Social aspects of the depression in New South Wales, 1930-1934

Abstract

This thesis explores the impact of the Great Depression on society in New South Wales. It does this through a study of the responses to depression of several representative organizations. Chapter One outlines the political scene and shows the reactions of the main political parties to the challenge of this crisis. To a large extent, the responses of other organizations were provoked by the events, the personalities and the policies described in this chapter. Chapters Two and Three show how the depression disrupted the way of life of thousands of men and women. This background of personal insecurity is reflected in the general social insecurity which marks those years. It was also one reason why the depression challenged men to consider what was wrong with their political, social and economic order. Some of their answers are described in the next six chapters. Chapters Four, Five and Six show the response of three large a-political groups which were an established part of the community: the Protestant churches, the Catholic Church, and the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia. Chapters Seven and Eight set out the thoughts and activities of new groups the All for Australia League, the New States movement, and the New Guard. Chapter Nine discusses the activities, ideas and influence of the Communist Party which, as one result of the depression, was in men's minds even more often than before. An examination of the responses of these organizations to the depression involves examining their responses to each other. The resulting picture is that of a society of conflicting groups. In their disputes over the causes and cures of the depression, men revealed how far they differed from one another in what they wanted for and from their society. This thesis shows how and why these differences made disunity so characteristic of depression society. Show more