[Editor: This article, regarding an announcement by John Curtin (on 16 February 1942), after the fall of Singapore to the Japanese (during the Second World War, 1939-1945), was published in The Canberra Times (Braddon, ACT), 17 February 1942.]
Singapore was Dunkirk of Australia
Fate of British Empire in balance
Battle of Australia begins
“The fall of Singapore can only be described as Australia’s Dunkirk,” said the Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin) yesterday. “It will be recalled that the fall of Dunkirk initiated the Battle for Britain. The fall of Singapore opens the Battle for Australia. On its issue depends not merely the fate of this Commonwealth but the frontier of the United States of America and, indeed, all the Americas and, therefore, in a large measure the fate of the British-speaking world.”
Mr. Curtin said that for Australia our most, which meant everything we had and everything that belonged to us, must now be mobilised. No longer was there a time factor on which complacency can place an anaemic reliance. No longer may we allow any stultification of our own efforts by dependability on external forces and external support.
“These are assured to us but the problem of their 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 is no longer that of a contribution to a world at war, but the resistance to an enemy threatening to invade our own shores,” added Mr. Curtin. “What the Battle for Britain required so the Battle for Australia demanded. That meant service and struggle and a complete devotion for Britons in the defence of Britain. It meant the same thing for Australians for the defence of Australia.
No time for play
“Our ‘honeymoon’ is finished,” said Mr. Curtin. “It is now work or fight as we have never worked or fought before, and there must not be a man or a woman in this Commonwealth who goes to bed tonight without having related his or her period of wakefulness to the purposes of war. 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.”
Mr. Curtin said that he could say nothing of the Government’s plans for defence. The enemy already knew too much. A lot of that was attributable to his long years of preparation, but some of it to loose talking and loose thinking and irresponsible criticism, and the proneness with which gossip became an alibi for industry and service.
Duty has prior call
“I feel that the stature of our race is such that we can put play-time aside,” said the Prime Minister. “The hours previously devoted to sport and leisure must now be given to the duties of war. 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 today in Australia, brains and brawn are better than either bets or beer.
“Brains and brawn were demanded in every place of war endeavour. We had to pep up the production of every essential requirement. No statistical quantity expressed this total. It meant the very utmost of which everybody was capable.
“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 today and the War Council will meet on Wednesday. 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.”
Curtailment of racing expected
Government action to eliminate racing and other forms of organised sport, particularly at week-ends, is foreshadowed by Mr. Curtin’s statement.
It is believed that there is a strong view among Ministers that time demands the quickest possible use of available manpower for war tasks, freed from the distractions of unnecessary or entirely unproductive amusement.
The Government’s new plans are expected to be announced after the meeting of the full Cabinet today. Final details will be completed by the War Cabinet on Wednesday.
It is significant that Mr. Curtin in his statement yesterday placed the greatest possible emphasis on Australia’s need for self-help. He made no attempt to state reasons or apportion blame for the major disaster resulting from the fall of Singapore.
Source:
The Canberra Times (Braddon, ACT), 17 February 1942, p. 3
Similar articles were published in:
The Age (Melbourne, Vic.), 17 February 1942, p. 2 (entitled “The battle for Australia: Mr. Curtin’s call to service”)
Sunraysia Daily (Mildura, Vic.), 17 February 1942, p. 3
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
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, Labor Party politician, 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
Minister = (in the context of various British Commonwealth countries, including Australia) a Minister of the Crown (including the Prime Minister); a government minister who is responsible for overseeing a government department, formulating government policy, and/or making decisions on issues affecting the country; someone who is part of the government Ministry or Cabinet
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 “the Battle or Australia” to “the Battle for Australia”, “and, in deed, all” to “and, indeed, all”, “enaemic” to “anaemic”, “Government’ new plans” to “Government’s new plans”.]
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