Many assume that the only role the women played in World War 1 was to travel overseas with the soldiers and nurse them to health in the improvised hospitals. This fact is true however only tells part of the long, painful story...
Women and their children were left at home in Australia spending their lives waiting in anticipation of the arrival of their loved one. Communication in the early 20th century was slow due to the primary form of contact was by letter. During the war it was common that your letter was lost during the posting process and never found the recipient. Most families never received news back and if they did it was a telegram from a clergyman reporting that your loved one was dead somewhere in an unknown land.
At the begging of World War 1 the equality of women was poor. Only a few countries including Australia allowed women to vote. Even though voting was legal the wage for a women worker was 54% lower than the average men’s wage.
Women were eager to help during the time of war in more ways than one. They were filling in for the men as clerks therefore as a result they can go and fight. The women displayed their feelings towards the men who didn't leave to fight by giving them a white feather of cowardice or by simply turning their heads to them down the street. The government discouraged any more actions to serve in the armed forces with an exception for the nurses. The negativity of the government didn't change the minds of the women in Australia. Women soon began to fill other occupations that had been vacant due to the war enlistment. These consisted of: typists, bookkeepers, insurance and banking. These different areas of work were usually closed off to women.
The ways of assisting the soldiers in the war didn't stop there. Various charities and fundraisers were run in order to raise money. The British Red Cross was the charity that had the idea of spending the money to purchase items to put in packages that were to be sent over to the soldiers. The Australian branch of the British Red Cross created many branches over the country where the women could make their own contribution to the Great war. Soap, toiletries, food, games, clothing and medical supplies were the sort of items that were given to the soldiers. Several branches also built homes for the wounded to recover in and raised money for the soldiers’ families. To show just how devoted these women were to the task the Australian Comforts Fund knitted nearly 1.5 million pairs of socks during the time of the war.
Women and their children were left at home in Australia spending their lives waiting in anticipation of the arrival of their loved one. Communication in the early 20th century was slow due to the primary form of contact was by letter. During the war it was common that your letter was lost during the posting process and never found the recipient. Most families never received news back and if they did it was a telegram from a clergyman reporting that your loved one was dead somewhere in an unknown land.
At the begging of World War 1 the equality of women was poor. Only a few countries including Australia allowed women to vote. Even though voting was legal the wage for a women worker was 54% lower than the average men’s wage.
Women were eager to help during the time of war in more ways than one. They were filling in for the men as clerks therefore as a result they can go and fight. The women displayed their feelings towards the men who didn't leave to fight by giving them a white feather of cowardice or by simply turning their heads to them down the street. The government discouraged any more actions to serve in the armed forces with an exception for the nurses. The negativity of the government didn't change the minds of the women in Australia. Women soon began to fill other occupations that had been vacant due to the war enlistment. These consisted of: typists, bookkeepers, insurance and banking. These different areas of work were usually closed off to women.
The ways of assisting the soldiers in the war didn't stop there. Various charities and fundraisers were run in order to raise money. The British Red Cross was the charity that had the idea of spending the money to purchase items to put in packages that were to be sent over to the soldiers. The Australian branch of the British Red Cross created many branches over the country where the women could make their own contribution to the Great war. Soap, toiletries, food, games, clothing and medical supplies were the sort of items that were given to the soldiers. Several branches also built homes for the wounded to recover in and raised money for the soldiers’ families. To show just how devoted these women were to the task the Australian Comforts Fund knitted nearly 1.5 million pairs of socks during the time of the war.