AUSTRALIA AT WAR
AUSTRALIA IN ‘THE WAR OF 1939-1945: THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PEOPLE, 1939-1941, by Paul Hasluck; published by the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australian price 30/-. "HIS is the first volume of two dealing with social and political happenings in Australia during the 1939-45 war. It ends with the entry of Japan in 1941. Though it is an official history it was not given official scrutiny or censorship. The author, who has been journalist, university lecturer, diplomat (and now M.P. and Minister of State), was given "unrestricted access to official records from the War Cabinet papers and ‘top secret’ cablegrams down to the routine departmental files, and the only occasions on which he failed to obtain any paper for which he asked were those on which, owing to the extremely dis-
orderly state of departmental records, the required documents could not be found." This happened in only. two departments, which had changed premises. In thinking over whether New Zealand could produce such a frank and well-documented piece of almost contemporary history, despite the existence in New Zealand of good historians and editors, I came quickly to the conclusion that we could not. Is it that Australians are more mature, relaxed and civilised than we are? The Australian war histories cover seven volumes for the army, two for the navy, four for the air force, four for the medical side of the war and five for the civilian side. If the others are all like this they are very good indeed. This particular volume covers defence and foreign policy in the 20 years between the wars, the state of mind and the state of preparedness of Australia at the beginning of the war, the initial lackadaisical public attitude to the war, the arguments over the Australian commitment in the Middle East and the downfall of the Menzies Government in 1941. The Cabinet minutes, the cables to London, the political manoeuvring, the sectionalism are all there. I should have preferred more analysis of the way a few able Commonwealth public servants managed to leaven the great administrative lump of war, for Australia did not have New Zealand’s advantage of a unified, well-trained civil service. But maybe this aspect is covered in Pro-| fessor Butlin’s two volumes on the War.
Economy.
W.B.
S.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19550225.2.25.3
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 813, 25 February 1955, Page 13
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382AUSTRALIA AT WAR New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 813, 25 February 1955, Page 13
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
Copyright in the Denis Glover serial Hot Water Sailor published in 1959 is owned by Pia Glover. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this serial and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the Listener. You can search, browse, and print this serial for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Pia Glover for any other use.
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