Night recreation at a Civil Constructional Corps camp

Formed in February 1942, the Civil Constructional Corps (CCC) was responsible for supplying civilian labour on construction projects such as docks, aerodromes, roads, gun emplacements, hospitals, fuel storage depots, pipelines and factories. In 1943, the Allied Works Council (AWC) commissioned William Dobell to document its wartime construction activities. Dobell was already employed by the CCC as a labourer and camouflage artist. He visited the aerodromes at Bankstown and Rathmines, Garden Island (Western Australia), Kalgoorlie, Perth and the Sydney graving dock during his commission. The recreation hall here reflects the congenial atmosphere of night time activities of the Corps. Dobell uses the small scale and a singular source of golden light to draw the viewer into a crowded, smoky and rowdy recreation hall.