WWII

Crikey! A GI's Guide To Australia During WWII

Crikey: A GI's Guide To Australia During WW2

Following the Japanese capture of Singapore in 1942 and the subsequent bombing of Darwin, it was clear to Australians that Britain's sphere of influence and ability to control Imperial Japan in the Far East was waning.

The former colony had to look elsewhere for help protecting its borders and sovereignty.

The threat of Japanese invasion turned Australia to America, and the US heard the call.

Almost one million American service personnel passed through Australia in the final four years of the Second World War, with the remit of protecting the country.

The move opened major Australian cities to a new culture and made an important impact on the local economy.

And each US soldier to be sent to the country had been equipped with a trusty Pocket Guide To Australia, issued by the U.S. War Department.

Published in 1943, 'A Pocket Guide To Australia' now reads in a very different light.

Despite being dissolved in 1949, the legacy of the US War Department lives on in the quaint, peculiar books and videos that surface every so often. Some fine examples feature below:

More than 70 years on, the Pocket Guide gives a bizarre description of Australia.

For all of its oddities, the book remains a time capsule that says much about how the country was seen by the US at the time.

The book tells of a mad, gambling, umpire-hating people, who have strange ways of speaking, putting an ‘i’ where the ‘a’ should be.

The publication tells of a "pioneer people; who believe in personal freedom; love sports, and they're out to lick the Axis all the way".

Some other memorable quotes from the book include:

"For all their breeziness, the Australians don't go in for a lot of drinking or woo-pitching in public, especially on Sunday."

"The Australian has few equals in the world at swearing... The most common swear words are 'bastard'... 'bugger,' and 'bloody,' and the Australians have a genius for using the latter nearly every other word."

The guide also included an amusing & somewhat out-dated glossary: