Maxine McKew (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education and Child Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the last two months there has been much recognition and commemoration of the men and women who served and sacrificed themselves to defend our nation during World War II. I would like this morning to add a tribute to those women who are not always remembered with that honoured group—I refer to the Australian Women’s Land Army, active from 1942 to 1945.

For the duration of the war, the Australian Women’s Land Army consisted of between 2½ thousand and 4,000 women. Some were as young as 16. They volunteered and were recruited to work the farms and factories left empty while men were off at war. They served and sacrificed themselves so that production and management on the home front continued. The Australian Women’s Land Army functioned in military style and precision. The women were supervised by land army matrons. They wore uniforms, they were rotated around a number of manual tasks, they lived in dormitories, they were assigned leave passes and they were confined to barracks for undisciplined behaviour. It was, in every sense, an army. An initial six-month probation period determined their ability to manage the intensely physical task at hand.

These women never served overseas, nor were they required to wield a weapon, a pen or a bandage, but their strenuous physical work was essential to the war effort. If our farms had failed, so too would our fighting forces. These women made sure that Australian civilians and the armed forces continued to eat.

Mrs Peggy Williams, a Bennelong constituent, is the President of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Women’s Land Army. She was recruited at the age of 16½. I am inspired by the stories that she has told me of the Land Army. Peggy is one of many women who believed it was her patriotic duty to feed the troops—a task more important than the sprained ankles, the aching muscles, the broken ribs and the sheer exhaustion which resulted from the demanding physical labour of primary industry. Her stories detail wonderful camaraderie, strength, determination and a lot of fun as well. I salute Peggy’s efforts and the efforts of all members of the Australian Women’s Land Army.

An important point of history is that, in 1942, Prime Minister John Curtin recommended that the Australian Women’s Land Army be recognised as the fourth service. The War Cabinet gave its approval in 1943, but unfortunately the Land Army was not formally constituted under the national security regulations until 1945 and, thus, never validated by parliament. The end of the war brought demobilisation of the Women’s Land Army and the abandonment of the service recognition recommendation. Members of the Land Army have campaigned long and hard for the recognition of their efforts, and it remains unforthcoming. But to date their struggles have gained the opportunity to march on Anzac Day, the opportunity to join the RSL in 1991 and access to the Civilian Service Medal. In 1944, Prime Minister John Curtin stated, ‘Freedom is a condition that has to be bought and paid for’, and the Land Army has done that. (Time expired)