August to ANZAC: popular responses to the outbreak of the Great War in Australia, 1914-1915

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of Australian popular responses during the first nine months of the Great War. Previously having received little examination, this period has traditionally been defined by Australian historians as a time of unbridled harmony combined with an all-embracing patriotic desire to serve the Empire. According to this view, there was something special and unique about this period of supposed solidarity; indeed, the first few months of the war have often been held up in startling comparison to the rowdy divisive years seen during the conscription debates of 1916 and 1917. This thesis offers an alternative interpretation. Using a wide selection of city and country newspapers - as well as diaries from soldiers who served in the Australian Imperial Force, memoirs from those that lived through the war and various business, union and governmental records - this thesis proposes that some Australians were not as enthusiastic about the war as many historians have suggested. There was, of course, considerable patriotic effervescence throughout this period. The tremendous initial burst of excitement faded quickly, however, to be replaced by a 'business as usual' approach; a practise promoting stability and 'normalcy' as behaviour more desirable and patriotic than that of enthusiastic jingoism. Indeed, government figures, business leaders and unions quickly embraced the principle of 'business as usual' and encouraged the general community to do the same. As early as September 1914, however, some commentators had grown concerned that this approach had been taken to extreme. They argued that such things as the significant drop in enlistment in late 1914 and early 1915 had been caused by an increasing level apathy or indifference towards the war. Comments such as these led to a more comprehensive public discourse on the nature and extent of Australia's commitment to 'Britain's war', the true nature of patriotism and the nation's duties and responsibilities as a member of the Empire. Overall, this thesis argues that the popular response between August 1914 and the ANZAC landings in April 1915 suggests that Australians were less committed to the war in Europe than has been previously recognised.