Interview with Dorothy Hewett and stills (When the war came to Australia)

Mrs Hewett was sixteen at the outbreak of war. She became a pacifist and clashed with her father who was an Anzac. She joined the Communist Party at the age of nineteen as a rebellious act. She comments that Australian - American relations were very bad between the servicemen but it was played down a lot. She adds that the American servicemen played havoc among the women and girls in a conservative society like Perth in the 1940s. Mrs Hewett remarks that the black servicemen felt very isolated stayed in groups. The Japanese were hated by the Australian troops and stereo types of the Japanese were common among the population. She discusses the concept of the Brisbane Line and says that the populace expected to be invaded by the Japanese after Broome and Darwin were bombed. The world wars did a tremendous amount for the liberation of women - equal pay and a wider variety of jobs. It was absolutely necessary for the running of the country that women should work. Mrs Hewett comments that women became the heads of the family, and the absent fathers had very had little relationship with the children, therefore little feeling of family. Consequently, many marriages broke up. She comments on rationing and the black market. Censorship included private mail. At the close of the war people were drained, weary of restrictions, strain, uncertainty of the men returning, families alone, struggle for foodstuffs, clothing, and shoes for children. Mrs Hewett comments on problems concerning abortion. She remarks that General MacArthur was unpopular - very egotistical. Her impressions of the war were that she matured faster than she would of in peacetime. She joined the Communist Party and the war affected her writing and poetry. Many people had the attitude of living for the moment - this resulted in liberation and licence in lives in Perth. The effect on Australia was that what happened in the rest of the world does affect Australia. We changed our allegiance from Britain to America - the general feeling was that they did save Australia from the Japanese. This was partly because Churchill considered us expendable. Women's role changed - many returned to being housewives but many didn't and many had a different view of their role in society from then on. Mrs Hewett comments that the previous tight Victorian morality began to ease up and less racism was evident due to the numbers of refugees. Difficulties after the war included little housing, high rents, rationing, pre-war jobs not available. Mrs Hewett mentions the holocaust and the general attitude. She also comments on war brides.