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What Did You Do in the Great War, Daddy?
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The subject of a child innocently shaming their father for failing to carry out military service was a commonly used theme of war propaganda.
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Carving Anzac Day
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An Anzac Day cinema advertisement encouraging Australians to not only mark Anzac Day as a day of significance but to 'carve’ its meaning into the nation’s psyche.
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Fill-the-Gap
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“We are dying of exhaustion for want of a spell”
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Australia Day at Burra
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This newsreel shows the then prosperous and bustling mining town of Burra, or the collection of townships known as ‘The Burra’, celebrating Australia Day on July the 30th, predating the now national celebration held on 26 January. At that time there was no nationally recognised national day, instead they usually were based around each state’s date of significance for the founding of the colony.
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The campaign that failed
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Conscription was introduced by law in New Zealand. However, Australians were able to vote on introducing conscription in a referendum in October 1916. This film was made as part of the “Vote Yes’ campaign. It shows PM William Hughes presenting the pro-conscription case, followed by messages to vote 'Yes' from well known figures such as the martyred Nurse Cavell, King George V and France’s General Joffre. Despite these efforts, however, the campaign for conscription was narrowly defeated.
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“The Hero of the Dardanelles”
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“Produced with the wholehearted co-operation of the military and naval authorities,” The Hero of the Dardanelles, was a feature-length narrative film made to encourage men to enlist. It premiered at Melbourne’s Majestic Theatre on 17 July 1915, unfortunately, only the first 11 minutes of the 40-minute film survive.
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Within Our Gates
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After the outbreak of war there was a growing public opinion that all Germans in Australia were a threat to security and should be interned. In this cartoon, this attitude appears as a fear that employees of German origin are protected in government jobs.
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Boxing and recruiting
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In the early stages of the war sport was seen as a fertile site for recruitment, and this film shows 17,000 spectators crammed into the Sydney Stadium to witness Les Darcy defend his world middleweight title against American Eddie McGoorty in 1915. An intense affair, Police ended the fight in the 15th round after McGoorty was knocked down for the fourth time. Beforehand the Premier of NSW, William Holman, and the opposition leader, Charles Wade, were scheduled to give a recruitment speech.
However, as it became obvious that the war would not be over quickly, and as casualties from Gallipoli mounted, sport was condemned as a distraction from fighting and the home front war effort.
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Direct to Aussie
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This footage shows Australian troops boarding a train in France after the battle of the Somme and some of the worst fighting of World War One. One carriage has ‘Direct to Aussie’ on the side, suggesting the troops are returning home – or perhaps just wishing they were!
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"All the Boys in Khaki Get the Nice Girls"
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This light-hearted recruitment tune composed in 1915 by Tom Mellor and Harry Gifford was a British wartime hit and claimed a uniform was all it took to attract 'nice' girls
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Māori and Pacific Islanders march to war
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On Saturday 5 February 1916, the 3rd Māori Contingent of Reinforcements and others made their way from Parliament along Lambton Quay to their departure point at Wellington’s waterfront. Members of the Māori Contingent are easily identified by their uniform of pith helmet, shorts, putties (a long strip of cloth around the lower leg) and lack of ammunition pouches, which distinguished them from the ‘lemon squeezer’ hat and full uniform of the other troops. The idea of engaging in a battle in foreign lands so far from home must have raised excitement as well as doubt as the Māori Contingent headed for the challenge and conflict of World War One.
Troops from several South Pacific countries formed part of the 3rd Maori Contingent. Among them was Sergeant-Major Uea of Lalofetau, Niue. He had helped to encourage support for the war effort and was the oldest of the Niuean volunteers who sailed that day.
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Expert rough-riders – Australian Light Horse
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By 1914 Australian horsemen had proved themselves as expert rough-riders and good shots in wartime. Untrained colonial cavalry had distinguished themselves in the Boer War, and Australia had 23 regiments of volunteer cavalry at the outbreak of WW1. Many men from these regiments joined the Light Horse Regiments of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Some are seen here in training with their horses, and in a military parade. Troops are also shown departing on the troopship A2 Geelong, farewelled by a huge crowd as the ship leaves the dock.
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Boys of the Dardanelles
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Boys of the Dardanelles
They faced the shot and the shells
Down in hist'ry their fame will goThe patriotic ballad ‘ Boys of the Dardanelles ', composed by Australian writer and singer Marsh Little, was particularly effective for encouraging recruitment. This version was performed by the prolific English singer and recording artist Stanley Kirkby.
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Fundraising for the war effort, Sydney
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Various wartime fundraising and recruitment activities are seen in this film from about 1916, shot from outside the General Post Office in Martin Place, Sydney, after rain. In pavilion-style tent stalls, Red Cross workers sell ribbons, flowers and other produce. The top-hatted Governor of NSW, Sir Gerald Strickland, walks among the crowds. Many AIF troops are shown in this clip, their humour in evidence in a shot of a young male civilian being ‘accosted’ and compelled to enlist, while others pretend to take his measurements for a uniform.
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“Play the Greater Game”
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This 1915 Australian Government recruitment film uses slogans such as 'Play the Greater Game' to urge men to join the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Later propaganda films were less subtle in their efforts, and used persuasion, fear, guilt, confrontation, accusation, or scenes of heroic action on the battlefields to influence eligible men to enlist. The films omitted any reference to the harsh realities of military life or the threat of death or injury for Australian troops abroad.
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‘Australia prepared’ – making ammunition
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‘The Amazing Micrometer’, a machine measuring to one 40,000th of an inch, is one star of this 1916 film, made at Australia’s Colonial Ammunition Company. Many of the factory’s workers are women, symbolising a community united in the war effort and highlighting women’s vital contributions on the home front. They are seen making .303 cartridges, packing them in cases, and filling a soldier’s bandolier (ammunition belt). This is an extract from an hour-long documentary showing how Australia ‘made and equipped the expeditionary forces’ to contribute to the Allied cause during the Great War.
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Turning boys into soldiers
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Compulsory military training was established in New Zealand in 1909, and by 1912 all boys aged 14 and over were required to undertake military drills as Senior Cadets. From the age of 18 to 21 they were required to serve in the Territorial Forces. In the process boys were turned into soldiers, since the Territorials formed the recruiting basis of the NZ Expeditionary Force.
This film shows just how young this element of the Expeditionary Force was. Some very youthful-looking members of the Canterbury Territorials, and possibly Cadets as well, are seen marching into Christchurch around 1914.