The Last Battle: Soldier Settlement in Australia 1916–1939 - Hardcover

Scates, Bruce; Oppenheimer, Melanie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1107125065 ISBN 13: 9781107125063

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2016

Synopsis

When Australian soldiers returned from the First World War they were offered the chance to settle on 'land fit for heroes'. Promotional material painted a picture of prosperous farms and contented families, appealing to returned servicepeople and their families hoping for a fresh start. Yet just 20 years after the inception of these soldier settlement schemes, fewer than half of the settlers remained on their properties. In this timely book, based on recently uncovered archives, Bruce Scates and Melanie Oppenheimer map out a deeply personal history of the soldiers' struggle to transition from Anzac to farmer and provider. At its foundation lie thousands of individual life stories shaped by imperfect repatriation policies. The Last Battle examines the environmental challenges, the difficulties presented by the physical and psychological damage many soldiers had sustained during the war, and the vital roles of women and children.

About this title

Book Description:

Richly illustrated with archival photographs and sketches, The Last Battle covers new ground in its social approach to the history of Australian soldier settlement and is an important contribution to the emerging field of repatriation studies.

About the Author:

Professor Bruce Scates is Chair of History and Australian Studies and Director at the National Centre for Australian Studies at Monash University, Victoria.

Professor Melanie Oppenheimer is Chair of History and Chair, School Research Committee, in the School of History and International Relations at Flinders University of South Australia.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1107125065
• ISBN 13: 9781107125063
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272