On the home front : Melbourne in wartime, 1939-1945

 

Author: Kate Darian- Smith

Citation: Darian-Smith, Kate. On the home front : Melbourne in wartime, 1939-1945, Australia : Melbourne University Press, 2009.
Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Press
Summary:  Melbourne during the Second World War was a city that underwent dramatic changes. This book by Kate Darian-Smith, who is a professor of Australian studies and history at the University of Melbourne, chronicles its transformation. It was a time when the people of the city were bracing for an invasion by the Japanese and the government was preparing for that accordingly (through fortifications such as trenches for instance). It was a time that would see the formation of a Security Service, paving the way for ASIO to be established in Melbourne after the war had concluded. Moreover, it was a time when Melbournian citizens were coming to grips with evolving sensibilities, the prospect of gambling and the rowdiness that only thousands of off-duty American soldiers could bring.  This all culminates in a work that the publisher Penguin Books refers to as a "classic and evocative study of Melbourne in wartime."

Time Period(s): World War II

External Links:

Publisher's page
https://www.mup.com.au/books/9780522856835-on-the-home-front

Goodreads page
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3255011-on-the-home-front