More Info →Summary of effects of World War One on Shannon

Description

In total, New Zealand sent over 100,000 men overseas who saw action - almost 10% of the total population, and 42% of males between the ages of nineteen and forty-five. One hundred and fifty-two men from Shannon served overseas, and twenty died there.

Shannon had been extremely involved in the war - volunteers, of whom there were many, food production for the allies and the controversy over conscription. The Manawatu Flaxmillers Union joined the unions resolved to strike the moment conscription was introduced and were fined £75 for sedition, but over-all, the farming community welcomed conscription as long as it only took men from cities, and without jobs, and left the farmers alone.

Patriotism in Shannon was very high, with whole-hearted involvement in the concerts and other events designed to raise funds, such as the rugby games and dances.

The Industry in Shannon, mostly dairy farming and the flax industry was affected by the war through the loss of labour, but exemption allowed "last men" on farms to remain, and almost all flaxworkers, their efforts deigned to be as vital to the war effort as the sending of soldiers.

The Shannon community was also affected by the war, with the local sports teams being short of players, families losing a father or brother, and women being made to assume more responsibility for the welfare of themselves, their family, and Shannon.

Even after the war finished, everyone didn't live happily ever after, or at least not at once. The land sold to returning men was often of poor quality and couldn't be made profitable. The men themselves had been affected by the war - those who had not been physically injured, were often psychologically affected, and it often took years for them to return to their former condition.

Overseas, many men's only source of comfort was the thought of returning to their families back home. However, on returning they often found the family was different to the one they had left. The women were used to running things and were reluctant to relinquish their independence. Children didn't know their father and the father didn't know his children. The father came back thinking that everything would be back to normal, and he would fit straight back into the life he had left, whereas in reality it often took years, and things could never revert to pre-war conditions. Indeed, many New Zealand marriages broke up as a direct result of the war and the strain it placed on marriages, which would otherwise have probably never have broken up.

In addition to all the social problems around at the end of the war, there was the huge impact of the 1918 influenza epidemic, which killed more people than the war had, and from all walks of life. The influenza epidemic had an even greater effect on life in New Zealand for that reason - the epidemic directly affected everyone in New Zealand, not just those who volunteered.

Identification

Date

1989