Despite those earlier views, the colonies and their people set aside their differences and formed the Federation of Australia in 1901. This new country emerged as the land of opportunity and democracy. In the same year The Worker published an editorial which announced that the new country provided freedom from the confines of British traditions and class systems. Although not suggesting that Australians viewed themselves as British, the newspaper declared that “Australia has ever been an exemplar to the old lands” and advocated that the motto of “Advance Australia” be continually emphasised to remind people of their true identity. In the wake of Federation, Australia found itself making a historic decision which affected the lives of thousands of people.
In 1914 Australia’s government declared its commitment to send Australian troops to help her allies in Europe. Although Australia found itself geographically distanced from the battlefields of Europe, in his address to Parliament, Prime Minister Andrew Fisher sought to protect “the national life of this dominion and of the Mother Country” (Smith 234). It is true that a lingering duty to Britain existed, if only on the surface, but Australia took the call to action as a young nation eager to prove itself amongst its peers and eager to defend itself against its enemies. In the same address, Fisher pledged that “we shall not fail in our duty on this occasion … we shall pledge our last man … to see this war brought to a successful issue”. Initially, the government recruited soldiers on a voluntary basis, but as the war escalated and more countries became involved, it became necessary to enlist additional men. In 1916 the conscription campaign began in earnest.
Arguments for and against conscription erupted in the newspapers. Those who argued in support of conscription sought to appeal to the Australian sense of nationhood as the war continued to be fought for freedom and democracy. In 1916 The Pastoral Review stressed that “the great enemy – Germany – is as yet undefeated …” and went on to exhort Australia “to gird up her loins and make her great effort”. In the same year, the Methodist Church added its voice to the debate when it urged the community to “actively and earnestly support the cause of national service” (The Age). In contrast, L. J. Villiers petitioned against conscription in an editorial published by The Labor Call. He underlined the threat to Australian workers of replacement by an inferior non-white work force should more men be enlisted into the war. Further, Villiers appealed to the Australian sense of a free nation by declaring that “force does not fit the mind of a nation inured to free ideas”. Despite the apparent lack of public consensus, Australians voted against the forcible enlistment of its soldiers in two referendums.
As a result, the Australian soldier continued to fight for his country, though he fought – voluntarily and valiantly – overseas. In 1918, General Monash commented that the Australian Army “is the only purely volunteer army that fought in the Great War” (24-5). These soldiers gave Australia a new identity within the British Empire due to both their spirited fighting and larrikin nature. It is this latter trait which moved British General Haig to comment that “We have had to separate the Australians into … camps of their own, because they were giving so much trouble” (Blake 290). On the other hand, Australian General Monash attributed the success of the Australian soldiers to their “military proficiency … glorious spirit of heroism [and] pride in [their] young country”. In spite of such high praise the average Australian soldier did not see himself as a hero or as a “gallant guardian of Britain’s honoured name” but simply as a “cobber” who, in song, looked out for his mates and dreamt of returning to his Australian way of life (McCann 151).
The war provided Australia with the momentum to bolster its sense of nationhood even as it reinforced its ties with its former protectorate. Ironically, after breaking free from British rule and forming a Federation, the Australian people pledged their support to Britain in the First World War. The Australian and British soldiers fought side-by-side in a war which the Australian people did not witness on their own soil. In fact, “the nation in its own home … pursued its peaceful way as though war did not exist” (The Pastoral Review 1916). However, the Australian population participated in this war not solely in support of Britain. As a small nation Australia proved just as capable as the allies in fighting to protect the rights of other small nations. Confronted by the prospect of enforced recruitment, the people voted to uphold their right to freedom of choice. The unsuccessful efforts of the government to enlist servicemen did not deter the Australian soldier from supporting his mates at the battlefront. In fact, as proud Australians they fought in the First World War for Australia, not for Britain. And, rather than fade quietly into the background of the war, the Australian soldiers became iconic for their heroism.
Works Cited
Age 8 Sep. 1916.
Bilkington, J. Australian Notes. Melbourne: Collins, 1888.
Blake, R. The Private Papers of Douglas Haig. Ed. R. Blake. London: Longman, 1952.
Fisher, A. “Address to Parliament, 1914.” Australian Documents. Ed. J. Smith. Sydney: Harrap, 1985.
McCann, H. The Anzac Book. London: Cassell, 1916.
Monash, J. The Australian Victories in France in 1918. Melbourne: Lothian Book Co, 1923.
Pastoral Review 16 Oct. 1916.
Sowden, W. J. “Address to the Australian Natives Association.” Australian Documents. Ed. J. Smith. Sydney: Little Press, 1993.
Villiers, L. J. “Ten Reasons for Voting No.” The Labor Call 26 Oct. 1916.
Worker (Brisbane) 5 Jan. 1901.
Word Count 1,276