World War I cost Australia some 60,000 dead from a population of fewer than five million. It also forged the national legend and tore the country apart over conscription — both legacies outlasting the war itself.
Why Australia went to war
In 1914 Australia entered the war automatically as part of the British Empire, with broad popular enthusiasm. Men enlisted for adventure, loyalty to Britain, mateship and economic reasons. The war effort reshaped the economy through government controls and propaganda.
The conscription crisis
As casualties mounted and volunteers dwindled, Prime Minister Billy Hughes twice tried to introduce conscription by referendum (1916 and 1917). Both narrowly failed. The fight split the nation along lines of class, religion (Catholic vs Protestant) and politics — and split the Labor Party, expelling Hughes, who formed the Nationalist government. The bitterness shaped Australian politics for a generation.
The Anzac legend and national identity
Out of the Gallipoli campaign grew the Anzac legend — a story of mateship, courage, endurance and irreverence said to embody the national character. It became central to Australian nationalism.
Let's analyse the conscription crisis through the five forces, then weigh the two faces of the Anzac legend.
| Dimension | Effect of the conscription crisis |
|---|---|
| Political | Split Labor; Hughes formed the Nationalists |
| Social | Divided Catholics/Protestants, classes, communities |
| Leadership | Defined Hughes as a polarising national figure |
Then build a two-column board: "The Anzac legend unified Australia" vs "The Anzac legend excluded Australians." Populate both, then discuss which case is stronger and why both can be true at once.
Q1. What were the two outcomes of the conscription referendums of 1916 and 1917?
Q2. Explain how the conscription debate damaged the Labor Party.
Q3. "The Anzac legend tells us more about how Australians wanted to see themselves than about who they actually were." Evaluate this claim.