Depicting the war at home

At home in Australia, great sums of money were raised by civilians for the 'war effort'. Concerts and fairs were organised, and buttons such as these were sold. The symbols and slogans reflect some of the ways that the war was being depicted for the audience at home.

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"When flag-days and button-days became common, one of us might be shamed into paying a shilling for a button; when we got home, it was passed on to someone else going out and the single outlay might be enough for two or three of us"

Brian Lewis: Our War: Australia during World War 1.
Melbourne, 1980, p.86

To think about:

1. What do these buttons suggest about the ways in which Australians were being encouraged to think about the war and their part in it?
2. What other images of the 'war effort' were visible on the home front?

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Glossary of Terms

Depicting the War at Home

Depicting the War on Canvas