Why Did Australia Join the First World War?
Although the First World War was seen as a European War, Australia became involved due to 3 main reasons. There were many minor reasons such as mateship and poverty, however it was these three reasons - the loyalty towards Britain, the improvement of Australia's international reputation and the need for strategic purposes that caused Australia to join such a devastating war.Firstly, the loyalty to the "mother country" was one of the main reasons why Australians were so eager to enlist. Australia at that time felt a sentiment attachment to Britain, and the use of terms such as "Mother England" or "the Greatest Empire in the World" was a sure indication of the feelings towards the "Mother Country." Private A.J. McSparrow is one of the many examples that enlisted because he felt that it was his duty to support the "mother country" and quotes, "I have (enlisted) ... and I don't regret it in the very least. I believe that it is every young fellow's duty." Additionally, the Australian census of 1911 revealed that ninety-six percent of the population was British
Consequently, the Australians believed the war as the homeland's first chance to show the rest of the world, what Australians were really made of, how they had developed as a nation and prove their braveness on the fighting fields of Europe, on the international stage. Therefore, this illustrates why the improvement of the nation's international reputation was one of the main reasons Australians traveled so far to participate in a war. Australia had two main strategic reasons to join the First World War, the first to maintain healthy relations with "Great and powerful friends" and the other was to stabilize the "Forward Defense" strategy. Being the only European settlement in the Pacific/Asian region, Australia had sought to find "Great and Powerful Friends", so that it could rely on Australia's allies to protect the homeland, while at the process spend less on protection and increase the prosperity of the country. born, hence it was little wonder then that Australia was so eager to support Britain when World War 1 broke out.
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Approximate Word count = 716
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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