PART THREE Chapter Five Hope For many former members of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) after World War I, life on the land on a small poultry or vegetable block in company with other returned men represented more than just a return to civilian life. It was hope – hope that the horrors of war could be erased, hope that the emerging new world would be more prosperous, and hope that their lives would be re-built through their own enterprise of land ownership. For a considerable number of men on these group settlements it was also their last hope. Expectations of success were, therefore, high in the beginning on these settlements. The previous chapters of this thesis have outlined the settlements’ origins and establishment and some of the issues facing settlers, such as poor quality land, stock or crops. These difficulties made earning a living from small acreages more arduous than the men had been led to believe and they often soon found themselves with little income and a massive debt. In addition to the problems of flooding and inferior land, badly constructed homes, poor communication systems, and isolation for themselves and their families, most of the men had war-related disabilities to contend with. In spite of all these challenges, these soldier settlers attempted to re-adapt to civilian life and to build a sustainable community as part of a group soldier settlement. To support the argument of this thesis that most soldier settlers on the six group settlements in this study returned from World War I service physically and mentally 180 scarred, leaving them with long-term or permanent disabilities, a number of primary sources have been used to build a picture of how they struggled to make a living after the war. National Archives service records of all servicemen and women who served in the AIF in World War I are now digitised, giving researchers ready access to many facets of a serviceman’s time in the military, and have provided valuable information about injuries, recovery periods and the experiences of service personnel. 1 Combined with information contained in archival records of the Returned Soldiers’ Settlement Branch (RSSB) of the New South Wales Department of Lands and personal case files from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, for the first time a comprehensive picture of why so many men were unsuccessful as soldier settlers can be made. 2 Although previous studies of soldier settlement have acknowledged that a returned man’s health often impacted on his success, thereby providing further evidence for the central argument of this thesis, the focus of Chapters Five and Six, ‘Hope’ and ‘Despair’, is to prove that these men were largely unsuccessful because of their war-related disabilities. 3 1 National Archives of Australia: Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B2455 , First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers 1914-1920. 2 New South Wales State Records: Department of Lands, Returned Soldier Settlement Loan Files , NRS 8058; NAA: Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Branch Office, New South Wales; C138, Personal case files, single number series (Australian, 1914-1918 War) 3 See, for example, M. Lake, The Limits of Hope. Soldier Settlement in Victoria 1915-38 , Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1987, pp. 60-63, R. Sparkes, ‘ “Forty Acres and a Crow” A Comparison of Soldier Settlement in Australia after the Two World Wars’, M.A. (Hons) Thesis, University of New England, 1996, p. 10, p. 90; K. Frost, ‘Soldier Settlement after World War I in South-Western Victoria’, PhD Thesis, Deakin University, 2002, p. 107; L.J. Pryor, ‘The Origins of Australia’s Repatriation Policy’, M.A. Thesis, University of Melbourne, 1932, p. 226 noted that for many returned men who became soldier settlers ‘their experiences, their temperamental and physical disabilities often rendered them quite unsuitable’. 181 This chapter argues that in spite of their war-related injuries, the majority of group soldier settlers in the County of Cumberland worked hard to make a success of their civilian life as farmers. They saw soldier settlement as their opportunity to own their own land, to be their own boss, and were determined to make it work. This chapter will clearly show that soldier settlers on these group settlements initiated, and were participants in, many community activities and events aimed at contributing to the success of group settlements in the greater Sydney region. These men wanted to succeed and, at the outset, believed they could. This chapter focuses on government assistance through training, forming co-operatives to help settlers minimise costs and maximise profits, then moves to examine a range of community and associated institutions such as progress associations, poultry clubs, lobby groups and support groups, in addition to providing an insight into the essential role women had assisting their husbands work their block. Bankstown Soldier Settlers Source: State Library of New South Wales PXB 397 182 The New South Wales government also expected that this type of soldier settlement would develop its own strong community, believing inexperienced returned men would readily be prepared to help one another. 4 A range of government propaganda publications prepared for the returning forces were engineered to influence returned men’s decisions for their life after demobilisation. The men believed they would be well looked-after in civilian life. For example, Repatriation , the Commonwealth government’s magazine, reported enthusiastically on the success of Bankstown Soldier Settlement. 5 These reports encouraged returned men to apply for soldier settlement, giving them hope they could achieve a secure future in civilian life. For many ex-servicemen, these positive reports in a journal dedicated to assisting returned men reassimilate into the community, assured them that they would be successful soldier settlers. It was logical to believe that if returned men at Bankstown Soldier Settlement were doing well a short time after its establishment, other poultry settlements would have similar results. No effort has been spared to give the men a good start, and as the majority of the settlers are showing aptitude and industry, the Department looks forward to seeing the men firmly established, and not only making a comfortable living but adding to the primary production, and, therefore, to the welfare and prosperity of the State. 6 4 NAA : Repatriation Department; A2487 , Correspondence files, annual single number series, 1918- 1929 , 1919/5467, Land Settlement – Details of State Governments Measures and Schemes. In this undated document from the New South Wales government, the benefits of group settlements included, ‘The principle of Group Settlements and the consequent creation of community interests and ambitions is particularly applicable to settlers who have not had any, or only partial previous experience in farming and who are not provided with capital other than the financial assistance offered by the Government’. 5 Repatriation, 25 August 1919, p. 13. 6 ibid. 183 Furthermore, returned men were informed poultry from Bankstown was of premium quality and ‘the excellent prices realised for the returned men’s birds should encourage them in their venture, which should be a profitable undertaking’. 7 As Bankstown was the first group soldier settlement in the greater Sydney region, as discussed in the previous chapter, it received considerable publicity and was used by the government as a demonstration farm to highlight the good work and advantages of this type of soldier settlement in New South Wales. Bankstown Soldier Settlement also attracted high profile visitors, boosting morale amongst the settlers. General Sir William Birdwood and Lady Birdwood, accompanied by the Governor and other dignitaries visited Bankstown Soldier Settlement in April 1920. 8 Prime Minister Billy Hughes, ‘the little digger’, also visited the settlement. During the Prince of Wales’ visit to Sydney in May and June 1920, ex-servicemen from Bankstown Soldier Settlement were proudly chosen to provide poultry to Government House. 9 Settlers were convinced of both community interest and support to help them become successful in their new careers. It confirmed to them that Australians recognised the sacrifices they had made, and that Australian society would help them be part of a land fit for heroes as promised. Many soldier settlers on the settlements in this study came to their block of land and lived there with their wife and family, often for more than a year, before a home was 7 ibid. 8 The Sydney Morning Herald , 10 April 1920, p. 13; SMH , 12 April 1920, p. 1; L. Beckett, ‘The 75 th Anniversary of Milperra: 1917-1992’, Bankstown Historical Society and Bankstown City Council, August 1993, p. 6. 9 L. Beckett, ibid . 184 built. 10 It is a measure of the hope these returned men had, that in spite of their physical and psychological conditions as a result of the war, they were willing to endure living under canvas in temporary housing to realise a better life for themselves and their families. Conditions were tough, living in uncleared scrub, enduring summer and winter weather extremes. As a newspaper later noted, ‘a man who will live in a tent, or take his wife and family into the corner of a brooder and live there with 500 chickens to keep him company until he was flooded out the while he waited for a home to be built, must be given credit for an attempt to make good’. 11 Bankstown Soldier Settlement – temporary home. Unnamed family. Source: courtesy Bankstown City Library No. 1076. The story of the Anson family illustrates this hope of achieving a good living on a small soldier settlement block close to Sydney. Robert Arthur Anson, his wife Helena 10 L. Beckett, ‘The History of Bankstown Soldier Settlement’ Part 2, Bankstown Historical Society Journal , Vol. 21, No. 4, October 1987, p.