War Years in Canberra
The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 highlighted the development deficiencies of Canberra as a centre of government and administration.
The Capital only had a population of 10,000, few public buildings and rudimentary transport and communication links with the major cities of Melbourne and Sydney where the transfer to a wartime economy would be concentrated.
It was more efficient to expand government departments in Melbourne and Sydney than to try to build them in Canberra and transfer staff and families to the National Capital.
This effectively meant that the war effort was directed from three capital cities instead of one. Ministers, service chiefs, senior administrators and clerks constantly moved back and forward by train - sometimes several times a week - between Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne, journeys which took many hours to complete.
However, an extra 3,000 public servants and their families were brought to Canberra which also received an influx of military personnel and diplomats.
Australia was now dealing directly with foreign governments and discovering the international identity it was to develop in the postwar years.
The Australian War Memorial was opened on 11 November 1941 less than a month before Japan entered the war as an ally of Germany. Japanese victories in Asia and the Pacific caused Australians to fear an invasion, and air raid trenches were dug beside Parliament House and evacuation drill practised.
The Fairbairn Royal Australian Air Force base was upgraded and used for anti-submarine patrols off the coast. Three Royal Dutch Air Force squadrons relocated to Canberra from the Netherlands East Indies. Intended for use by American military personnel, a new Canberra hospital was built on Acton Peninsula, and a foundation stone laid on 4 July 1942 for an American Embassy. This embassy completed in 1943 was the first built in Canberra and introduced the notion of using characteristics representative of the vernacular design.
A small internment camp for Italian and German aliens was established and the men put to work on forestry projects to the west of the city.
Canberra experienced the same wartime shortages and rationing as the rest of the country and the death and injury of those who had volunteered to fight to defend Australia.
When peace was declared a Victory Parade was held in the centre of the city and a national memorial service conducted at the Australian War Memorial on 16 August 1945. Eight thousand people attended the ceremony while a 101 gun salute was fired at Duntroon and RAAF aircraft flew over the Capital in formation. Everyone looked forward to better days.