Australia was a member of the British Empire although it became a Federation since 1901. This meant that when Britain declared war on 4 August 1914 not only were the French and Russian empires forced to join the British, but Australia as well found itself at war. At the time the Labor leader, Andrew Fisher, assured the British that 'Australians will stand beside our own to help and defend her to our last man and our last shilling.’
Australia, being a newly-created nation with only a recently established national army and an even newer independent navy, did not have the strength or the financial means to protect itself sufficiently. This need for support from the British, particularly the British Royal Navy which was the largest and most powerful navy in the world at that time, strengthened the need for British assistance. Australia's leaders were well aware that Australia had to take measures to ensure her self-preservation in the case of an attack. They acted accordingly, resulting in the offer of unlimited aid to the British Empire and her allies.
Reasons for Enlistment
The Australian people themselves reacted to the outbreak of war in an exceptional behaviour of enthusiasm. They had a natural, strong sense of patriotism and loyalty to their 'mother country.' About ninety percent of Australians having a British background and with many characteristics of life, including law and education, being based on the British system, many Australians still recognised themselves as being British. For these reasons they wanted to help Britain's cause in any way they could. Also, Australians had an incredible amount of pride for their king and country. This resulted in feelings of hatred towards other nations and increased their desire to take up their weapons under the British Empire.
The public willingly pledged their duty, with thousands of Australian men immediately volunteering to fight for Australia and the British Empire. Statistics show that volunteers made up the main expeditionary force in the Australian Army in World War I. Initially, Australia's contribution to the war was going to be 20 000 men. With all the excitement surrounding the War, the recruitment offices were overwhelmed with enrolments. By the end of 1914, 50 000 had volunteered.
Opposition to Involvement
Although it was clear the majority of people were prepared to give their full support to the involvement of Australia in the War, there were also a few groups who were not. Out of fear of ridicule, among other reasons, these groups normally did not voice their opinions loudly until some time into the War when doubt was beginning to surface as the real costs of war began to appear.
Of the groups who did not support the War, those who disagreed were on the basis of moral grounds, as well as 'pacifists' who believed it was wrong to kill other people. Also, some trade unions were opposed to the war out of concern that there would be a shortage of workers because they would be killed. In particular, the industrial workers played an important role in influencing others against the War. They also assisted in influencing politicians who usually belonged to left-wing movements such as the Australian Labor Party. These two groups, along with the Roman Catholic Church leaders, acted together on the issue, especially in the latter years of the War as the reality began to sink into Australian society.
Recruitment campaigns
A major recruitment campaign in world war 1 was Propaganda. It was mainly dominant in the years 1915 and 1916 when it was at its peak, recruiting hundreds of thousands volunteers in the each year. Propaganda achieved its goal by influencing men in many ways. Firstly, it influenced men through means of persuasion, fear, guilt, conflict and accusation. Then it targeted to the emotions of the women, friends and family of those who were qualified to go to war.
Propaganda posters were popular at the time, because they were cheap and easy to create, also to be displayed just about anywhere. Instantly they were able to express meaning to a wide audience. Australian propaganda posters operate six different characteristic to appeal to men to enlist. These included:
Appealing to their devotion by calling people to gather around the flag' and reminding them of their duty to the Empire and the British
Utilizing men to feel they needed to enlist to prove their sporting ability, courage and masculinity.
Tempting peers and family to place pressure and shame on men for not applying in order to make them feel ashamed and cowardly.
Encouraging a spirit of adventure and a desire to see the world by using recruitment posters. This places meaning on a physical, sport side of war.
Self-interest, including a relatively well paid job.
Making people think that Germans might attack their friends and families.
However, propaganda misplaced valuable facts from the posters. This exception gave people a false consciousness of what war was really like. The propaganda deliberately ignored to state the realities which the soldiers had to suffer, such as lack of food, hostile climatic conditions, physically demanding training and, most importantly, the large risk of injury and death.
