Australia at war

• War is declared on 3 September 1939
• Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies announced the beginning of Australia's involvement in the Second World War


  3 September 1939
• Almost a million Australians, both men and women, served in WWII
• Australia’s population at this time was approximately 7 million
• Countries Australia fought against

  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Japan
• Regions where Australians fought

  • Europe
  • Mediterranean
  • North Africa
  • South-east Asia
  • Pacific
• The Australian mainland came under direct attack for the first time
• Japanese aircraft bombed towns in north-west Australia
• Japanese midget submarines attacked Sydney Harbour
• Approximately 5000 women volunteered over the course of WWII
• Locations where women were stationed

  • Middle East
  • Mediterranean
  • Britain
  • Asia
  • Pacific
  • Australia
• The first volunteer nurses departed with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1940
• Roles women took during WWII

  • Volunteer nurses
  • Telegraphists
  • Members of the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF)
  • Members of the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS)
  • Members of the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS)
  • Members of the Women's Land Army (WLA)
• The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) was established in February 1941
• The Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) was established in 1942
• The Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) was established in October 1941
• The Women's Land Army (WLA) was established to encourage women to work in rural industries
• Other women in urban areas took up employment in industries such as munitions production
• Indigenous people were among the first to enlist when war broke out in September 1939
• 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men volunteered for the armed forces in the Northern Territory
• About 3000 Aboriginal and 850 Torres Strait Islander men signed up to fight
• Reg Saunders was among the new recruits who enlisted in April 1940
• Reg Saunders became Australia's highest-profile Aboriginal soldier
• Reg Saunders was the first Indigenous Australian to receive a commission in the Army
• Reasons why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men enlisted

  • Access to education
  • Better pay and respect
  • Greater equality
  • Joining up with friends or family
  • Patriotism
  • Seeking adventure and freedom
• There was little official support for admitting Indigenous service men to the 2nd Australian Imperial Force (AIF)
• In 1940, government authorities introduced rules that tightened entry to the armed forces
• The new policy prevented 'Australians of non-European origin or descent' from joining the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and AIF
• Only First Australians with some European heritage could apply to join the army
• The 'colour bar' enlistment restrictions were not applied to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)
• RAAF enlistment standards were more relaxed than for the RAN and AIF
• Three Indigenous pilots flew missions across Europe and Asia under the Empire Air Training Scheme
• Lockyer was killed while a prisoner of war in Celebes, Indonesia, 6 days after the war ended
• The rules about allowing First Nations people to enlist were relaxed when Japan entered the war in late 1941
• By 1944, almost every able-bodied male Torres Strait Islander had enlisted
• First Nations people never received the same rates of pay or conditions as white soldiers
• At first, their pay was one-third that of regular soldiers
• After a two-day "mutiny" in December 1943, pay was raised to two-thirds
• No community in Australia contributed more to the war effort in WWII than the Torres Strait Islanders
• The German High Command authorised the signing of an unconditional surrender


  7 May 1945