The home front and the American presence in 1942

Abstract

It was in the military context of early 1942 that the Australian government swiftly brought in comprehensive and far-reaching controls over all aspects of civilian life as a means of encouraging and enforcing an ‘all-in’ war effort and social unity across existing class, generational and political divisions. Although Australia had been at war since September 1939, with the 2nd AIF fighting in Europe and the Middle East, the home front had been geographically distant from the military theatre. With conflict now in Australia’s immediate region, the relatively new Labor government of Prime Minister John Curtin was faced with the task of meeting the expanding requirements for labour and producti..