worldwar

Rose Harris Park was named after the local Rose Harris, a female saddler. She is not only credited with being one of the only female saddlers of the time, but also during the 1916 Clermont floods having saved at least six lives, by tying together bridles and horse-ropes to throw to people being pulled away by the floodwater, and pull them to safety. In honour of this, the Rose Harris park was given her name.​ Rose earned the title of 'hero' for saving the people. Rose was a saddler in Clermont from around 1918 until her shop burnt down in 1948. Her shop was located across Capella Street opposite the park that bears her name between the current 'Salon in Main' and 'Paris Cafe.' The local Clermont markets are held in the park on the first Saturday of each month. Rose, the only woman saddler in Australia at the time, is working on a saddle at ​William T. Harris's (her father's) Saddlery at Clermont. Various tools appear in the 1918 photograph. The words “Waiting for the boys of the A.L.H. presumably refers to the Australian Light Horse during World War 1. Rose Harris b. 5 May 1895, d. 21 June 1977 at age of 82: she was unmarried, daughter of Emma and W.T. Harris. Source: www.ccbg.com.au/rose-harris/

The primary role of a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) member was that of nursing orderly in hospitals, carrying out menial but essential tasks - scrubbing floors, sweeping, dusting and cleaning bathrooms and other areas, dealing with bedpans, and washing patients. They were not employed in military hospitals, except as ward and pantry maids; rather, they worked in Red Cross convalescent and rest homes, canteens, and on troop trains. The role of VADs did not significantly evolve between the wars. VADs in the Second World War were given more medical training, but they were not fully qualified nurses. They worked in convalescent hospitals, on hospital ships and the blood bank as well as on the home front. In 1943, the government created the Australian Women's Auxiliary Service (AWAS) to control the large numbers of VADs employed by the military. In 1967, the VAD movement became known as the Voluntary Aid Service Corps (VASC). Source: www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/vad

In the early 1940s a number of factories opened, staffed mainly by women. These included a munitions factory at Rocklea and 12 textile factories in Brisbane. At one textile factory in Roma Street an incredible 19,000 garments were produced each week by only 200 women. Their work was grueling, poorly paid and it demanded long hours. World War II was important symbolically because it was the first time women could join the armed services. Their participation in the war effort did improve their rights as citizens. This was very different to World War I where the war effort was not compulsory. Women's responsibility as citizens was crucial in redefining their more elevated status after World War II. A positive effect of the war has been the close friendships between women, borne of shared experience, that have endured. Most of the women who worked in World War II are now in their eighties and nineties and find the ex-service clubs and associations they belong to an immense source of support. Source: www.couriermail.com.au/extras/ww2/women.htm

Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company mill is a heritage-listed mill at 42 & 42B The Terrace, North Ipswich, City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as Australian Fabric Manufacturers Ltd and Boral Hancock Plywood. The Second World War saw the woollen mill playing a similar role to that of the First, making blankets and cloth for the armed services. During the war years, the Federal Government declared dismissals forbidden from vital or "protected industries" such as the cloth manufacturing industry; prices and wages were pegged. For the workers, this was a favourable climate to demand improvements. A larger number of females were employed in the mill during the war due to decreased male employment. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensland_Woollen_Manufacturing_Co...