AIA105 - Visions of Australia: Time and Space from 1700 to 2000
Assessment 3: Research Essay (40%)
Anna Bright
216088083
Question 11: Were the hardships of the Depression in Australia a ‘myth’ Why/why not?
In Australia The Great Depression occurred between the years of 1929–32. It is said by many to be a time of extreme hardship. According to Evans, (2006, p. 5) ‘the Australian society reacted to the depression with confusion, anger and a search for someone to blame’. However, some researchers believe that this time period was not as bad as what the statistics tell us, stating that perhaps the hardships are a myth. Potts, David is one of those researchers who calls the Great Depression ‘a modern myth’ (Potts, 2009, p. 331)
‘The Great Depression’ …show more content…
90), even at the worst times in the depression, about 75% of people held some sort of employment status. However, many people called themselves unemployed, and were making an income in other ways that would escape the statistics and allow them to receive the doll (Potts, 2009, p. 96). A common form of unemployment was work that was on and off, for example seasonal work. This included jobs such as fruit picking, just working a few days at their old job or causal work. Nevertheless, this was not seen as ‘work’ by the men as it was not consistent and did not provided a continuous, constant income, therefore, these people deemed themselves unemployed (Potts, 2009, p. 96). In addition, when were asked by census/the government they choose not to report their work as they did not want to lose their doll payments and to avoid paying income tax (Potts, 2009, p. 96). Further, some of the poorer people received assistance from their relatives and the wider community, however not all affluent people helped, according to Potts, (2009, p. 93) many people turned their backs on desperately poor relatives and focused on getting …show more content…
This hardship is evident through the high levels of crime including; prostitution, theft, shoplifting and cheating the dole. The prostitution market was popular, causing the prices to drop, thus women were not receiving great return for this kind of service (Potts, 2009, p. 102). A rise in crime highlights the extreme struggles and measures individuals felt that they needed to go to in order to receive some money to ‘survive’. In addition to prostitution, women bartered sex to offset rental arrears or debt (Potts, 2009, p. 103). Further, theft rose by 20% and involved stealing of basic needs such as food and clothing, therefore illustrating the struggle for basic survival essentials (Potts, 2009, p. 104). In addition, many people choose to illegally cheat the dole, as the reward was higher than most other crimes as it was regular, thus significantly helping families with low incomes however felt humiliated by the fact that they were receiving welfare (Potts, 2009, p. 105 & Potts, 2009, p.
Assessment 3: Research Essay (40%)
Anna Bright
216088083
Question 11: Were the hardships of the Depression in Australia a ‘myth’ Why/why not?
In Australia The Great Depression occurred between the years of 1929–32. It is said by many to be a time of extreme hardship. According to Evans, (2006, p. 5) ‘the Australian society reacted to the depression with confusion, anger and a search for someone to blame’. However, some researchers believe that this time period was not as bad as what the statistics tell us, stating that perhaps the hardships are a myth. Potts, David is one of those researchers who calls the Great Depression ‘a modern myth’ (Potts, 2009, p. 331)
‘The Great Depression’ …show more content…
90), even at the worst times in the depression, about 75% of people held some sort of employment status. However, many people called themselves unemployed, and were making an income in other ways that would escape the statistics and allow them to receive the doll (Potts, 2009, p. 96). A common form of unemployment was work that was on and off, for example seasonal work. This included jobs such as fruit picking, just working a few days at their old job or causal work. Nevertheless, this was not seen as ‘work’ by the men as it was not consistent and did not provided a continuous, constant income, therefore, these people deemed themselves unemployed (Potts, 2009, p. 96). In addition, when were asked by census/the government they choose not to report their work as they did not want to lose their doll payments and to avoid paying income tax (Potts, 2009, p. 96). Further, some of the poorer people received assistance from their relatives and the wider community, however not all affluent people helped, according to Potts, (2009, p. 93) many people turned their backs on desperately poor relatives and focused on getting …show more content…
This hardship is evident through the high levels of crime including; prostitution, theft, shoplifting and cheating the dole. The prostitution market was popular, causing the prices to drop, thus women were not receiving great return for this kind of service (Potts, 2009, p. 102). A rise in crime highlights the extreme struggles and measures individuals felt that they needed to go to in order to receive some money to ‘survive’. In addition to prostitution, women bartered sex to offset rental arrears or debt (Potts, 2009, p. 103). Further, theft rose by 20% and involved stealing of basic needs such as food and clothing, therefore illustrating the struggle for basic survival essentials (Potts, 2009, p. 104). In addition, many people choose to illegally cheat the dole, as the reward was higher than most other crimes as it was regular, thus significantly helping families with low incomes however felt humiliated by the fact that they were receiving welfare (Potts, 2009, p. 105 & Potts, 2009, p.