Demobilisation of the Australian military after World War II
Encyclopedia
The demobilisation of the Australian military after World War II involved discharging
almost 600,000 men and women from the military
, supporting their transition to civilian life and reducing the three armed services to peacetime strengths. Planning for the demobilisation process began in 1942 and thousands of servicemen and women were discharged in the last years of the war in response to shortages of labour in the domestic war economy. The general demobilisation of the military began in October 1945 and was completed in February 1947. The demobilisation process was largely successful, though some military personnel stationed in the South West Pacific complained that their repatriation to Australia was too slow.
The disposal of surplus military equipment took place at the same time as the size of the services was being reduced. The disposal process was managed to limit its economic impact. Most equipment was transferred to other government agencies, sold or destroyed by the end of 1949.
was formed. The department was involved with drawing up plans for determining veterans' entitlements and the assistance which would be provided to discharged personnel to help them settle into civilian life. This included planning the delivery of training, housing and ensuring that jobs were available. An important consideration was to ensure that civilian employment opportunities were created at an appropriate rate as the size of the military was reduced. In order to achieve this, it was decided to continue many wartime economic regulations such as price controls in order to limit inflation
and direct resources to where the Australian Government believed they were most needed.
The Australian War Cabinet
approved the Department of Post-War Reconstruction's proposed principles to govern demobilisation on 12 June 1944. The key element of these principles was that the order in which personnel would be demobilised was to be based on a points system, with service men and women being allocated points on the basis of their period of service, age, marital status and employment or training prospects. An extensive demobilisation plan was then developed by an inter-service committee following further consultation with trade union
s, employers and returned servicemen. This plan was accepted as the basis for planning by the War Cabinet on 6 March 1945. The rate at which personnel were to be discharged was set at 3,000 a day for six days a week and was to be capable of being increased in the event of an emergency.
The final demobilisation plan assigned differing scales of points for service men and women. Service men were allocated two points for each year of age based on their age at enlistment and a further two points for each month of service if they did not have dependent children or three points if they did. Service women received three points for each year of age at enlistment and a point for each month of service. Women with children were given priority for demobilisation, followed by those who had married before the end of the war. Service women who married after the war could ask for an early discharge on compassionate grounds. Men were also eligible for early discharge on compassionate or health grounds, if they had skills which were important to the Australian economy or had been accepted into a full-time training course.
Limited demobilisation began during the final years of the war. In order to meet the needs of the war economy 20,000 soldiers were released from the Australian Army
in October 1943. Further reductions took place in August 1944 when another 30,000 soldiers and 15,000 personnel from the Royal Australian Air Force
were discharged. In mid-1945 the Government implemented a policy in which service men and women who had completed five years of service, including at least two years outside Australia, could volunteer for discharge.
. At this time the military had a strength of 598,300 men and women. Of these, 310,600 were in Australia, 224,000 were serving in the South West Pacific Area
(SWPA) and 20,100 were in Britain and other parts of the world. The only personnel to be discharged during August and September were former prisoners of war and those with a long period of service, however, as general demobilisation did not begin until 1 October 1945. During the intervening months dispersal centres were established in each state and territory's capital city. These centres were to provide information on employment, land settlement, housing, training, loans, tools for trades and other benefits for service personnel as their discharges were processed. Lieutenant-General Stanley Savige
was appointed the Coordinator of Demobilisation and Dispersal in September.
Former prisoners of war were given a high priority for repatriation back to Australia and discharge. Planning for the recovery of prisoners of the Japanese, most of whom had been held in harsh conditions, had begun in 1944 and the 2nd and 3rd Australian Prisoner of War Reception Groups were established at Singapore
and Manila
respectively in August 1945. By the end of September most of the prisoners recovered from Singapore, Java
and Sumatra
had been returned to Australia along with about half of those recovered from the Bangkok
area. Transport shortages delayed the repatriation of Australian prisoners from Formosa
, Japan
and Korea
, but almost all were on their way home by mid-September.
In line with a plan approved by the Australian Government in September 1945, general demobilisation was conducted in four stages. The first stage ran from October 1945 to January 1946 and involved the discharge of 249,159 personnel, which was higher than the targets of 10,000 members of the Royal Australian Navy
, 135,000 soldiers and 55,000 airmen specified in the demobilisation plan. In the second stage 193,461 personnel left the military between February and 30 June 1946, though this was slightly lower than the target of 200,000. The third stage ran from 1 July to 31 December by which time the services were reduced to 78,000 personnel, which was considered the strength necessary for the military's post-war tasks. Of the remaining servicemen, those who did not wish to volunteer for continuing service in the military were released in the fourth stage which began on 1 January 1947. At the end of this process the military's strength had fallen 60,000 personnel. Where possible, service men and women were placed on leave and allowed to return home while awaiting discharge.
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The demobilisation of the military included disbanding the female branches
of the three services. The Women's Royal Australian Naval Service
, Australian Women's Army Service
and Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
had been formed during 1941 and 1942 to enable women to serve in the military but were disbanded during 1947, with military service being again restricted to men. Demobilised service women were provided with similar assistance to male members of the military, but were placed under pressure to return to 'traditional' family roles.
The return of Australian personnel from the SWPA was delayed by shipping shortages and the need to maintain a force in the area for garrison duties. The military provided these personnel with training courses to prepare them for civilian life. Refresher courses in basic subjects such as maths and English were run first before vocational training began. The teachers and instructors for these courses were service personnel selected on the basis of their civilian occupations. In addition, sport competitions were conducted to keep the men busy.
Many men in the SWPA believed that the demobilisation process was too slow. On 10 December 1945 4,500 men at Morotai
in the Netherlands East Indies
staged a protest march demanding that shipping be made available to return them to Australia. Soldiers at Bougainville
also complained about having to remain on the island after the war had ended, and Prime Minister Ben Chifley's
plane was sabotaged in an apparent protest during his visit on 27 December 1945.
Despite the dissatisfaction of the men in the SWPA, the demobilisation and repatriation process generally proceeded smoothly. Most men had been returned to Australia by January 1946 and 80 percent were demobilised by the middle of the year. Before leaving the military service men and women attended either a dispersal centre or naval depot where they were provided with a medical examination, interviewed by a rehabilitation officer and provided with information about the benefits they were eligible for. The Manpower Directorate
was then responsible for placing discharged personnel in employment as well as providing them with identity documentation and ration entitlements. Training courses were made available to veterans, and by 1951 94,000 had completed university, technical or rural training courses and 39,000 were still in training. A further 135,000 began training but withdrew before completing their course.
Demobilisation also included establishing arrangements for the medical care of ex-service personnel. After the war responsibility for medical treatment was gradually transferred from the services to the Repatriation Commission. The Army's hospitals were also transferred to the Commission, meeting its immediate need for facilities. It proved necessary to build new hospitals for the treatment of tuberculosis
and mental disorders, however as the specialised Army hospitals established for the treatment of these conditions were respectively unsatisfactory and had to be returned to the Government of New South Wales
. The Department of Social Services was responsible for providing assistance to veterans with a disability not caused by their military service, and this led to the foundation of the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service in 1955.
at 'fair market prices' and that payment was to be required in cash. Some special priorities were also established; farmers were to be given priority for motor vehicles, machine tools were to be allocated to ex-servicemen and training colleges and special consideration was to be given to the needs of the Red Cross and other overseas and domestic charitable associations.
Preparations for the disposal of equipment began in the second half of 1944 when the War Cabinet directed the military to survey all stocks and indicate any surpluses. General Thomas Blamey
, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, hindered these preparations as he believed they were premature and that the Army's stocks needed to be maintained until Japan was defeated. This position was opposed by the acting Minister for the Army
, and the RAAF and RAN made some attempts to identify their surpluses, but was successful in delaying the Disposal Commission's work until July 1945. As a result, relatively little military equipment was sold between September 1944 and June 1945.
After the war ended the Disposals Commission rapidly disposed of large stocks of military equipment. Consumer goods and raw materials which could be used immediately by manufacturers were the first items to be sold and sales of motor vehicles grew rapidly. Ex-military vehicles made an important contribution to meeting transport shortages in rural areas, though there was some dissatisfaction with the priority given to the agricultural sector and the way in which the vehicles were sold. The Disposal Commission's sales were also important in meeting shortages of clothing, housing, industrial and construction equipment and tractors. Most of the military's stocks of food were donated to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
or sold for export.
The disposal of military equipment, particularly outside of Australia, presented a challenge to the Disposals Commission. At the end of the war inadequate preparations were made for the storage of equipment in New Guinea
, and many stores were stolen by soldiers, native New Guineans and 'salvage pirates' or damaged by the tropical conditions. Sales of stocks in these areas were completed at the end of 1946, often at very low prices, but much equipment was stolen. Specialised military equipment also proved difficult to dispose of given its unsuitability for civilian purposes. Bombs and other explosives were destroyed after any scrap metal was recovered and large numbers of combat aircraft had to be scrapped due to a worldwide glut. Training aircraft and other aeronautical equipment were sold to the public and other government agencies, however, and demand for tank
s and Universal Carrier
s which could be converted to tractors was greater than expected.
The Disposals Commission's activities peaked during 1946 and 1947. Sales generally went smoothly and in accordance with the principles set by the Government and did not significantly disrupt normal commerce. While the Commission generally operated efficiently, some mistakes occurred such as clothing and scrap metal being sold well beneath their market value. The volume of sales dropped rapidly after 1947 and the Disposals Commission was disbanded in July 1949. By this time the commission had sold £
135,189,000 worth of equipment.
Military discharge
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve.-United States:Discharge or separation should not be confused with retirement; career U.S...
almost 600,000 men and women from the military
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
, supporting their transition to civilian life and reducing the three armed services to peacetime strengths. Planning for the demobilisation process began in 1942 and thousands of servicemen and women were discharged in the last years of the war in response to shortages of labour in the domestic war economy. The general demobilisation of the military began in October 1945 and was completed in February 1947. The demobilisation process was largely successful, though some military personnel stationed in the South West Pacific complained that their repatriation to Australia was too slow.
The disposal of surplus military equipment took place at the same time as the size of the services was being reduced. The disposal process was managed to limit its economic impact. Most equipment was transferred to other government agencies, sold or destroyed by the end of 1949.
Planning
Planning for the demobilisation of the Australian military began at the end of 1942 when the Department of Post-War ReconstructionDepartment of Post-War Reconstruction (Australia)
The Department of Post-War Reconstruction was an Australian Government department responsible for planning and coordinating Australia's transition to a peacetime economy after World War II...
was formed. The department was involved with drawing up plans for determining veterans' entitlements and the assistance which would be provided to discharged personnel to help them settle into civilian life. This included planning the delivery of training, housing and ensuring that jobs were available. An important consideration was to ensure that civilian employment opportunities were created at an appropriate rate as the size of the military was reduced. In order to achieve this, it was decided to continue many wartime economic regulations such as price controls in order to limit inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
and direct resources to where the Australian Government believed they were most needed.
The Australian War Cabinet
War Cabinet
A War Cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers. It is also quite common for a War Cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members....
approved the Department of Post-War Reconstruction's proposed principles to govern demobilisation on 12 June 1944. The key element of these principles was that the order in which personnel would be demobilised was to be based on a points system, with service men and women being allocated points on the basis of their period of service, age, marital status and employment or training prospects. An extensive demobilisation plan was then developed by an inter-service committee following further consultation with trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s, employers and returned servicemen. This plan was accepted as the basis for planning by the War Cabinet on 6 March 1945. The rate at which personnel were to be discharged was set at 3,000 a day for six days a week and was to be capable of being increased in the event of an emergency.
The final demobilisation plan assigned differing scales of points for service men and women. Service men were allocated two points for each year of age based on their age at enlistment and a further two points for each month of service if they did not have dependent children or three points if they did. Service women received three points for each year of age at enlistment and a point for each month of service. Women with children were given priority for demobilisation, followed by those who had married before the end of the war. Service women who married after the war could ask for an early discharge on compassionate grounds. Men were also eligible for early discharge on compassionate or health grounds, if they had skills which were important to the Australian economy or had been accepted into a full-time training course.
Limited demobilisation began during the final years of the war. In order to meet the needs of the war economy 20,000 soldiers were released from the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
in October 1943. Further reductions took place in August 1944 when another 30,000 soldiers and 15,000 personnel from the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
were discharged. In mid-1945 the Government implemented a policy in which service men and women who had completed five years of service, including at least two years outside Australia, could volunteer for discharge.
Post-war demobilisation
The demobilisation plan was put into action on 16 August 1945, the day after Japan surrenderedSurrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
. At this time the military had a strength of 598,300 men and women. Of these, 310,600 were in Australia, 224,000 were serving in the South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
(SWPA) and 20,100 were in Britain and other parts of the world. The only personnel to be discharged during August and September were former prisoners of war and those with a long period of service, however, as general demobilisation did not begin until 1 October 1945. During the intervening months dispersal centres were established in each state and territory's capital city. These centres were to provide information on employment, land settlement, housing, training, loans, tools for trades and other benefits for service personnel as their discharges were processed. Lieutenant-General Stanley Savige
Stanley Savige
Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige, KBE, CB, DSO, MC, ED , was an Australian Army soldier and officer who served in World War I and World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant general....
was appointed the Coordinator of Demobilisation and Dispersal in September.
Former prisoners of war were given a high priority for repatriation back to Australia and discharge. Planning for the recovery of prisoners of the Japanese, most of whom had been held in harsh conditions, had begun in 1944 and the 2nd and 3rd Australian Prisoner of War Reception Groups were established at Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
respectively in August 1945. By the end of September most of the prisoners recovered from Singapore, Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
and Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
had been returned to Australia along with about half of those recovered from the Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
area. Transport shortages delayed the repatriation of Australian prisoners from Formosa
Formosa
Formosa or Ilha Formosa is a Portuguese historical name for Taiwan , literally meaning, "Beautiful Island". The term may also refer to:-Places:* Formosa Strait, another name for the Taiwan Strait...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, but almost all were on their way home by mid-September.
In line with a plan approved by the Australian Government in September 1945, general demobilisation was conducted in four stages. The first stage ran from October 1945 to January 1946 and involved the discharge of 249,159 personnel, which was higher than the targets of 10,000 members of the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
, 135,000 soldiers and 55,000 airmen specified in the demobilisation plan. In the second stage 193,461 personnel left the military between February and 30 June 1946, though this was slightly lower than the target of 200,000. The third stage ran from 1 July to 31 December by which time the services were reduced to 78,000 personnel, which was considered the strength necessary for the military's post-war tasks. Of the remaining servicemen, those who did not wish to volunteer for continuing service in the military were released in the fourth stage which began on 1 January 1947. At the end of this process the military's strength had fallen 60,000 personnel. Where possible, service men and women were placed on leave and allowed to return home while awaiting discharge.
Women in the Australian military
Women have served in Australian armed forces since 1899. Until World War II women were restricted to the Australian Army Nursing Service. This role expanded in 1941–42 when the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force established female branches in which women...
of the three services. The Women's Royal Australian Naval Service
Women's Royal Australian Naval Service
The Service was established in April 1941 when the Royal Australian Navy enrolled 14 women at HMAS Harman, the wireless telegraphy station near Canberra. Two women were stewards, and 12 trained as telegraphists...
, Australian Women's Army Service
Australian Women's Army Service
The Australian Women's Army Service or "AWAS" was a women's service established on 13 August 1941 to "release men from certain military duties for employment in fighting units".-Formation / Structure:...
and Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force was formed in March 1941 after considerable lobbying by women keen to serve and by the Chief of the Air Staff who wanted to release male personnel serving in Australia for service overseas. The WAAAF was the first and largest of the World War II...
had been formed during 1941 and 1942 to enable women to serve in the military but were disbanded during 1947, with military service being again restricted to men. Demobilised service women were provided with similar assistance to male members of the military, but were placed under pressure to return to 'traditional' family roles.
The return of Australian personnel from the SWPA was delayed by shipping shortages and the need to maintain a force in the area for garrison duties. The military provided these personnel with training courses to prepare them for civilian life. Refresher courses in basic subjects such as maths and English were run first before vocational training began. The teachers and instructors for these courses were service personnel selected on the basis of their civilian occupations. In addition, sport competitions were conducted to keep the men busy.
Many men in the SWPA believed that the demobilisation process was too slow. On 10 December 1945 4,500 men at Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
in the Netherlands East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
staged a protest march demanding that shipping be made available to return them to Australia. Soldiers at Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
also complained about having to remain on the island after the war had ended, and Prime Minister Ben Chifley's
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
plane was sabotaged in an apparent protest during his visit on 27 December 1945.
Despite the dissatisfaction of the men in the SWPA, the demobilisation and repatriation process generally proceeded smoothly. Most men had been returned to Australia by January 1946 and 80 percent were demobilised by the middle of the year. Before leaving the military service men and women attended either a dispersal centre or naval depot where they were provided with a medical examination, interviewed by a rehabilitation officer and provided with information about the benefits they were eligible for. The Manpower Directorate
Manpower Directorate (Australia)
The Manpower Directorate was a division of the Government of Australia established in January, 1942 to be responsible for active service and support industry recruitment during World War II to combat labor shortages in strategic areas. The agency had extensive power and reach in furtherance of this...
was then responsible for placing discharged personnel in employment as well as providing them with identity documentation and ration entitlements. Training courses were made available to veterans, and by 1951 94,000 had completed university, technical or rural training courses and 39,000 were still in training. A further 135,000 began training but withdrew before completing their course.
Demobilisation also included establishing arrangements for the medical care of ex-service personnel. After the war responsibility for medical treatment was gradually transferred from the services to the Repatriation Commission. The Army's hospitals were also transferred to the Commission, meeting its immediate need for facilities. It proved necessary to build new hospitals for the treatment of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and mental disorders, however as the specialised Army hospitals established for the treatment of these conditions were respectively unsatisfactory and had to be returned to the Government of New South Wales
Government of New South Wales
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
. The Department of Social Services was responsible for providing assistance to veterans with a disability not caused by their military service, and this led to the foundation of the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service in 1955.
Disposal of military equipment
The disposal of military equipment and materials was also a key priority after the end of the war. Equipment with civilian uses such as motor vehicles, clothing and housing were urgently needed to counter shortages in the civilian economy. The timing of equipment release had to be carefully planned, however, to avoid harming employment by creating surpluses of manufactured goods. Planning for the disposal of equipment began in 1943 and the Commonwealth Disposals Commission was established to oversee the sale or destruction of equipment on September 1944. Before the commission was established the Government decided that that ex-military equipment would be offered to other government agencies before being made available to the public, that sales to the public were to be made on a 'as is, where is' basis and be processed through existing trade channels or public auctionPublic auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
at 'fair market prices' and that payment was to be required in cash. Some special priorities were also established; farmers were to be given priority for motor vehicles, machine tools were to be allocated to ex-servicemen and training colleges and special consideration was to be given to the needs of the Red Cross and other overseas and domestic charitable associations.
Preparations for the disposal of equipment began in the second half of 1944 when the War Cabinet directed the military to survey all stocks and indicate any surpluses. General Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, hindered these preparations as he believed they were premature and that the Army's stocks needed to be maintained until Japan was defeated. This position was opposed by the acting Minister for the Army
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
, and the RAAF and RAN made some attempts to identify their surpluses, but was successful in delaying the Disposal Commission's work until July 1945. As a result, relatively little military equipment was sold between September 1944 and June 1945.
After the war ended the Disposals Commission rapidly disposed of large stocks of military equipment. Consumer goods and raw materials which could be used immediately by manufacturers were the first items to be sold and sales of motor vehicles grew rapidly. Ex-military vehicles made an important contribution to meeting transport shortages in rural areas, though there was some dissatisfaction with the priority given to the agricultural sector and the way in which the vehicles were sold. The Disposal Commission's sales were also important in meeting shortages of clothing, housing, industrial and construction equipment and tractors. Most of the military's stocks of food were donated to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in 1943, it became part of the United Nations in 1945, was especially active in 1945 and 1946, and largely shut down...
or sold for export.
The disposal of military equipment, particularly outside of Australia, presented a challenge to the Disposals Commission. At the end of the war inadequate preparations were made for the storage of equipment in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, and many stores were stolen by soldiers, native New Guineans and 'salvage pirates' or damaged by the tropical conditions. Sales of stocks in these areas were completed at the end of 1946, often at very low prices, but much equipment was stolen. Specialised military equipment also proved difficult to dispose of given its unsuitability for civilian purposes. Bombs and other explosives were destroyed after any scrap metal was recovered and large numbers of combat aircraft had to be scrapped due to a worldwide glut. Training aircraft and other aeronautical equipment were sold to the public and other government agencies, however, and demand for tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s and Universal Carrier
Universal Carrier
The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong. Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War...
s which could be converted to tractors was greater than expected.
The Disposals Commission's activities peaked during 1946 and 1947. Sales generally went smoothly and in accordance with the principles set by the Government and did not significantly disrupt normal commerce. While the Commission generally operated efficiently, some mistakes occurred such as clothing and scrap metal being sold well beneath their market value. The volume of sales dropped rapidly after 1947 and the Disposals Commission was disbanded in July 1949. By this time the commission had sold £
Australian pound
The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 13 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.- Earlier Australian currencies :...
135,189,000 worth of equipment.