With the rapid escalation of the Pacific War in 1942, Queenslanders suddenly found themselves perilously close to the frontline, especially those in the far north. The book is based on interviews of men and women who worked their farms in the north, some of them Italians and Germans who were interned as enemy aliens. Nevertheless, the book is essentially a story of courage, of community spirit and neighbourliness, and of the public and private war effort of a community facing crisis and loss.
From the American military presence and its effect on women, to the controversial issues of internment, enforced labour and food and clothing shortages, Australia’s Frontline: Remembering the 1939-45 War looks at how people survived. What emerges is the community spirit and neighbourliness of the people who stayed at home, and the extraordinary public and private war effort as the community rose to the occasion in the face of crisis.
