a federation, which means that it has a central government and several regional or state governments that in theory 'are each, within a sphere, coordinate and independent'.
- InternmentAllied prisoners of war (POWs) of German, Italian and Japanese origin, were brought here following capture in battle overseas. Enemy ‘aliens’ or residents of Australia with ‘perceived’ links to Axis nations were also placed in camps, for fear of enemy attack, spying or espionage.
- Japanese survivors recall Australia’s WWII civilian internment campsDuring the Second World War, around 4,000 men, women and children were rounded up and sent to civilian internment camps in Australia, which were already detaining thousands of Italians and German civilians.
Cover of An Illustrated Diary of Australian Internment by Edmond Samuels (NAA: A1336, 7597)
Source: National Archives of Australia. “Wartime Internment Camps in Australia.” National Archives of Australia. ACT, 14 Oct. 2012, www.naa.gov.au/collection/snapshots/internment-camps/index.aspx.
Global relationships
- John Curtin, the leader who turned Australia to the United States
... no one, Curtin included, understood that the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour – a "day of infamy," according to US President Franklin Roosevelt – also signalled the transformation of Australia including the way we, as Australians, viewed ourselves. - John Curtin's LegacyWithout any inhibitions of any kind I make it quite clear that Australia looks to America, free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom.
(John Curtin, 1941) - Britain and Australia – making the most of global opportunityForeign Secretary William Hague gave a speech on Britain's relationship with Australia.
- The United Kingdom and Australia: Shared History, Shared OutlookSpeech
Glenn Stevens: Governor
Remarks to the Australian British Chamber of Commerce - Japanese-Australian RelationsThis report shows the evolution of the development of strong bilateral relations between Australia and Japan. Some would argue that this is not surprising since the end of the Second World War with their shared interest in maintaining US presence in the region.
- ‘Special relationship’ between Australia and Japan beginsSHINZO Abe wants his visit to Australia, and its accompanying trade and defence agreements, to produce a “special relationship’’ between Canberra and Tokyo.