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Cartoons of the Moment – Miss Australasia (c.1915)

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National service education content clip 1, 2

This clip chosen to be G

Clip description

This clip begins with text outlining Colonel Cameron’s suggestion on returning from the Dardanelles that Australia should introduce compulsory national service. A white outline of Australia and New Zealand is turned sideways to form the head of a caricatured Australian soldier standing next to a sign pointing towards Turkey. The caption reads ‘if the call comes, every man will take his turn cheerfully’.

Curator’s notes

by Poppy De Souza

At the outbreak of the First World War, a large number of Australians voluntarily enlisted to serve on the front-line. However, as the war went on, troop numbers declined and casualties increased, bringing the issue of compulsory national service to the political fore. Compulsory national service, or conscription, was put to a referendum (and defeated) by the Hughes Government in 1916. This edition of Cartoons of the Moment probably dates from 1915 when Colonel Cameron returned to Australia.

Teacher’s notes

provided by The Le@rning FederationEducation Services Australia

This black-and-white cartoon uses simple animation and captions to support the introduction of conscription of Australian men to fight in the First World War. The cartoon opens with words from Colonel Cameron supporting compulsory national service. The outline of Australia and New Zealand on a black background appears with the caption 'IF THE CALL COMES EVERY MAN WILL TAKE HIS TURN CHEERFULLY’ and a signpost 'TO TURKEY’. The outline of Australia revolves as Tasmania and New Zealand realign to create the head of a smiling man.

Educational value points

  • The clip shows how a political cartoon can use the language of persuasion for propaganda purposes in wartime. A message from a war hero, a reminder of the recent deadly conflict at Gallipoli in Turkey inflicting death and injury on Australian soldiers, the outline of the Australian nation that transmutes into the head of a smiling Australian man are all conveyed through words and simple graphics to provide a patriotic argument in favour of compulsory national service.
  • The signpost to Turkey conveys an appeal to Australian nationalism at a time when a new national consciousness had arisen out of Australia’s first major involvement in wartime conflict in the Dardanelles. The susceptibility of the audience’s feelings of pride and patriotism at the memory of this conflict is deliberately being manipulated by the cartoonist to evoke support for compulsory national service.
  • Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril St Clair Cameron (1857–1941) promoted the adoption of conscription after he was invalided back to Australia from Gallipoli in late 1915. He had earlier been instrumental in Australia adopting a universal military training scheme in the early years of the 20th century when he was elected to the Senate, representing Tasmania in the first Australian Parliament in 1901.
  • The clip provides one of the earliest examples of Australian animated political cartoons seen widely by Australian audiences. The cartoonist Harry Julius (1885–1938) was employed to produce a weekly segment shown as part of Australasian Gazette newsreels from about 1914 to 1918. The tradition of Australian political cartooning began in the print media in 1835 and was continued by The Bulletin magazine, first published in 1880.
  • The style of the cartoonist Harry Julius is evident in this animated cartoon. Having learnt his skills at the Sydney Art School and then in advertising, it has been claimed that he was the first Australian artist to create animated cartoons for the cinema. In these cartoons he showed his skill in combining black-and-white graphics, simple animation and clever captions to convey his message. The artist’s hand features in many of his cartoons, writing captions or sketching.