The Pros And Cons Of John Curtin

Not long before 10:00am, on February 19, 1942 the Japanese forces commenced air raids on Darwin. Over 260 enemy planes attacked Australian and US shipping, the harbour of the town, military and civil aerodromes and the local hospital. There were two waves of attacks which were part of Japan's efforts to harm Australia's confidence, hold back the use of Darwin's military base, and at last secure neighbouring Timor. At least 243 people were killed in the attack and up to 400 people were injured. Eight ships in the harbour were sunk and twenty military aircraft were destroyed. Over a space of almost two years the air attacks continued and about half of Darwin's population ended up moving south.

“Australia’s involvement in the Second World War created a sense of cohesion rather than division”

Australia wanted to stop communism and stop the communism ripple effect occurring, with the forward defence policy Australia could ensure its safety. Forward defence is meeting any threats to Australia as far away from the mainland as possible. Menzies was having troubles getting the public to agree on his anti communism views so he created the fear of 'reds under the bed' which got him enough support from the public to support his campaign. Australia first started it’s campaign in 1962 when it sent 30 advisers called ‘the team’ into Vietnam, Australia later sent land and air fighters. Australian troops in Vietnam reached the largest in 1964 with 8,000 troops

Australia’s response to the threat of communism after WW2 was extraordinary. Australia and its politicians immediately recognised what could happen of a result of the domino theory. With the Soviet Union influencing so many countries and causing China, Vietnam, and North Korea to turn Communist it was only matter of time until it reached Australia, and all in all this was when Australia took action.

Australian industries such as steel-making and pharmaceuticals suddenly found themselves filling roles that were previously done by German rivals. Australian government was keen to make sure that Australian wheat, wool and meat reached Britain and helped the war effort there. The government was keen to make sure that the Australian wheat wool and meat industries made it over to britain to help out with the war efforts. So a law was made giving it the power to acquire the whole wheat and wool harvests which had seen to be an impossible action under the Constitution, but were then allowed to be done because of the new law. However, shortages at war and selling scarce goods at a very high price meant that many ordinary working people suffered because of a rise in price and a massive drop in their standard of living. After the war 400 new products were being sold that previously had been needed to import from enemy countries. This meant that there was a major fall in the major cities. At the end of the war the Commonwealth had numerous

Thus, Australia felt Britain could no longer be relied upon. Mark Johnson, an Australian historian, associated with Department of Veteran Affairs, elaborates why the relations with Britain crumbled in The Japanese Advance. He states the Fall of Singapore was blamed on the Australians, and this theme was common with the many British reporters at the time. Johnson calls this claim “grossly unfair” as only 7 of the 42 battalions that were fighting for Singapore were Australian. These accusations affected Australia’s views on its alliance with Britain. Blaming the country for the loss of their defence not only implied that Australia’s duties were not appreciated, it also showed Britain’s untrustworthy attitude towards the situation. This view is corroborated in The Canberra Times in 1942. The journalist states “The loss of Singapore is directly due to the English conception of the British Commonwealth as something that should be run “with preference for English interests.” …All through weary months in which defenses were known to be inadequate, the United Kingdom turned deaf ears to every plea.” This

These had the effect of Australia feeling vulnerable and lonely, and all the traditional beliefs of the mother country, Britain, coming to Australia’s aid in time of need vanished and with the reaction of Britain towards Australia, Australian Government had to accept the fact that they were only expendable part of the British Empire. Australia, led by the Curtin Government at the time, at last realized the limits of British powers, yet desperate in need of allies and protectors, looked up to the United States as the only support to assist Australia. This realization made a great impact in the changes of the relationships between Britain and Australia. United States did come to rescue Australia in 1942 but the motive was for its self interest because Australia was the best place from which the Americans could apply its counter offenses against the Japanese, and when General MacArthur arrived in Australia he was greatly welcomed by the Australia government, seeing as they didn’t have much choice other than follow US military strategies due to the fall of British power.

In Australia, during World War One, conscription was one of the most divisive and bitter arguments of the time, however, it can be argued that conscription had a huger impact on Australia in World War Two than in World War One due to its implementation. By 1916, two years after World War One had begun, most of

On the other hand, the Japanese saw it as a sign of their strength and superiority in the Pacific, because they were the perpetrators of the attack. The Australian government, however, remained optimistic where Australian politician, Michael Forde, said: “Let it be remembered that Darwin has been bombed, but it has not been conquered”. Their optimism was required to increase the deteriorating morale of the public.

In the twentieth century after World War 2 the world was threatened by the takeover of communist that had begun to consume the globe. The Australian government identified that the fear ideology communism will take over the country if no actions were taken to stand against and stop it. The Australian government provided support and participated in several military conflicts during the Cold War to reduce the threat of communist around the world. However, the longest of Australia’s military engagement was the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1975. Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War was mainly centred on its fear of the ‘Domino Theory’, and its relations with the U.S through the Foreign policy which involved the ‘Forward Defence’ policy. The

During his time in office, Gough Whitlam was able to determine and predict that in future times the Australian people would have to rely further on their Asian neighbours. Just two weeks after being elected, Whitlam officially recognised the communist government of the People's Republic of China and opened up diplomatic relations (Source 6) as well trading and cultural links. Within a year Australia had reopened its embassy in Beijing (Source 7) which had been closed in protest when the communist government took power. Whitlam wanted to change the racially charged thoughts of Australians which had prevented interactions in its own region. Relations between Australia and South-East Asia also improved after the abandonment of the 'White Australia' policy under the Whitlam government. Not only did that prompt the arrival of Asian refugees, it also allowed a larger range of people from Asian countries to obtain tourist and education visa’s. The Colombo Plan allowed Asian students to study in Australia. The Vietnam War and major Whitlam policy reforms brought Australians out of our Anglo-centric view and realise that we had a larger part to play in Asia. As a result of many new cultural, diplomatic, trade and tourist links to Australia, the Whitlam government was able to boost exports dramatically, change the racist face of Australian society and

The Second World War commenced in 1939 to 1945. Australia’s involvement in the Second World War was announced by Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies on the 3rd of September 1939. Roughly one million Australian men and women served the World War passionately guarding its allies. Australia took part in many campaigns during the Second World War in Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, South-East Asia and the Pacific regions. Many notable defence units that were involved in the Second World War: Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Air Force. Women were privileged as they are given more employment opportunities, especially contributed in war efforts. Women were assigned in nursing, Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force, Women’s Royal Australian Navy Service and The Australian Women’s Army Service. Australia has contributed as part of the Asian region protecting its neighbours. One of Australia’s significant involvement within the Asian region was the Battle of Singapore in 1942 supporting the British Empire forces. On account of Australia’s involvement, it has positively shaped our relationship with the Asia region today. Immigration policy has changed as Australia accepts refugees to support Asia, introduced trade networks and alliances with Asian defences.

Politically the great depression hit Australia hard, as many Australians lost confidence in their government representatives. A number of radical or extremist organizations gather strength and popularity as a result of the large scale public dissatisfaction. In Australia the developing of the new capital Canberra was put to a stop leaving a population of 7,000 in limbo, workers were laid off and the federal capital commission was abolished. The Sydney harbor bridge was a great way of bringing employment back into Australia during the depression. At the time of the war and after the great depression it was Australian best interest to have an alliance with Great Britain. Australia needed to form an alliance with Great Britain during World War II, because if the war ended up near or in Australia, we would need the help from Great Britain and their allies. Having Great Britain as its ally at that time was the right thing to do as it protected its colonies from the imperil japan and other foreign invaders. During the period of 1942 Australia was extremely worried as the fall of Singapore in February 1942 and had the threat of a possibility of a Japanese

It has been argued that after World War 1, Australia gained more than it lost. Even though there were many lives lost during the war, these losses didn’t hold Australia back as a country. Australia was fortunate enough to come out of the war with more than they put into the war. Some of these gains are - There economy boomed, the relationship between Australia and Britain was stronger, the women replaced the men's jobs, many immigrants were encouraged to migrate to Australia. Although Australia gained many things they still lost a lot. These were things such as Australia spent a lot of money, they lost many troops and lost trade with Germany. Although Australia lost some things, they were outweighed by the things they

In 1945, after World War II had finished, Australia finally felt at peace – that was until Communism began to have an effect on the entire world. Australia had a lot to fear, with the threat likely to infiltrate the country both domestically (an established Communist Party) and internationally (a geographical location close to countries that had already fallen victim to communism, such as China and Korea). Australia responded to both of these threats in a way that caused a lot of political controversy and has created bonds with other parts of the world that are still activated today.