Some events around Peace Day 19 July 1919, as reported in the Melbourne press over one week
4. SCENES ALONG THE ROUTE; AFFRAY AT VICTORIA BARRACKS
5. POLICE CONDEMNED; ASSAULT ON THE PREMIER
6. DEMAND FOR A COMMISSION OF INQUIRY; SOLDIERS' REGRETS
8. ASSOCIATION EXPRESSES REGRET; A BETTER FEELING ABROAD
17. MORE NOTES - Getting back to normal; Homes for soldiers
18. MORE NOTES CONTINUED - Women for Dominions; Homes for Soldiers
19. BIBLIOGRAPHY - Bibliography
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CONCLUSION
It seems that peace got lost on the very day that was dedicated to it. The hope and opportunity to use this day to plan for the future was derailed by a temporary law and order issue that was soon settled.
The resolve of the soldiers such as those reported in the Woman Voter would have still been there, but the opportunity to act may have been diminished if not overwhelmed. Everyone may have been so relieved that the riots were over that they put the celebration behind them, returning to their normal lives.
The Women’s Political Association asked us to practice the arts of peace. They did not give up, even when they were forced to dissolve.
It sounds like hyperbole when they claimed that ‘the Voter does not die, nor does perish the work that it has done... it has been a trailblazer’ but many things they did, such as the women’s unemployment bureau, the worker’s commune, the social survey on the cost of living, look like trailblazing to me.
Their writing and activism, and the soldiers’ resolves to right wrongs that were addressed in the Anzac service, express ideas and feelings that are familiar to us now.
If those soldiers and civilians who were under such pressure could look to the future; could hope, plan, and act for a peace that is constructive and ‘sow no seeds of bitterness and revenge’ as well as being socially and economically just and fair for everyone, surely we can.
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