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Effects Of Ww1 On Australia's Changing Society

Decent Essays

World War One [WW1] was a phenomenon that greatly affected Australian’s changing society. This event in history is often referred to as the “Great War” and lasted from the years of 1914 to 1918. Australia’s involvement in the First World War began when Britain and Germany went to war on the 4th of August 1914. Australia had pledged full support for Britain and the outbreak of war was greeted in Australia, as in many other places, with great enthusiasm. However, it left a lasting impact on Australian’s Society for the many years to come in the young country’s future. The causes and effects of the war changed the lives of many Australians and the effects of the war are still evident today. It is clearly demonstrated that the war largely impacted …show more content…

Australia’s Society witnessed much devastation during this time period, which lead to significant long-term impacts. The First World War deeply affected Australian women, even though many were 20,000 kilometres away from any major war zones. However as said by South Adelaide Governor at the time, Sir Henry Galway, “The British Empire will never be able to repay the debt owed to the women for their calm self-sacrifice in this great struggle.” (Galway, 1915). When WW1 started, it was uncommon for many women to have jobs. Although, when over 400,000 men enlisted to fight from a country that had a population fewer then 5 million, this changed. Large numbers of women were recruited into jobs previously vacated by men. This advancement in women's place in the workforce was a positive effect from the War, as there was no traditional male dominance present which allowed women to establish themselves as workers. This started the bridging of the gap between inequality. Other then managing children and family responsibilities alone, a small minority of other Australian women served in the Australian Army as nurses. Women are often …show more content…

When the war broke out in 1914, Australia was a country who had federated only 13 years prior. Although the government was keen to support the British Motherland (Cook, 1914), WW1 was a time of change for how the Australian society viewed their own identity. What happened at Gallipoli is well known and the courage, determination, and mate-ship demonstrated by the soldiers helped to form Australia’s new identity. The ANZAC legend and the values associated with it continue to shape the way many Australians view themselves and have become an important part of our national identity. The war brought in a new sense of nationalism and helped Australians form this idea of coming together as one country fighting a large battle as a whole. On the 2nd of July, 1915, Galway said “If any day is to be chosen for Australia’s day I think it should be April 25 . . . Those heroes will hand down the finest traditions to their sons and their sons’ sons, and still further on . . .” (Galway, 1915) which showed how majority of Australian society viewed the significance of the events that took place at Gallipoli and how the fight would be remembered in the hearts of Australians forever. The impact of WW1 on Australia’s growing society is present when focusing on how it defined the countries national identity. The Great war brought attention to many significant events in Australia’s

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