Interview with Bill Graham and stills (When the war came to Australia)

Mr Graham remembers the announcement of war as an exciting, mysterious event. No-one believed that the war would go for long. In his opinion, Australia didn't understand the implication of war until the 8th Division was lost in Singapore. Japan was looked on as inferior, Germany was respected.Mr Graham attempted to enlist, and was sent back to the farm to provide food supplies. Mr Graham mentions VP day, he listened to the Prime Minister's announcement on the radio. In Mr Graham's opinion it was a long, costly war in lives and resources. It was a just war from the beginning.Mr Graham comments that people learnt to mistrust bureaucracy and official announcements, eg with the fall of Singapore. The attitude to Britain was one of great attachment, it was the mother country. Britain turned out to be the great loser in the war, with reconstruction etc. Australia fared well economically- wheat and wool prices went up. Mr Graham comments that the affect of the Depression on Australia prior to the war was very traumatic- families worried about where the money was to come from- the situation was very conducive to the development of communism.