Interview with Maurie Jones (When the war came to Australia)

Mr Fields was a boy of twelve when war broke out. He discusses the knowledge of war gained by the civilian population: the phoney war; knowledge of the Nazis from refugees; heard the Nuremburg rally on shortwave radio. Mr Jones' father became a full-time officer in the Civil Defence Corps. The population became very scared at the fall of Singapore and as the Pacific war progressed. They expected Western Australia to be invaded. Children were sent to the country, and people were expected to keep a "stiff upper lip". Mr Jones mentions stereotypes of the Japanese and Chinese. He discusses Japanese atrocities-sinking the Centaur hospital ship, the railway, Changi. He mentions the strategies and attitudes of the population in the event of invasion. He discusses air raid shelters, the appearance of the cities, children's games, the war effort, rationing, childrens' war effort. Mr Jones recounts the sudden reappearance of Australian trrops from the Middle East, it was a relief for the population. He states that American currency was considered legal tender. He comments on relations between Australian and American troops. Propaganda was unrelenting, and American films were particularly good at this. He mentions that the population of Western Australia felt betrayed and abandoned by the government due to the Brisbane Line. There was no road across the Nullabor and the Trans Australia Railway was for military use only. Mr Jones describes Christmas under austerity and the tedium between events happening during the war. He mentions the reactions of people to the atomic bomb. He mentions VP Day- 15th August-100,000 people were in the streets of Perth, everyone was dancing. He gives his impressions of John Curtin- he was considered a hero because he had beaten Churchill. He discusses the role of wireless-serials, news. ABC changed its theme from a British one to an Australian one, after the fall of Singapore. Mr Jones mentions peoples' expectations after the war and predictions of lifestyles. Mr Jones comments that war affects you by making you cynical, anti-war. He also comments on the rumour of Australia becoming the 49th state of the United States.