Media: BOOK - paperback, 206 pages
Author: R. Williams
Year: 2021
ISBN: 9780648771692
Other: 2nd ed.
Publisher: Boom Books

What happened in Australia back in 1940? Most people aren't likely to remember.

Ron Williams has created this series to record the events that made news in Australia year-by-year. Each volume in the series describes the happenings that affected people, real people, and is designed to make you remember and wonder at things you'd forgotten or didn't know about. They're also designed to get the older (and younger) generations talking about the past to rediscover heritage that otherwise would be forgotten. 

So what did make news in 1940? In 1940, the Brits thought the War would be a picnic, but they changed their mind after military disasters in Norway, Belgium and Tobruk. German subs were filling the Channel with British shipping, and the Frogs stopped hopping. Then the Hun parked their planes full-time over London, and Blitzed it. But, against all odds, the Poms survived. In Oz, the first Menzies Government rationed food, clothing, petrol, smokes and shirt tails. It introduced conscription for men, internment for Italian men, and stopped the use of pink icing on cakes. Photography was suspect, strikes were almost treasonable. Amid all this, Contemporary Art was blossoming, and doing its bit to destroy Australian culture.

Please note this book is filled with articles from the year, not photographs, 

Contents:
Introduction to the Series
Evacuation of Public Servants
British War Orphans
Punch-ups in Sydney's Domain
What were People at home Doing?
For Owners of Draft Horses
Jingoism is Growing
Communism in Australia
War on the Western Front
Attitudes in Oz
Brits on their Own
The Fall of France: A British View
Postpone the Elections
The Battle Hots Up
A Delayed Response on Sheepskins
The Blitz of Lomdon
The Oz Federal Election
Hitler Looks Elsewhere
What is Contemporary Art?
What's on in Greyhound Circles?
Italy Joins the Party
The Melbourne Cup
The End of a Tough Year
Oz Politics on the Nose
Summing up 1940 in Oz