Interview with Niall Brennan and stills (When the war came to Australia)

Niall Brennan started at the Melbourne University in 1936. The student population divided themselves under loyal imperialists or Australia as an independant country. Pacificism and social justice were key issues. An Australia First party developed and gained momentum when aggression was shown between Japan and America. Niall felt that Australia's non-involvement changed after the year of Hitler's Blitzkrieg and the fall of France. Niall was a pacifist. He was exempted from the service for compassionate reasons, so was recruited as a clerk for the Department of War Organisation of Industry. The work involved controlling the building and manufacturing of goods for civilian use. Deadman was Minister for the department. Niall believed the minister held socialist views, but was not aware of the real needs of the civilians. A lot of people profited from positions in this department. Clothing and fabric was one area, and women were mostly disadvantaged by decisions made by the department. Macarthur's presence in Australia showed subtle support that Australia would back America in the war against Japan. There was hostility towards the American soldiers because of their uniforms, money and girls' interest in them. Damian Perez films from the war front in the years of 1942, 1943 and 1944 became popular because of the factual content.