1915’s War Census

'Australia has promised Britain 50,000 more men. Will you help us keep that promise?’ Poster courtesy AWM, ARTV00021. The poster depicts the national symbol of the kangaroo against a backdrop of advancing soldiers.

In the notes that accompany the above poster, the Australian War Memorial records that:

Towards the end of 1915, a War Census  of the Australian population showed that 244,000 single men of military age were available for enlistment. Accordingly, on 26 November 1915, the government with W.M. Hughes as its new leader, promised Britain 50,000 more troops - in addition to the 9,500 per month being sent as reinforcements for the 60,000 Australians already overseas.

To view the details of the War Census Act of 1915, click here. To read more about the Census and its role in the recruitment campaign, click here.

Courtesy Coburg Historical Society.

Francis Greenwood was 49 when he filled out the census cards in September 1915. The cards show that he was a resident of Sydney Road, Coburg and was a produce merchant with assets worth £2,351.

Frederick Greenwood was the son of Coburg pioneer Abel Greenwood who had been a Coburg Councillor and a Shire President. It was Abel Greenwood who started the Sydney Road business.

Greenwood’s Produce Store, c1900. Image courtesy Coburg Historical Society.

And just to show yet again how one piece of research leads into another, I was interested when I was researching the 1915 War Census to come across the following article in The Mirror of Australia, 11 December 1915, p.16.

And this one from the Sydney Mail, 8 December 1915, p.30.

I wondered whether the Victorian branch of the National Council of Women had taken up the issue, but it seems not:

Sydney Morning Herald, 22 December 1915, p.5.