AUSTRALIA AT WAR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 August 1943, Page 2

AUSTRALIA AT WAR

820,500 MEN IN ARMED SERVICES 70 PER CENT VOLUNTEERS. AVAILABLE FOR SERVICE ANYWHERE. (Special Australian Correspondent.) (Received This Day. 9.55 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. Since Japan entered the war, 73 per cent of the Australian Government’s war factories have been established in country districts or arc being built there. This is revealed by a Commonwealth Department of Information report which states that there 36 munitions factories in the country las against 15 in the capital cities. Ma-chine-tool production has increased to such an extent that Australia is now producing three for every one obtained from overseas. Australia’s manpower is claimed to be fully mobilised. From a total of 2,816.000 males over fourteen years of age 2,518,000 are either fighting, doing direct war jobs or in civilian employment. Of the 820,500 in the armed services, 70 per cent have volunteered to fight anywhere in the world. This is equivalent (on a population basis) to a United States overseas force of 10,000,000. Australian women number slightly more than a quarter of the total workers in the whole field of war production, both Government and private. By June, 194-3, the Australian -Army had suffered 51,644 casualties, comprising 2.838 officers and 48,806 of other ranks. The number killed was 8,493. The Allied Works Council has in hand a programme of authorised works totalling £82,000,000 and an intake of fresh work exceeding £1,000,000 weekly.