The During The First World War - 3114 Words

Reaction to the war: †¢ During the First World War, Australia supported Great Britain which meant that Australia was also at war. The conflict had an impact on Australia as a young nation, the following information are just some of the issues that Australia dealt with. The outbreak of war was met with huge enthusiastic support for Britain and for Australia to support by being part of the war. Support came in the form of political parties, churches, the newspapers and community leaders who felt that it was a moral and necessary commitment to enter the war. There was a rush to the recruiting offices, initially only the healthiest and fittest men were enlisted. Australia was a very young nation in 1914, it had only recently formed to become a†¦show more content†¦Another example was that Companies promised the employees who volunteered for service would have their positions held with leave granted with full pay. Events ended with both cast and audience uniting in the anthems of Rule, Britannia and Advance Australia Fair reflecting strong nationalist and patriot emotions. However, evidence has been uncovered to suggest that this was not the correct image as there are hints to imply that not all Australians felt this way, for example even though many men tried to enlist, there were many that did not which led to incidences of white feathers being sent to the men that did not rush to enlist and also of women rejecting and abusing these men. Effect on the economy: †¢ When the Great War of World War 1 erupted in 1914, it had a devastating effects of on the Australian economy and to this day, this war remains the most disastrous event Australia as an nation in its infancy has ever suffered by lives lost and impact on the economy of the country, in fact it remains the worst year for our economy since federation. Australia s economy wasn t very diverse and relied heavily on imports and with a limited number of customers for its agricultural and mineral exports. At the announcement of war, Germany was the biggest buyer of many of Australia s exports such as metal, wool and wheat and this had a direct effect on Australia