Battle for Aust. has opened

[Editor: This article, regarding the response of Australia’s political leaders after the fall of Singapore to the Japanese during the Second World War (1939-1945), was published in The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld.), 16 February 1942.]

— Mr. Curtin

Canberra. — “The fall of Singapore can only be described as Australia’s Dunkirk. It will be recalled that the fall of Dunkirk initiated the Battle for Britain. The fall of Singapore opens the Battle for Australia.”

This statement on the war position was made to-day by the Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin).

“On the issue of this battle depends not merely the fate of this Commonwealth, but also the frontier of the United States of America, and indeed of all the Americas, and, therefore, in a large measure, the fate of the British-speaking world,” Mr. Curtin added.

The statement proceeded:—

“He would be a very dull person who could not discard all his preconceived ideas of strategy and war and who does not accept the fall of Singapore as involving a completely new situation.

“For Australia, our most — which means everything we have and everything that belongs to us — must now be mobilised. No longer is there a time factor on which complacency can place an anaemic reliance.

“No longer may we allow any stultification of our own efforts by dependence on external forces and external support. These are assured to us, but the problem of their coming and its relation to the calendar of the enemy are factors which Australia should disregard in its composition of a nation completely at war for the purposes of its own defence.

“The protection of this country no longer is that of a contribution to a world at war, but resistance to an enemy threatening to invade our own shore. What the Battle for Britain required, so the Battle for Australia demands. That was service and struggle and complete devotion for Britons in the defence of Britain. It means the same thing for Australians for the defence of Australia.”

Work or fight as never before, says Mr. Curtin

CANBERRA. — “Our honeymoon has finished. It is now work or fight as we have never worked or fought before. There must not be a man or a woman in this Commonwealth who goes to bed to-night without having related his or her period of wakefulness to the purpose of war.”

This warning note was sounded by the Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin) in his statement to-day on the surrender of Singapore. He went on:

“We must not play at work or be indolent or irresponsible in anything that is called work. On what we do now depends everything we may like to do when this bloody test has been survived.

“Naturally I shall say nothing of our plans for defence. The enemy already knows too much. A lot of that is attributable to his long years of preparation, but some of it is due to loose talking, loose thinking, irresponsible criticism, and the proneness with which gossip becomes an alibi for industry and service.

“I feel that the stature of our race is such that we can put playtime aside. The hours previously devoted to sport and leisure must now be given to the duties of war.

“More salutary way of life”

“Every citizen has a parallel duty to that of the man in the fighting forces. All of us are now obligated by fate to a more salutary way of life.

“Whatever criticism that direction may evoke I tell this nation that as things stand to-day in Australia brains and brawn are better than bets or beer. And brains and brawn are demanded in every place of war endeavour.

“We have to pep up the production of every essential requirement. No statistical quantity expresses this total. It means the very utmost of which everybody is capable. “This morning I am not particularising beyond this general statement. It is the spirit of this message which must be the keynote of this nation in the days and weeks ahead — and it may be months ahead. Any other spirit is unthinkable.

“The Full Cabinet will meet to-morrow. The War Council will meet on Wednesday and Parliament will meet at the end of this week. These are the instruments of representative government and it is as a people governed by ourselves that we have to organise the unstinted and unflagging resistance which will enable us not to become a people governed by others.”

Source:
The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld.), 16 February 1942, p. 1 and 5 (City Final edition)

Editor’s notes:
anaemic = (also spelt: anæmic, anemic) the state of having anemia; being affected by or suffering from anaemia; having a pale and sickly appearance; lacking energy, power, vitality, and vigour

Aust. = an abbreviation of “Australia” or “Australian”

Battle for Britain = (also known as the “Battle of Britain”) the military defense of the United Kingdom against comprehensive air raids by the German air force in July-October 1940 (during the Second World War, 1939-1945); the battle began after the Germans defeated France in June 1940; if the Germans gained supremacy of the skies of Great Britain, then that would have cleared the way for an invasion by the Germans, or for the Germans to demand a peace agreement, so the battle was considered to be a key factor in Great Britain’s survival and continuance in the war, and, therefore, in the consequent defeat of Germany
See: 1) “Battle of Britain: European history [1940]”, Encyclopaedia Britannica
2) “Battle of Britain”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [“10 July to 31 October 1940”]
3) “History of the Battle of Britain”, Royal Air Force Museum [a multiple-page account of the Battle of Britain]
4) “Battle of Britain”, Wikipedia

Cabinet = (in the context of various British Commonwealth countries, including Australia) the government Cabinet (the ruling body of the government of the country), comprised of the Prime Minister and other Ministers of the Crown; the chief decision-making body of the executive branch of a parliamentary government, comprising a group of ministers responsible for overseeing government departments, formulating government policy, and making decisions on issues affecting the country

Commonwealth = the Commonwealth of Australia; the Australian nation, federated on 1 January 1901

Curtin = John Curtin (1885-1945), journalist, trade union leader, and Prime Minister of Australia (1941-1945); he was born in Creswick (Vic.) in 1885, led Australia as Prime Minister for several years during the Second World War, and died (whilst serving as PM) in Canberra (ACT) in 1945
See: 1) Geoffrey Serle, “John Curtin (1885–1945)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “John Curtin”, Wikipedia

Dunkirk = a reference to the evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk (a town on the northern coast of France), from 26 May to 4 June 1940, during the Second World War (1939-1945)
See: 1) “Dunkirk evacuation: World War II”, Encyclopaedia Britannica
2) “The evacuation from Dunkirk”, Encyclopaedia Britannica
3) “Dunkirk evacuation”, Wikipedia

indolent = having or showing a significant inclination towards laziness or idleness (an indolent person is someone who avoids or dislikes exertion or working); habitually lazy, slack, or slothful; averse to or resistant to activity, effort, exertion, movement, physical labor, or other work; demonstrating no particular interest or effort; procrastinating

pep = energy, high spirits, liveliness, vitality, vim and vigour; to add, give, or inject with energy, enthusiasm, high spirits, and zest

salutary = causing, effecting, or producing a beneficial effect or improvement (especially regarding something unpleasant, unwanted, or unwelcome which would produce such a result)

stultification = the state of being stultified [see: stultify]

stultify = to make or render futile, ineffectual, useless, or worthless (especially make so in a degrading or frustrating process or situation); to deprive of effectiveness or strength; to make one feel mentally dull or empty, due to a boring process or situation

War Council = the Advisory War Council, a cross-party parliamentary body which was created by the Australian government, and functioned from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War (1939-1945); the Advisory War Council was comprised of the Prime Minister, other government Ministers, the leader of the Opposition, and two other members of the Opposition
See: 1) “The War Cabinet & Advisory War Council”,
2) “Advisory War Council (1940 – 1945)”,
3) “Advisory War Council”, Wikipedia

[Editor: Changed “represntative” to “representative”, “will nable us” to “will enable us”.]