Adversity & Resilience: Defence

In July 1914, Austria-Hungry declared war on Serbia. The conflict spread because other nations were involved in alliances and Britain had treaty obligations to Belgium. Britain entered the war on August 4.

It is difficult for a modern resident of Ipswich to understand or fully appreciate the patriotic fervour which gripped the city during World War I. When Britain entered the war in August, the acting premier of Queensland Hon W.G. Barnes commented "It is Queensland's duty to help the mother country in her hour of need."

Many Ipswich men became involved in the overseas conflict when the Army Reserve was called up in early August; most of these men worked in the railways or coal mines. Other men simply decided to enlist and soon, batches of volunteers were leaving Ipswich by train for army camp.

A "patriotic meeting" was held in the Town Hall and so many people attended that they could not fit in and an overflow meeting was held outside. The first of many patriotic processions was held, with floats depicting "Plucky Little Belgium" and others declaring "Britannia Rules the Waves".

By January 1915, many Ipswich recruits had reached Egypt on their way to war and were writing letters home, describing the great adventure of being overseas.

The reality of the war struck home at Gallipoli. The first two Ipswich residents to be killed in World War I were Major S. Robertson, son of Rev Joseph Robertson of the Congregational Church, and Lt T. Roberts, son of Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Roberts of Flint Street, North Ipswich, both dying in the first few days of the Gallipoli campaign in April 1915.

The first trainload of sick and wounded soldiers arrived back in Ipswich in the middle of the year, some of them blind and some badly injured. Lists of killed and injured soldiers began to appear regularly in the newspaper, along with articles about young men being farewelled on their way to the war.

On the first anniversary of Anzac Day, commemorations were held in Ipswich. The Railway Workshops were given a half-holiday and church services were held in the city and in country towns.

Recruiting and Conscription
Recruiting rallies and marches were a prominent feature of Ipswich life in the war years. The most famous march began in Warwick and moved slowly though country towns on the way to Brisbane. In each town, it was met by bands, parades and civic welcomes; when it left, it took recruits for the war.

The recruits changed from ordinary clothes into dungarees so they were known as "The Dungarees " or "Binnie's Dungarees" after the leader Lieutenant J.D . Binnie.

A huge crowd greeted the Dungarees in Ipswich and the Ipswich Ladies' Patriotic Committee presented them with a side drum. They stayed two days, billeted at the drill hall in Milford St, and gained 36 local recruits.

Conscription was proposed in 1916 and aroused strong feelings on both sides. One Ipswich father said 12 members of his family were at the front, and he wished there were more who could go. At a meeting in Marburg, a mother recited a poem urging wives, mothers and sweethearts to let their menfolk go to war. In spite of these emotional appeals, the vote for conscription was lost and enlistment remained voluntary.

Anti-German Feeling
When war broke out, all German subjects were ordered to report to the nearest police station but newspapers praised German immigrants and encouraged tolerance.

However there were a number of incidents as the war progressed. An indignation meeting was held in Boonah in 1916 when a boy of German descent was given a job at Boonah Post Office. It was said that was "an insult to British residents", even though four of the boy's brothers had volunteered to serve in the Australian army. In December 1916, schools at Hessenberg, Minden and Kirchheim were re-named Ingolby, Frenchton and Haigslea. Marburg also became Townshend.

The changes were not universally popular. On November 12, 1918, only a day after the war ended, a meeting of Rosewood Shire Council said it wanted to change the name Townshend back to Marburg. Frenchton also reverted to Minden, but the peaceful town Kirchheim (Home of Churches) remained named Haigslea after General Haig.

End of the War
On October 14 1918, residents of Ipswich were awakened at 4am by the sound of bells, sirens and factory whistles. The reason was a headline in the local paper: "Germany Caves In. " This was not the official end of the war, but peace was now assured.

On November II at 7pm, news was received in Ipswich that the Armistice was about to be signed and the town went wild. Bells rang , all the bands of the city gathered and played in the streets and at the exact moment of signing, a hooter was sounded. The following day was declared a public holiday and a celebration was held in Queens Park.