Women were essential to Australia's war effort in World War II. Tens of thousands took on jobs traditionally done by men. They worked on farms, in factories and offices. They joined the auxiliary services of the Australian navy, army and air force, as well as the Land Army.
Women signed up as nurses and other health professionals. They volunteered and raised money for the war effort. Others supported the troops as reporters, artists and entertainers.
Once the war ended, women were expected to step aside and return to their homes. But their experiences laid the foundation for future developments in women's rights.
Life on the home front
After Japan entered the war in December 1941, every Australian man, woman and child was expected to 'do their bit' on the home front.
Everyone shared the responsibility for keeping the economy strong, morale high and defending the country against possible attack.
The government brought in blackout conditions from February 1942. Windows and doors were covered to prevent evening lights from alerting enemy planes.
Families prepared for possible air raids. Women volunteered for Air Raid Precautions duty and trained to spot planes. They also taught their children to support the war effort. Young people collected whatever could be recycled, including bottles, paper and tyres.
Rationing in Australia
In May 1942, the government introduced rationing to help pay for the war. As managers of the family budget, women had to save, recycle and use ration cards to buy clothing, food and petrol.
Australia never experienced the same level of shortages as the United Kingdom (UK) did during the war. But Australian women still needed to stretch food rations for their families. Many grew vegetables to supplement the family diet, while others resorted to the black market.
Volunteers on the home front
Not every woman joined the services. Women on the home front also supported the war effort as volunteers. Even those who worked in paid employment were expected to volunteer or raise money for 'comfort' items for servicemen. Many women knitted garments for soldiers overseas. Some volunteered as air-raid wardens. And many supplemented rationing by growing fruit and vegetables.
Women were also the main correspondents for their husbands, fathers, brothers and friends fighting overseas. The sent care packages and much-welcomed news of home. These letters were crucial to maintaining the troops' morale. The Australian Government even produced propaganda footage encouraging people at home to send more mail.
Most women volunteers belonged to either the Australian Red Cross or the Australian Comforts Fund. But there were many other organisations.
This series of staged shots showing troops receiving mail was intended to be made into a short item for general release. It was a plea to the people of Australia to send more letters to the troops in New Guinea. Footage by Damien Parer, 15 May 1943, Port Moresby, Papua. AWM F01823.
Women's auxiliary services
In World War II, about 70,000 Australian women served in the women's auxiliary services of the Navy, Army and Air Force. These services gave women newfound independence, skills and friendships. Auxiliary services gave women the opportunity to contribute. They could put their skills to use keeping essential industries going while men left home to serve elsewhere.
Women took on a diverse range of jobs during the war. They:
- drove trucks, buses and tractors
- helped build planes, tanks and trucks
- learned to weld and make mechanical repairs
- made ammunition and weapons and, in some cases, carried out testing
- worked in textiles factories, on shipbuilding sites and in offices.
Many also worked as cooks, kitchen hands, clerical assistants and nurses.
Signing up for one of the auxiliary services was seen as a patriotic duty, particularly from 1942 when many believed Japan planned to invade Australia. Legislation and brightly coloured propaganda posters added to the social pressure on women to 'do their bit'.
The 3 women's auxiliary services were:
- Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS)
- Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF)
- Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS).
Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) was the first and largest of the women's auxiliary services. Some 18,000 women served in the WAAAF.
Some of the earliest recruits were volunteers from the Women’s Air Training Corps (WATC). The WATC started in Brisbane in 1939, with other states forming divisions shortly afterwards. The Women's Air Training Corps was a voluntary support unit for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It trained women in clerical work, communications and transport. Aviation pioneer Nancy Bird Walton was the New South Wales and national commandant for the organisation. She played a key role in lobbying for the formation of the WAAAF.
The WAAAF was formed in February 1941. Initially, its role was to release male wireless telegraphy operators for overseas duty by replacing them with WAAAFs.
Even members of the WAAAF with flying experience were not allowed to fly in combat. But women were accepted into more than 70 different trades or 'musterings', including:
- armaments workers
- cooks and caterers
- drivers
- electricians
- mechanics
- parachute packers
- radar operators
- tailors and seamstresses
- telephonists
- wireless operators.
After the war, many former members continued to play an important role in supporting their communities. For example:
- Clare Stephenson worked tirelessly for ex-servicewomen. She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire and the Order of Australia for services to the community.
- Doris Carter was a female Olympian, General Secretary of the YWCA and the first woman to fly the Canberra Bomber and the Vampire jet fighter.
- Joan Phipson was a journalist and renowned children's author.
- Margaret Blackwood became the first female Deputy Chancellor of the University of Melbourne. She was the first woman in the university's 127-year history to confer degrees.
Women's Royal Australian Naval Service
The first recruits to join the WRANS were highly trained volunteers from the Women’s Emergency Signalling Corps (WESC).
Florence Mackenzie formed the WESC in early 1939. As war approached, Mackenzie, the first Australian woman to graduate as an electrical engineer, saw the need for skilled communications specialists. She trained 3,000 women in Morse code and wireless telegraphy. One-third of the trainees joined the services.
Despite official reluctance to recognise their status, 14 graduates of Mackenzie's training began work at RAN Wireless/Transmitting (W/T) Station, Canberra, on 28 April 1941. At first, they remained civilian workers. Then from October 1942, as enlisted personnel.
Recruitment for the WRANS began in earnest following Japan's entry into the war. New recruits were given orientation training before starting their chosen trade. WRANS personnel were employed in a variety of positions, including top-secret, high-pressure roles. Women worked as:
- cipher clerks
- coders
- cooks
- drivers
- signallers
- telephonists
- telegraphists.
Members of WRANS quickly proved themselves indispensable and were soon accepted by male colleagues. More than 3,000 women served in the WRANS during World War II. The service was disbanded in 1947.
Australian Women's Army Service
More than 24,000 women signed up to serve in the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS). As with the other auxiliary services, the AWAS was set up to release men for combat service.
The AWAS grew out of the Women’s Australian National Service (WANS), formed in July 1940. Its purpose was to train women in a range of military skills, including:
- air raid drills
- communications
- first aid
- weapons handling
- map reading.
The WANS gave women the chance to support the war effort during the early days of World War II. More than 4,000 women joined the service in its first weeks.
On 13 August 1941, the government approved the establishment of the AWAS. Recruitment of suitable volunteers began soon after.
Eligibility criteria for AWAS included:
- being aged between 18 and 40 (in some cases extended to 50)
- character references signed by a clergyman or local councillor
- passing a medical examination and security check
- willingness to sign up for the duration of the war.
Women served in a diverse range of roles in the AWAS.
Some had traditional jobs, such as canteen workers, cooks and clerical assistants. But many others used the skills developed in their WANS training for roles more closely connected to the war effort.
AWAS members were employed as:
- anti-aircraft workers
- drivers
- engineers
- mechanics
- military intelligence
- ordnance workers
- radar operators
- signallers.
AWAS personnel were stationed around Australia and in New Guinea. The AWAS was the only non-medical women's service to send members overseas.
Some 500 women were posted to Lae and Rabaul in the Australian Mandated Territory of New Guinea, and Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea. Most personnel were posted to the Army headquarters in Lae.
Five AWAS members boosted troop morale with the Entertainment Unit in Rabaul from January to June 1946. Gloria Berry was one such performer. She worked with the 1st Australian Entertainment Unit in Rabaul and Japan.
Closer to home, more than 3,600 AWAS members served with the Royal Australian Artillery. They helped operate fixed coastal defences around Australia's coastline.
Around 400 AWAS members were posted to the Northern Territory and northern Queensland. They worked with local First Nations women in hot, tropical conditions, far from home. They grew their own vegetables and butchered their own meat while also carrying out their duties. They were issued 2 bottles of beer per person per week as part of their rations.
Women in the workforce
With a relatively small population and limited labour force, the role of women in the workforce was critical to the war effort and the home front.
Women were recruited to roles traditionally held by men or moved from non-essential to essential industries. As the war went on and more men and women enlisted, the need for labour grew.
In 1942, the Australian Government established a manpower commission to regulate the Australian workforce. It was to ensure that the:
resources of manpower and womanpower would be organised and applied in the best possible way to meet the requirements of the defence forces and the needs of industry.
At first, the commission encouraged women into the workforce. There were many barriers to women working. Trade unions either opposed women in the workforce or insisted on equal pay, which made industry reluctant to employ women. Employers often had little understanding of the time and labour needed to care for children and keep households going. Inflexibility in work hours often led to absenteeism as women juggled responsibilities.
In October 1942, the Manpower Commission or the ‘manpower’ as it came to be known, gained the power for the compulsory call-up of women to work and to compel workers to move from one job to another or work in a specific job. Refusal could be punished. These new regulations applied to all men aged between 16 and 65 and all single and divorced women in that age group. Those most vulnerable were workers in industries classified as non-essential.
In the definitive novel of Australian women’s wartime experience, Come in Spinner (Cusack and James, 1951), women working in a plush hotel beauty salon are in constant anxiety about being ‘manpowered’ into a factory. Another character is sent to a factory role with disastrous consequences.
Working conditions depended on where women worked and what work they were employed to do. Not all workplaces were ready for female workers. Few factories had toilets for women, and they did not always provide correctly sized protective clothing for female employees.
Women who made bombs, bullets and other armaments were often exposed to dangerous chemicals. Although many women feared poisoning from chemical exposure, the higher wages paid to munitions workers remained a popular incentive. Generally, women received around 60% of the male wage.
Female war correspondents
More than 20 Australian and New Zealand women were reporters in World War II.
Initially, they were expected to publicise the women's auxiliary services and remain on the war's sidelines. But female reporters went on to cover some of the war's most important events.
Elizabeth Riddell and Anne Matheson were approved to write about the war in Europe. Matheson reported on Czechoslovakia’s surrender to Germany in 1938, as well as the D-Day landings at Normandy in 1944.
Lorraine Stumm was the first Australian woman to cover the war in New Guinea. Stumm reported the release of 7 Australian nurses captured at Rabaul for Australian newspapers in 1945. Her writing brought home the trauma suffered by the nurses and their fears of rape or torture.
Female medical staff
More than 12,000 women served as health and medical professionals overseas and in Australia. They were stationed in all theatres of the war:
- Australia
- North Africa and the Middle East
- Europe, including the Mediterranean region and the United Kingdom
- South-East Asia and the Pacific islands.
Their workplaces included:
- air and sea troop transports
- casualty clearing stations
- hospitals
- military bases
- prisoner of war (POW) camps.
The Australian Army Medical Women’s Service (AAMWS) employed around 8,000 women as nurse aides and allied health professionals.
Some 5,000 were nurses attached to the women's auxiliary services for the Navy, Army and Air Force.
The Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) was the largest and oldest of the wartime nursing services.
Wartime nurses
Nurses were quick to volunteer when World War II began. The AANS had been a reserve unit since the end of World War I. It was the first to recruit nurses for overseas duty. Army nurses first arrived in the Middle East in January 1940 as part of the 6th Australian Division. As the war continued, army nurses were posted to hospitals and casualty clearing stations in:
- Australia
- Borneo
- Egypt
- England
- Eritrea
- Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
- Crete
- Greece
- Malaya (now Malaysia)
- New Guinea
- Palestine
- the Philippines.
Nurses cared for seriously wounded and ill servicemen in difficult and dangerous conditions.
The AANS had the highest casualty rate of all the women's services, with 78 nurses dying – the most from enemy action or as POWs. Nurses experienced enemy bombing in:
- the Middle East
- Asia
- the Pacific
- and Darwin.
They were killed at sea when their ships were torpedoed. And they suffered severe deprivation as Japanese POWs.
Nurses faced many challenges in their role. They had to look after patients with horrific injuries and diseases that they had never seen before. Camp hospitals were not always adequately equipped, and nurses struggled to keep things clean. There was mud, humidity, mosquitoes and long hours.
Learn more about nurses in the military.
The Flying Angels
'The Flying Angels' was the name given to nurses from 2 specialist units of the Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service (RAAFNS). The first Medical Air Evacuation Transport Unit (MAETU) was formed in February 1944. It operated out of Lae, New Guinea. The second unit, formed in May 1945, flew injured servicemen to safety from fighting in the Netherlands East Indies.
The role of the Medical Air Evacuation Transport Units was to take sick and wounded soldiers from the front line back to base hospitals in New Guinea or Australia for medical care.
Fifteen nurses from the RAAFNS were recruited for the new units and trained in:
- caring for patients during air transport
- emergency survival
- fitness
- tropical medicine.
The units were also used to bring home POWs after Japan's surrender.
Voluntary Aid Detachments
Voluntary Aid Detachments (VAD) were first used in World War I. They were set up by the Australian Red Cross, which modelled them on similar units in Britain.
Members were trained in first aid and home care but had no other formal medical training. Initially restricted to working in Australian hospitals, the first VAD members worked as nurse aides. Their duties included cleaning and providing basic patient care such as:
- emptying bedpans
- making beds
- washing patients.
Many continued to volunteer in hospitals after the end of World War I.
During World War II, the role of VADs was extended. Members were paid from January 1940. Many continued to care for patients in convalescent homes, aboard hospital ships and on troop trains. Others were recruited for different roles, including:
- ambulance drivers
- clerical assistants
- cooks
- dental assistants
- laundry duties
- pharmacy dispensers
- radiographers
- taking blood.
Voluntary Aid Detachments members served in Australia and overseas. Some, like Jean Mascord, did both. Mascord spent her war years working as a VAD at a Sydney repatriation hospital. She volunteered to help bring prisoners of war home after the war.
Australian Army Medical Women's Service
The Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS) was formed in December 1942. Most of the service's first members came from the Voluntary Aid Detachments.
As well as assistant nurses, the service also employed other healthcare professionals:
- doctors
- dieticians
- eye doctors
- occupational therapists
- pathologists
- physiotherapists
- radiologists.
Members of the AAMWS served overseas and in northern and central Australia.
Australian Women's Land Army
Women played an important role in keeping Australia fed during World War II. Recruitment began for the Australian Women's Land Army (AWLA) in mid-1942.
More than 3,000 women worked on Australian farms. Their job was to produce food for Australian troops, and they worked in a range of agricultural industries, including:
- dairy
- horticulture
- pork
- poultry
- tobacco
- sheep and wool.
As well as farming food, AWLA members also produced crops such as flax and cotton. Flax was a vital crop during the war. It was used by Allied factories to make:
- clothing
- uniforms
- parachute harnesses
- ropes
- tarpaulins.
Women who already lived and worked on farms were not eligible to join the Australian Women's Land Army. Most who enlisted were from cities and had no farming skills. But they worked hard and won the respect of farming communities.
Women's changing roles and status
We owe, too, a great debt to those men and women who performed miracles of production in secondary and primary industries, so that the battle of supply could be won and a massive effort achieved.
[Speech by prime minister Ben Chifley announcing Japan's surrender, August 1945.]
World War II changed the way society recognised women. Thousands of Australian women showed they were just as competent and capable as men. Their contribution to winning the war was acknowledged by the prime minister, Ben Chifley, when he announced Japan's surrender in August 1945.
Women experienced hardship and loss in the war. But there were also positive changes. Many women enjoyed the independence that paid employment brought, as well as new confidence, friendships and skills.
Once the war ended, women were expected to return to their traditional roles in the home. Magazines showed women raising children and doing housework, all while choosing something glamorous to wear for when their husbands came home from work. The reality was less clear-cut.
Marriage and divorce
Many marriages survived and were strengthened by the war. But others did not. Some relationships did not survive the separation or the trauma of war. Other marriages ended in divorce in the years after the war.
Most women were expected to give up paid work once they married. To return jobs to men and to boost Australia's birth rate, married women were banned from working for the Commonwealth and state public service.
In 1966, Australia finally abolished the Marriage Bar. It was one of the last democratic countries to do so.
Read more about love and relationships in wartime:
Education and work
The Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme (CRTS) provided access to education and training for returning service personnel and war widows.
Participants could access university, vocational or rural training. The aim was to help returning service personnel re-enter the civilian workforce.
After 6 months of basic vocational training, participants were assessed. If they achieved 40% competency or higher, they were given a job and paid the full adult wage.
The government subsidised their employer according to the trainee's lack of proficiency. The subsidy decreased as the trainee became more proficient.
The scheme was open to both men and women. But female participants were paid a lot less than their male counterparts.
In 1943, full-time trainee wages were:
- 5 pounds 5 shillings per week for a married man with children
- 4 pounds 16 shillings per week for a man with one dependant (a wife or child)
- 3 pounds 5 shillings per week for a single man with no dependants
- 2 pounds 15 shillings per week for a woman not living at home or living with dependants (a war widow)
- 2 pounds per week for a woman living at home.
The scheme ran from 1942 to 1950. By 31 May 1951, 334,269 ex-servicemen and women had been accepted for training.
Women did not enjoy the same postwar access to education as men.
During the 1950s, only 20% of university students in Australia were female. (There were more males than females in tertiary studies until at least the late 1980s).
By 1954, only 23% of people in paid employment were females. (This figure remained less than 50% until the late 1990s).
Commemoration of women's role in World War II
Women's contributions to Australia's war effort have been recognised formally and informally.
The Australian War Memorial commemorates service women with a stunning wall mosaic in the museum's Hall of Memory. The memorial describes the symbolism of the mosaic:
This Hall of Memory pendentive features the women's services, depicted here [by a woman] dressed in a blouse and skirt, a generic uniform that could reference all the servicewomen. The various branches of the services are symbolised by different badges in the lower right segment of the design. The figure steps forward through an open doorway, from which bursts a halo of winged light. She remembers the many sacrifices and disasters suffered by her sisters, one of which is symbolised above by the engulfing waves of the sea into which sinks the 'sea-centaur', a symbol of the most infamous of wartime sea tragedies in which the hospital ship Centaur was sunk with only one survivor. The reference to missiles falling from above reiterates the danger faced by so many women in the services, victims of gunfire and bombing.
[Australian War Memorial, AWM ART90409.003 caption]
Various army nurses have been commemorated at the Australian War Memorial's Last Post Ceremony. These moving ceremonies are held daily and recognise individual efforts by service personnel.
The role of Australia's Women's Land Army was not formally recognised by the Australian Government until 2012.
Despite being endorsed by the Cabinet in 1943 as an 'official fourth service', the final draft of the regulations was not enacted before the end of the war and the demobilisation of the AWLA. As a result, AWLA members were not given the same benefits as other servicewomen. They were not allowed to march on Anzac Day until 1980 and did not get membership of the Returned and Services League (RSL) until 1991.
Former members of AWLA became eligible for the Civilian Service Medal in 1997.
After much lobbying, the service of the AWLA members was commemorated by Prime Minister Julia Gillard in August 2012 with a certificate and a brooch.
In 2017, Australia Post issued a series of stamps to commemorate all women who served in war. The Century of Service stamp series recognised the important roles of nurses, members of the women's auxiliary services and AWLA, and women in the Australian Defence Force.
Wives and mothers of servicemen in the Navy, Army and Air Force were also acknowledged with the issue of a special badge. The Department of Defence released the Female Relative Badge from February 1941.
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Glossary
- mustering