Interview with Alan McMillan (When the war came to Australia)

Alan McMillan worked on the wharves during the depression and the war. The dockyards and wharves were classed as protected industries, along with painters, ironworkers, shipwrights, joiners and carpenters. The union was strong because of the large membership of painters and dockers. Bob Menzies started economic conscriptions. Joining the army guaranteed a wage of five bob a day, and a cancellation of all substantial debts. Work on the dockyards and wharves provided an income and protection from conscription. A black market existed at the wharves although security was tight. Alan described the relationship between the Australian wharfies and the Yankee soldiers, stating that fighting occurred more in the pubs than at the docks. Alan also described the panic when the Japanese midgets entered the harbour. Life when the war ended was not easy because many of the returning soldiers could not adjust to civilian life. It was difficult to explain the differences of hardship between those who stayed at home and the men who had returned.