What were peoples views in australia concerning word war 1?

Question

What were peoples views in australia concerning word war 1?

Answer 1

The Great War - Initial reactions.

The outbreak of war in August 1914 seemed to unleash a huge wave of enthusiastic support for Britain, and support for Australia’s part in the war.

All major political parties, churches, community leaders and newspapers seemed to support Australia’s entry. It was seen as a moral and necessary commitment.

There was a rush to the recruiting offices, and only the very fittest and healthiest men were accepted at this stage.

The whole country seemed to be both enthusiastic for the war, and united in support of it.

There is, however, some evidence that this is an incomplete and even distorted impression. There are hints and suggestions of the fracture lines in society that would later lead to great bitterness and divisions in Australian society.

For example, while many tried to enlist, far more did not. Even during the first enlistment rush, there are stories of white feathers being sent, and women rejecting and abusing men who did not enlist.

There were also some who actively opposed Australia’s entry into the war, though their voice seems to have had few ways of being heard at the time.

War weariness -

By 1917 and 1918, people were increasingly war-weary. The deaths and casualties mounted; there seemed to be no substantial victories; the war seemed to be at a stalemate; the economic costs of the war continued to hurt many in the community; recruits now only trickled in where they had flowed in 1915 and 1916.

http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww1/h...

First World War, 1914–18



The First World War began when Britain and Germany went to war in August 1914, and Prime Minister Andrew Fisher's government pledged full support for Britain. The outbreak of war was greeted in Australia, as in many other places, with great enthusiasm.