Australians Enlisting To Fight In 1914 Essay

The reasons for Australians enlisting to fight in World War One varied and were complex. These reasons may be categorised into two main sections: Intrinsic and extrinsic. Some of the many intrinsic factors included the sense of adventure, sense of duty to support fellow Australians and a sense of duty to defend Australia from a perceived enemy and finally a sense of duty to defend the “Mother Country”. These contrast with the extrinsic influences which include enlisting to escape poverty, unemployment, pressure from Australian society and the effects of propaganda. The study of a number of sources will reveal the extent to which Australians enlisted in 1914 to defend the “Mother Country” and that it was not the only reason to why thousands of men flocked to war. Each volunteer had their own rationale which is complex and different between each individual.
The photo in 1914 by Geo.Rose of Men of the Australia Naval and Military Expeditionary Force marching past the Town Hall in Melbourne, prior to embarking for New Guinea reveals the keen but untrained men who took Australia …show more content…
Propaganda was used as a technique to increase the number of enlistments and was designed to highlight the German atrocities and to create the perception and impression of the “perfect” Australian soldier. The majority of these propaganda’s illustrates a strong bias towards the Germans who were portrayed as the invaders and were dehumanised from Australia’s perception. This imagery contrasted with the patriotism, heroism and idealism of Australians and their soldiers which is why propaganda was so useful to create hatred towards Germany and patriotism to their own country. These emotions were extremely effective in sending men off to war in order to fight with pride and dignity for their “Mother Country”. It is clear that propaganda had an influential role for the enlistment of men during World War