Diggers finding work

Returning back to Australia for many soldiers that fought in World War One was not an easy task. After waiting almost a year in some cases to return home, due to the large numbers of troops, the returned soldiers, or “diggers”, as they were called, came back to a new Australia, one that had matured and changed over the many years they had been away for.

Many diggers endeavoured to try and settle back into their normal lives, and this involved searching for employment. Of the 250,000 soldiers that returned to Australia, initially only 13 000 were unemployed, but this number began to increase in the lead up to the Great Depression in the 1920’s. However, finding a job was not as easy in many cases. During the war, many great technological advances were made, and the diggers did not have the skills to be able to work in these environments. Also, in their absence, many soldiers found that women had taken over control of jobs usually occupied by men, and many employers were wary of firing the women in favour of unskilled diggers.

Many soldiers came back from war with horrific injuries, many that rendered them unable to work. They were incapable to look after and support their families. Therefore, they, as well as those who couldn’t find employment, turned to the government for financial assistance. The government also established a reward scheme for the soldiers with the Soldier Settlement Scheme, in which veterans were given small gifts of farming land. In Victoria, almost 12,000 soldiers were given a gift like this by the government. But in many cases, this gift wasn’t enough for the soldiers to be able to continue to support their families.