HASS10 Australia and World War II: Impact on Australia

Men and women were 'manpowered' (ordered) into essential industries with many women entering the work force taking on jobs previously only available to men.

At first the government politely discouraged those women who wanted to perform some kind of military service. It soon became clear that the war was going to demand much more than the government had expected.

Cowra was the site of a major prisoner of war camp which held mostly Japanese and Italian prisoners.

1945: National introduction of sickness and unemployment benefits

Almost 1 million American service personnel, including about 100,000 African-Americans, passed through Australia during World War II. American troops started arriving in Australia in December 1941 and during the next four years they became a continuous presence in Australian life, opening major cities to a new culture and making a substantial impact on the local economy.

Between 1945 and 1965, two million immigrants arrived in Australia. The decision by the Australian Government to open up the nation in this way was based on the notion of ‘populate or perish’ that emerged in the wake of the Second World War.