5.11 Australia’s changing relations with
Britain and the United States
The mother country
In 1939 most Australians still regarded themselves as British subjects and were proud
to be part of the British Empire. Australians celebrated British holidays like the King’s
birthday and Empire Day, and Christmas celebrations were based on British traditions.
Most of the population was born either in Australia (with British ancestors) or in Britain,
and people still considered Britain as the mother country. A picture of the King was in
every classroom and the focus in schools was on British history, language, customs and
the greatness of the British Empire.
UÊ After Federation, the British Government kept control of Australia’s
external affairs and international shipping.
UÊ In 1931, a British Act, the Statute of Westminster, allowed Commonwealth countries, like
Australia, to make their own decisions about foreign affairs if they chose to.
UÊ Conservative Australian Governments were reluctant to do this and the Curtin Labor government
ﬁnally passed the Act in 1942.
UÊ Before 1948 Australian citizenship didn’t exist; Australian passports were introduced only in 1948.
SOURCE 5.65
Attorney-General
Menzies, later Prime
Minister, gives
his opinion of an
independent Australian
foreign policy, 1938.
Let me say something . . . about this matter of an Australian foreign policy . . . Does that mean
that we as a dominion government ought to formulate our foreign policy independently of what
may be the foreign policy of Great Britain . . . and that having formulated it, we should then
announce it to the world, caring nothing . . . as to whether it happens to be in line with the policy
of Great Britain. . .? . . . I say without any hesitation that I should regard such a thing as folly . . .
Australia, House of Representatives, Debates, 1938, vol. 157, p. 429.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 Which country does Menzies believe should make decisions about Australia’s foreign policy?
2 Carefully read the text and then suggest two reasons many Australians supported this opinion
in 1938.
In 1941, during World War II, Prime Minister Robert Menzies even left Australia for
several months and stayed in England. He went there to support the British War Cabinet
and to ensure that Britain would come to our aid if we were attacked. The belief that
Australia could rely on Britain for defence changed after the fall of Singapore.
Our new best friend
Most Australians knew little about the United States of America before 1939 and what
they did know came mainly from popular Hollywood movies. Books could be imported
only from Britain and the few American magazines available were usually out of date
by the time they reached Australia. There was no direct airlink between Australia and
the United States and it wasn’t until 1940 that Australia set up a diplomatic mission in
Washington. Australia exported very little to the United States but imported a lot, mainly
consumer goods. As early as 1928, the United States provided 24 per cent of our imports
and took just six per cent of our exports. (In comparison, the United Kingdom provided
43 per cent of our imports and took 38 per cent of our exports.)
The relationship between Australia and the United States changed dramatically after
the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into the war. The United States
needed a base from which to ﬁght the Japanese, and Australia needed a strong ally to
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defend the country. The Prime Minister, John Curtin, offered Australia as a base for
Allied troops ﬁghting in the Paciﬁc and in March 1942 US General Douglas MacArthur
arrived in Australia to take command of the war in the south-west Paciﬁc. By early
1943 there were up to 250 000 American servicemen in camps and bases in Australia.
Australians welcomed the Americans, as it was believed that only the might of the
United States could save Australia from Japanese invasion.
SOURCE 5.66
Prime Minister Curtin
announces a change in
Australia’s relationship
with the USA
[The] United States and Australia must have the fullest say in the direction of the [Paciﬁc]
ﬁghting plan . . . I make it quite clear that Australia looks to America free of any pangs as to
our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom. We know the problems the United
Kingdom faces. We know the constant threat of invasion . . . but we know too that Australia
can go, and Britain can still hold on . . . We are therefore determined that Australia shall not
go and we shall exert all our energies towards the shaping of a plan, with the United States as
its keystone, which will give our country conﬁdence of being able to hold out until the tide of
battle swings against the enemy.
Herald, 27 December 1941.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
SOURCE 5.67
A photograph of
Prime Minister John
Curtin and US General
Douglas MacArthur
1 Identify the reasons Curtin gives in source 5.66 for turning to the Americans for help.
2 What evidence is there that Curtin sees Australia as an equal partner in this new alliance?
3 If you were living in Australia in 1941, how would you have responded to this speech? Write a
letter to a newspaper giving your opinion.
The alliance was strengthened with the joint Australian – United States naval
success at the Battle of the Coral Sea, a battle that most believed
saved Australia. For the ﬁrst time we had allied ourselves with
a country other than Britain and this battle really marks the
beginning of the close ties that still exist today between the
two countries. The close personal friendship between Curtin and
the US commander, General MacArthur, was another factor in
developing a spirit of cooperation between Australia and the
United States.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 Outline the evidence the photograph in source 5.67
provides of the close relationship between Curtin and
MacArthur.
2 In pairs, and using the text, roleplay the conversation
Curtin and MacArthur may have had at this meeting.
Bringing them home
At the same time as Australia’s relationship with the
United States was growing stronger, Britain seemed
less interested in supporting Australia and more on
having Australia support Britain. Some of the rationing
that occurred in Australia was because food and other
items were being sent to Britain to help their civilian
population. The British Prime Minister, Winston
Churchill, also expected Australian troops to protect
British interests, despite the looming threat from Japan.
However, in October 1941, the new Australian
Prime Minister, John Curtin, against the wishes of the
British Government, insisted that Australian troops
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211
SOURCE 5.68
A cartoon from the Daily
Telegraph, 1942, showing
Churchill and Curtin
be brought back from the Middle East to defend Australia against the Japanese. It took
many months for the British to agree. Even when these troops were being returned in
February 1942, Churchill wanted them sent to Burma but Curtin successfully ordered
that they be returned to Australia. The British Government’s lack of support for
Australia in time of crisis led to the beginning of a more independent foreign policy
and greater reliance on the United States as our future ally.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 Describe the appearance
of the three ﬁgures shown
in source 5.68.
2 What point is the
cartoonist making about
Britain’s attitude to
Australia?
3 Prepare a list of ﬁve
reasons Curtin may
have given to persuade
Churchill to allow
Australian troops to
return to Australia.
Write what Churchill’s
response to each reason
may have been.
‘Long-distance thinking’
Working together
At ﬁrst, the Americans were welcomed. Newspapers began to cover American news
items, major American sporting events were broadcast on radio, and many younger
people copied the American accent and language. Australians were encouraged to
invite Americans into their homes for a meal and many Australian girls were impressed
by the courteous and attentive way they were treated by the American troops.
However, trouble soon broke out between the Australian and American troops.
There were many reasons for this. For example, the Americans:
sõ were paid twice as much as the Australian soldiers
sõ did not have to pay taxes on goods
sõ were able to impress Australian girls, as their uniforms were smarter
sõ could pay more for luxuries such as chocolates and stockings, so the prices went up
even more.
Trouble between the troops occasionally led to brawls — sometimes serious
ones in which soldiers were killed. The most famous was the Battle of Brisbane. It
began on 26 November 1942 when Australians were refused entry to an American
entertainment centre. An Australian soldier was shot dead and, for the next three
days, Australian and American troops fought each other in the streets. A similar brawl
in Melbourne between 2000 men stopped trafﬁc for an hour.
By late 1944, most US servicemen had left Australia. Some Australian women had
married Americans but were not allowed to live in America until after the war. They
became known as war brides. By June 1945 there were over 10 000 Australian war
brides waiting to join their American husbands.
The inﬂuence of the Americans on Australian society was felt in many ways. They
brought new ideas and attitudes that sometimes challenged the traditional British ways.
Many Australians began to see themselves as Australians, not simply as British subjects,
and were grateful to the Americans for supporting Australia in a time of need.
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Retroactive 2
SOURCE 5.69
Many Australians were
sad to see the Americans
leave Australia, as this
Bulletin cartoon from the
mid 1940s shows.
SOURCE QUESTIONS
1 The people shown in source 5.69 represent different groups in Australian society. Identify each
of the groups shown farewelling the American soldiers.
2 Which of these groups seems the saddest? Why do you think the cartoonist chose this group?
World War II changed Australia in many important ways. It was no longer a country that
did as Britain told it to do. It began to be much more independent in its decision making.
There had been great suffering and hardship but Australia had been truly united for
the ﬁrst time as the population worked together to achieve a common purpose. All the
sacriﬁces seemed worthwhile to preserve the freedom and lifestyle that Australians valued.
ACTIVITIES
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
1 Describe Australia’s relationship with Great Britain in 1939.
2 What did Australians know about Americans before 1939?
3 What disagreements did Australia have with Britain over the use of Australian troops in
the war?
4 Explain why the American troops were popular with many Australians in the 1940s.
5 Identify the main reasons for conﬂict between Australian and American soldiers.
USE SOURCES
6 The sources in this section are all primary sources. Which of the sources are factual only,
which have both facts and opinions, and which are opinions only?
RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATE
7 Hold a class debate on whether Curtin was right to insist that Australian troops return in
1942 to defend Australia.
8 Roleplay the situation when an Australian girl tells her father that she wants to marry an
American serviceman and then live in the United States.
9 Use examples from this, and earlier chapters, to prepare a ﬂowchart showing how
Australia’s relations with Britain changed between 1901 and 1945.
eBook plus
WORKSHEETS
Worksheet 5.3 Find out more on the war
Worksheet 5.4 Crossword of World War II
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