![]() There were groups within the campaign against conscription who also opposed the war itself. And the domestic political ramifications of the bitter political debate continued right up to the Second World War, with the Australian Labor Party out of office federally (apart from a very brief interlude) until 1942. There were those who wondered whether Australia was about to go the way of Bolshevik Russia. ![]() ![]() Food riots and a general strike threatened industry and public order, testing Australia's democracy as never before. At times it seemed as if the soul of the grieving nation would tear itself apart. Thousands of impassioned speeches, endless newspaper columns, mass meetings and huge rallies were held around the country, against a backdrop of mounting casualty lists from the front. ![]() But it was hugely important at the time, dividing the nation as never before. In commemorating the Great War, few now remember that most bitter battle on the home front - the war of words over conscription. ![]()
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