As casualty lists soared on the Western Front in the Great War, Australians twice voted to reject the introduction of conscription.
From 1914, enlistment in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was restricted to volunteers but from mid-1916 encouraging enough eligible recruits became increasingly difficult.
Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes came under sustained pressure from Britain’s War Council to follow Britain and New Zealand in introducing conscription.
Full article available at Maitland Mercury, November 24 2017.
