Of the 330,000 Aussies who had volunteered for service overseas 61,928 lay dead and 152,171 had been wounded.
Australian War Cemetery Villers-Bretonneux, France (Wikimedia Commons)Yet, what happened to many of our veterans on their return is one of the saddest episodes of our history.
The Australia Diggers returned to in 1919 was facing recession. Many of the Diggers were discharged directly into unemployment.
Not surprisingly, the young soldiers became extremely embittered by the failure of their country to do more for them after they had given so much.
There were no less than 20 serious riots around the country when veterans voiced their displeasure. In a world that was still reeling from the aftermath of the War and the Russian Revolution the State and Federal Governments finally acted to correct their oversight.
Some veterans benefited from training programs to teach them new skills and trades.
Others would be compensated by a shiny new scheme called “Soldier Settlement”. Diggers would be settled on farms around the various states for a “nominal” fee that they could repay over time and they would be given low interest loans to help them get established.
Not surprisingly, thousands of Diggers leapt at the chance to build themselves a future.
Soldier Settler Temporary camp (NSW State Records Office)Firstly, most were city slickers with no understanding of farming. Australia had a proud history of “bushmen” and the outback, but in fact by 1900 Australia was the most urbanised nation in the world.
Soldier Settlers clearing land near Mullumbimby (NSW State Records Office)Then the land that was distributed to the Diggers was either: poor quality land that had been largely ignored by earlier settlers; or going concerns that were split up to provide farms for multiple Soldier Settlers. In almost every case this meant that the veterans were given parcels of land that were never likely to be practicable farms.
Finally, the Australian climate is extremely variable. The normal farming cycle is several good years followed by several years of drought. Experienced farmers could (and still do) make a go of it by preparing for bad years during the good years. In most cases the Diggers had neither the skills or resources to survive the first period of drought which began by 1922.
A couple of quotes from NSW state records are typical of the experience of Soldier Settlers.
“We cannot carry on to make enough to keep our wives and family.” Stan Walker 1923.
“As it has been a very dry year here, the water has given out and the cattle are dying.” Clarence Faulkner 1922.
On 13 November 1924, the Police Constable at Ashford reported that Faulkner’s whereabouts were unknown. Clarence Faulkner was one of hundreds of soldier settlers who in the end deserted their holdings.
By 1939 in each state of Australia between 60 and 70% of soldier settlers had left the land, many leaving with debts they could never repay.
These men had in most cases been through unbelievable hardship during the war. More than half of those who returned had been wounded.
Australia repaid many of these men with years more of toil, ending in heartbreak and poverty.
