Details

Subject(s)

• World War, 1914-1918—Veterans—Australia [Browse]
• Farm ownership—Australia [Browse]
• Veteran reintegration—Australia [Browse]

Author

• Oppenheimer, Melanie [Browse]

Summary note

"When Australian soldiers returned from World War I 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 20 years after the inception of these soldier settlement schemes, fewer than half of the settlers remained on their properties. ... 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. This book 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."--Jacket.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-286) and index.

Contents

• Foreword / Jay Winter
• Note to readers
• Introduction: 'A land fit for heroes': implementing soldier settlement in Australia
• Part one: Managing the men (1. 'When the inspector calls': the yeoman quest ; 2. 'Men on the margin': suspect soldiers ; 3. 'I intend to get justice': moral economy)
• Part two: Battling the land (4. 'Droughts and flooding rains': markestra nd the seasons ; 5. 'A land only fit for rabbits': environmental degradation)
• Part three: Damaged men (6. 'War wrecked': sending cripples to the country ; 7. 'From the farm to the asylum': mad and 'nervy' men)
• Part four: Getting on (8. 'Taking on a holding': women and families on the land ; 9. 'Settling down': successful soldier settlers).

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ISBN

• 9781107125063
• 1107125065

LCCN

2016499145

OCLC

946147244

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