HIST1051 Lecture 8: Lecture 8
• Week Eight
• Lecture 8.1: The Depression Years
• Lecture Summary
Part One:
• Australia & the world in 1920s:
• Stock market collapse
• Political extremism
• Depression in Australia
• Daid Potts ad the th of the Great Depressio
Part Two:
• Experience of unemployment
• Social welfare
• Evictions and protest
• Depression camps
• Focus Questions
1) What was life like in 1920s and 1930s Australia?
2) What were the impacts of the Great Depression in Australia?
3) To what extent was the Great Depression a time of social misery for Australians?
PART ONE
• The Twenties…
• Post War: a changed world
• Modernity & consumerism
• The rise of the flapper
• Economy:
• Germany: depression
• Britain: near bankruptcy
• USA: boom times but also unrestrained speculation
• Growth of consumerism and credit
• Wall St Stock Market Collapse
• Stock Market crash: 29th October 1929
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• Blak Thursda
• World-wide depression
• US can no longer support other economies
• Political consequences:
• Focus on domestic concerns rather than foreign affairs
• Artifiial eas ad the attratio of ar
• Political Extremism
• An unstable world
• Russia: October Revolution, 1917
• Fascism, Authoritarianism & Militarism
• Italy & Mussolini, 1922
• Germany & Hitler, 1933
• Echoes of Extremism in Australia
• Divided society: exacerbated by conscription debates (Irish Catholics and English
Protestants)
• Working-class bitterness: 1923 only 1/3 households with electricity
• Left:
• Communist Party (2500)
• Laor Part & soialisatio,
• Unemployed Workers Movement (30 000)
• Militant Minority Movement (30 000)
• Echoes of Extremism in Australia
• Right:
• Joh Moash & The Speials: defed agaist ouist uprisig
• New Guard (1931): middle-class members (50 000)
• Jack Lang and Francis de Groot
• United Australia Party (UAP) (1932)
• The Depression Hits
• Australian economy unstable throughout 1920s
• Depression brought unforseen hardship
• Export dependent, mainly agricultural products
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• Debt due to borrowing
• Unemployment (1921: 13%)
• Australia: one of the hardest hit countries
• Unemployment: Mid-1930 = 20%
• Unemployment: Mid-1933 = peaks at 30%
• Compare with Germany: 1932–34 = 32%
• Impacts of the Depression
• Large-scale unemployment, homelessness, poverty, welfare from government & charities
• BUT those with steady public or private sector jobs shielded
• A time of social misery?
• David Potts: loer diore rates ad loer suiide rates; oral histories suggest poor
ut happ
• Contested: nostalgia; age; 2/3 below basic wage; differences depending on location,
class, gender, ethnicity
PART TWO
• Social Welfare
• Prior to Depression there was no formal system of government relief for the unemployed
• Charity from church and private organisations
• Some forms of welfare in place
• Government maternity allowance and child endowment
• Old age and invalid pensions; allowances for disabled returned soldiers
• Concern that hand outs take away incentive to work
• Work ot harit
• Try to make government assistance as unattractive as possible
• Food Relief
o First form of government assistance offered
o From basic foodstuffs to tickets for food
o Susteae susso or the dole
o Bread and dripping becomes staple meal for many poor families
o Shame and humiliation
o 1932: long questionnaire to demonstrate need
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Part one: australia & the world in 1920s, stock market collapse, political extremism, depression in australia, da(cid:448)id potts a(cid:374)d the (cid:858)(cid:373)(cid:455)th(cid:859) of the great depressio(cid:374) Italy & mussolini, 1922: germany & hitler, 1933, echoes of extremism in australia, divided society: exacerbated by conscription debates (irish catholics and english. Protestants: working-class bitterness: 1923 only 1/3 households with electricity. La(cid:271)or part(cid:455) & (cid:858)so(cid:272)ialisatio(cid:374)(cid:859), (cid:1005)(cid:1013)(cid:1006)(cid:1005: unemployed workers movement (30 000, militant minority movement (30 000, echoes of extremism in australia, right: Joh(cid:374) mo(cid:374)ash & (cid:858)the spe(cid:272)ials(cid:859): defe(cid:374)d agai(cid:374)st (cid:272)o(cid:373)(cid:373)u(cid:374)ist uprisi(cid:374)g: new guard (1931): middle-class members (50 000) Part two: social welfare, prior to depression there was no formal system of government relief for the unemployed, charity from church and private organisations. Some forms of welfare in place: government maternity allowance and child endowment, old age and invalid pensions; allowances for disabled returned soldiers, concern that hand outs take away incentive to work (cid:858)work (cid:374)ot (cid:272)harit(cid:455)(cid:859) Lecture 8. 2: australia and the second world war.
