BOOK I-AUSTRALIA at WAR CHAPTER 1 If
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BOOK I-AUSTRALIA AT WAR CHAPTER 1 THE OUTBREAK OF WAR ON the 30th of June, 1914, the Australian daily newspapers contained cablegrams announcing the startling fact that two days previously the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the Archduke Frariz Ferdinand, together with the Archduchess, had been assassiiinted at Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, by a Serbian political desperado. The news was, of course, published under large headlines in the journals. Obviously an important event in world politics had occurred. Some serious consequences might be expected to follow. But nobody in Australia dreamt that this crime committed in the Balkans was of momentous concern for this country. If anyone had suggested that nearly 60,000 men in the prime of life and physical capacity were marked for death, and that 140,000 more would suffer maiming, as a consequence of what had happened at Sarajevo, his prediction would have seemed too absurd for credence. Where was Sarajevo? It is likely that many Australians had never even heard of the place, though memories of a school geography lesson, or study of the map of Europe, may have brought the name to the minds of a few. Shakespeare did not know where Bohemia was: in a stage direction at the head of Act 3, Scene 3, of The IVinter’s Tale, he referred to it as “Bohemia, a desert country near the sea,” though it is an inland country with no seaboard whatever. Where Shakespeare tripped we shall intend no reproach if we assume that Australians were not very well informed about a remote town in a small Balkan state. If we turn over the files of newspapers for the period immediately following the murder of the Archduke, we find 2 AUSTRALIA DURING THE WAR [June-July, I914 that there was nowhere in Australia any premonition of impending calamities. The Sydney Aforiiirrg Herald and the Melbourne Argus on June 30th published leading articles deploring the assassination. The Herald considered that “ the political effect of the vile crime which has inflicted yet another tragedy upon the unlucky house of Hapsburg can as yet be scarcely judged.” The Argus felt that “the position cannot but fill the minds of European statesmen with troubled thoughts.” But the Melbourne Aye made no comment upon the tragedy; that journal was busy with a series of vigorous attacks upon the Defence Department, demanding retrench- ment. There had been an “orgy of military expenditure,” which was wholly unnecessary. The Australian militia and cadet force was sufficient for all contingencies. On July 4th the Age said: We have no foreign armies 011 our borders, armed to the teeth and awaiting an opportunity to spring upon us. If a handful of Boer farmers, ignorant as babes of military discipline, could withstand the whole might of Britain for two years, we can rely with perfect con- fidence on the services of a young nation sedulously taught for seven years all the essentials of military craft. The cadet system is exactly what we want, and our need of any more extensive and ambitious scheme is undiscernible and non-existent In a few days interest in the Austro-Hungarian situation had so far dwindled that news about it appeared under small headlines. Other topics emerged. The local political combat evoked passionate appeals. We turn over the pages of a few files of important daily journals to learn what was occupying the minds of the people. In one leading article we read: “ The fundamental difference between the policies of Liberalism and Labour Socialism ”-and so forth; we can guess the rest. To the full length of a column and a quarter was chronicled the fact that the Australian tennis champion, Mr. Norman Brookes, had just beaten the German tennis champion, Froitzheim, at Wimbledon (July 1st). This was only a contest with rubber balls across a net, but a symbolist might find the incident significant ; and the Australian public at the time thought it a striking event, judging from the space devoted to it. Then, an Australian archbishop was giving hi9 views on the theory of evolution, and theological discussions are, of course, always amusing; almost as good as sport. We July, 19141 THE OUTBREAK OF WAR 3 turn over more pages ; there is news, on July 4th, of the death of Joseph Chamberlain. He was a great imperialist, and people recalled his tough fight with Barton,l Deakin,2 and KingstonS over the right of appeal to the Privy Council. We realise, as we scan the files, that our politicians were “ going it ” hammer and tongs, all over the country; for a general election was in progress, and popular leaders were very busy with the rattling tit-for-tat of party controversy. But, as yet, our guides had nothing more to say about European affairs. They were remote, foreign, unconnected with local interests. If we had only known, the chancelleries were at that time spinning red threads of destiny and the war lords assuring themselves as to the sufficiency of the ammunition- supplies. Soon the challenge would come, and Australia would awaken to the immense and tragic fact that she stood upon the threshold of a new era in her history. So far, however, there was nothing to excite alarm. It was July. The almond trees, heralds of the coming spring while winter still blanched the grass with morning frosts, were white with blossom. At Mildura and Renmark miles of orange groves glowed yellow, with their globes “ blooming ambrosial fruit of vegetable gold.” The peach trees and the apple orchards were beginning to bud. Nearly seventy-eight million sheep and eleven million head of cattle were nibbling the herbage, and the owners of these flocks and herds had some- thing else to think about than foreign politics; for the season had not been good, and gave no promise of improvement. The Commonwealth Statistician, so chary of adjectives, said that it was “dry and disastrous.” In the wheat belt there was the largest area under crop that Australia had ever known-9,65 1,000 acres. Drought conditions made the farmers uneasy; but still, work had to be done, and the optimism of the “ man on the land ” kept him in good hope. Rt. Hon. Sir Edmund Barton G.C.N.G. Prime Minister of Australia ig01/3‘ Senior Puisne Judge, High Couh of Australia, 1g03/ao; of Sydney: 6. Glehe: N.S.W.. 18 Jan., 184~.Died 7 Jan., 1920. ”on. Alfred Deakin. Prime Minister of Australia, 1go3/4 1905/8. and 1go9/10. Chairman of Royal Commn. on Food Supplies and )on Trade and Industry, 1914/16. Barrister-at-law; of South Yarra, Vic.; b. Fitzroy, Vic., 3 Aug., 1856. Died 7 Oct., 1919. ‘Rt. Hon. C. C. Kingston. Premier of S. Aust., 1893/9: C’wealth Minister for Trade and Customs, rg01/3. b. Adelaide, zz Oct., 1850. Died II May, 1908. 3 4 AUSTRALIA DURING THE WAR [July, 1914 Why, indeed, should there be any alarm? There had been rumoiirs of wars before, but nothing in particular had hap- pened. It might be so again. It was a pity that those people in central Europe could not learn to conduct their politics without murder. The papers said that the dead Archduke was a decent sort of man; what a shame to shoot him because he was born to be the heir to an autocratic monarchy! There was something to be said for democratic methods after all, though they were the cause of a terrible lot of talk, especially during elections. So the average Australian might have commented as he went about his business. That looming imminence of war which like a great black cloud had hung over Europe for man) years did not mean a dreadful possibility to him. Australia from the foundation of settlement just over a century and a quarter before this fateful year had never been seriously menaced. She was the only one of the continents wherein the population was homogeneous. No feuds arising from clashing racial elements had ever troubled her peace. In comparison with other countries she had basked in unruffled security There was a period, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when it seemed that the possession of the entire continent by British people might be challenged, but the danger passed almost as soon as it was mooted. A few “war scares” aroused mild excitement from time to time. During the Criniean War there was a temporary fear that the Russians might swoop down upon one of the coastal cities, and some volunteer regiments were hastily enrolled. Their training provided mild physical exercise and taught the use of the rifle. But it was always apparent that a land two-thirds as large as Europe could not be held by military means by a sparse and scattered population. The integrity of Australia was guaranteed by the strength of the British Navy. Every citizen knew that the ramparts of his home and interests were afloat, and that as long as the fleet maintained the security of the seas his country and his commerce alike were safe. A comparison between the history of federations in other parts of the world, and that of Australia, presents a striking illustration of the peaceful progress which had characterised July 19141 THE OUTBREAK OF WAR 5 the formation of Australian institutions. It has been the rule throughout history that federations have emanated from wars. The unity of the several states into which the Italian peninsula was divided resulted from a series of wars, with which Cavour, Garibaldi, and Victor Emmanuel of Sardinia were associated.