Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This black-and-white clip is from a 1943 Australian Government-sponsored film from the Second World War. It combines the stories of a young woman working in a munitions factory on the home front and her serviceman boyfriend, who is posted overseas. The woman talks to camera about the efforts of women workers and servicewomen towards an Allied victory. Her boyfriend describes battles of the Australian Navy in different theatres of the War. The clip is intercut with actual wartime footage.

Educational value points

• This clip conveys the message of a strong relationship between the home front and active service by depicting the sacrifices to the Australian war effort made by women production workers such as Gwennie and servicemen such as Bill. In 1943 the Japanese advance in the Pacific was pressuring Australia to increase production of essential war supplies, requiring more workers – mainly women, as men were required for active service.

• Women both volunteered and were directed to perform a variety of roles in the war effort, and were often required to make personal sacrifices. Brought into factories by the Government to perform essential work, they often undertook the same tasks as men, such as making munitions and assembling engines, driving trucks and working on farms. Many women undertook war work while raising families and maintaining households, often with partners in active service.

• Women enlisted in all branches of the armed services, providing essential support and performing a variety of military tasks such as intelligence work, operating searchlights, fixing planes and driving trucks. While precautions were taken to prevent women from fighting and to keep them from the dangers of active service, a number of nurses in particular were caught in battle, killed in action or captured as prisoners of war, especially during the Malaya campaign (Dec 1941 – Feb 1942).

• Contrary to Gwennie’s carefree approach in the clip, the reality of working in a munitions factory involved intense concentration and awareness of the volatility of the materials used to make explosive devices. Gwennie is presented talking to camera in a tailored suit and hat, casually pouring TNT into canisters. In reality, the uniformed women on the factory assembly lines worked with the dangerous materials in silence and with precision.

• Bill is used in the clip to emphasise the significant involvement of the Royal Australian Navy in the Mediterranean and other areas of conflict in the War. His enthusiastic description of the heroism displayed in famous battles includes descriptions of the sinking of HMAS Waterhen and HMAS Sydney, whose entire crew was lost – perhaps inadvertently presenting a message that the Government did not intend at the time.

• Different film techniques are used to elicit the viewer’s appreciation of the civilian war effort and the valiant battles of the Australian Navy by showing Gwennie making the shells that Bill may fire. Gwen’s face-to-camera narration is intercut with actuality footage of women working on factory assembly lines, showing their important war work. Her romantic interlude with Bill, supported by actual footage of naval battles, highlights the Navy’s bravery and sacrifice.