World War I: Snapshot of Australia at the time of the outbreak

Updated

"Qualities of independence, originality, the faculty of rising to an occasion and loyalty to a 'mate'"; this was how renowned historian Charles Bean described the Australian national character three years after the end of World War I.

For Bean, the idolised spirit of the Anzacs born at Gallipoli and on the Western Front had become ingrained in the character of the whole nation.

But what was Australia really like when the first Anzacs sailed to war?

Population

Australia's 1911 Census recorded the population as 4,455,005 with the median age of 24 years old.

Just over 4 per cent of the population was aged over 65, in a category named "old age".

Men between 15 and 64 made up almost two-thirds of the population.

Sydney was the biggest city, Hobart the smallest.

The Immigration Act of 1901 restricted migration to people primarily from Europe, meaning the country was largely Caucasian.

Indigenous population

In 1914 there were no accurate figures about the size of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

Indigenous Australians were excluded from the Census, denied civil rights under the Constitution, and disenfranchised from voting.

The Defence Act also prohibited Aboriginal people from serving in the military.

Despite that, more than 400 Indigenous men went to war. They were given equal pay during the course of the conflict.

Education

Australia enjoyed a high level of literacy, with 96 per cent of the recorded population older than five able to read.

Many children from working class families had to leave school before the age of 12 to do a trade.

The states had different education systems. In New South Wales, children between 6 and 14 were required at school for at least 140 days a year.

In 1912, Queensland started to set up free high schools for some students. General, commercial and domestic science courses were offered.

Economy

Agriculture and manufacturing were driving a prosperous Australian economy in 1914.

The pastoral industry was at the centre of economic activity and exports were increasing as slower sailing ships were replaced by coal-burning steam ships.

The basic wage for Australians was 8 shillings a day. That's about $43 in today's money.

In some cities, the rent for a three-bedroom house with a kitchen was 12 shillings ($65) a week, and general expenses (not including food and rent) were about 14 shillings ($75) per week.

According to the New South Wales Industrial Court, the "living wage" for a family of four was 48 shillings ($232) a week.

Shopping

In 1914, Melbourne was the seat of the federal government and also the nation's de facto shopping capital. "Melbourne was a rich and sumptuous city, not that distant from Paris or London in its facilities and demeanour," historian Michael McKernan said.

The first Coles variety store opened in 1914, selling hardware, haberdashery, stationery and kitchenware, with nothing costing more than one shilling.

Mark Foy's was a popular Sydney-based department store. Its 1914 winter catalogue showcased 108 pages of fashion, including corsets and hats.

Sport

Australia's passion for sport was already entrenched. Athletes such as Snowy Baker, Annette Kellerman, Victor Trumper and Dally Messenger represented the country in swimming, boxing, cricket and football.

Surfing came to Australia in December 1914 when Hawaiian legend Duke Kahanamoku gave a public surfing exhibition and lessons at Freshwater Beach in Sydney.

Neck-to-knee bathing suits, full-length tennis skirts and wool breeches were worn by sporting stars.

Swimmers Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie won gold and silver medals at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

Entertainment

The tango came to Australia from the salons of Paris, sparking a "tangomania" craze, but not everyone approved. The Palais de Danse in Melbourne was the scene of protests against the "immoral" dance.

Australia had a thriving film industry and even developed a genre of bushranger films.

The quality of recorded music was improving and many families had gramophones, enabling them to listen to concerts and opera.

With amateur photography on the rise, more Australians were buying their own cameras.

Communication

A wireless telegraph station was installed in 1912, enabling Sydney and Melbourne to be connected by telephone. There were soon 2,530 private lines in the country.

But the telephone was primarily for business and the printed word was how Australians kept in touch and up with the news. "Newspapers were really, really extensive and substantial and news was spread by the paper boy yelling out headlines on the street," historian Michael McKernan said.

The first Commonwealth postage stamp was issued in 1913. It featured a kangaroo on a map of Australia and sold for one penny.

The first airmail delivery took place in July 1914, when Frenchman Maurice Guillaux flew the nine hours from Melbourne to Sydney in a wood and fabric Bleriot monoplane. On board were 1,785 postcards.

Transport

Cars were making their mark on Australian roads by the time war broke out.

Melbourne had new electric trams but horse and cart, bullock trains and bicycles were still the main forms of transport.

The construction of the last leg of the transcontinental train line began in August 1914 with the goal of finally linking every state, including Western Australia, by rail.

Topics: world-war-1, unrest-conflict-and-war, history, community-and-society, australia

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