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Brightly coloured recruitment posters encouraged young women to join up and more than 66,000 of them enlisted in the three services – Army, Navy and Air Force. They made up just under 7% of the nearly 1 million Australians who served. Thousands of young Australian women left home to join the new women’s auxiliary services, the: Royal Australian Naval Nursing Service (RANNS) Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service (RAAFNS) Source: www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/homefront/women-in-the-war

More than 24,000 women joined the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) after it was founded in 1941 to free up men to join fighting units, marking the first time women were permitted to serve in the military. Women who were British subjects aged between 18 and 40 were eligible to enlist and were paid two-thirds of the equivalent male wage for their service. While it was initially thought women would be confined to roles such as typists and cooks, AWAS members ended up serving in army ordnance, artillery, intelligence and signals corps. They carried out clerical and manual work, maintaining transport and equipment crucial to the war effort and driving everything from cars to amphibious vehicles. In 1945, members of the AWAS became the first women to serve overseas in non-medical roles when a posting of 385 women sailed to New Guinea aboard the MV Duntroon. Source: www.sbs.com.au/topics/voices/culture/article/2019/03/12/h...

A friend of mine, way beyond me when it comes to all things Catalinas, has confirmed my suspicions this is NC18446. The conspicuous CM on the fuselage is actually CMA standing for California Maritime Airlines at Long Beach, CA. It owned the aircraft from Dec 1947 (reg to them from 17 Feb 1948) until sold 18 June 1949 giving at least a time line for the picture. Thank You David. Hope your book is published really soon!! Stig

Huts at Barambah Aboriginal Settlement 1911 Rita Huggins remembers leaving her grandmother in Woorabinda while the rest of the family were transported to Barambah: “We went to Woorabinda to leave her there. She only lived three weeks after that. She went into the bush to die. She didn’t have the will. “Don’t take my gundaberries (children). Don’t take them. I bring them into the world” she said to the policeman but he just pushed her aside.” - Rita Huggins, interview, 1984 The profound trauma of being driven from their traditional country and of having their family networks and culture shattered is still vivid for many of our parents and grandparents. Source: www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryqueensland/51261569244/...